Don Quixote pine knot carving

 This morning I put the final touches on Don. When I first started carving there was always the temptation to do more to a carving and sometimes this would be to the demise of the actual carving. I still try to carve as much into each carving as I can but now once I say that's it I try to stick with that decision.

With Don after I had put away the bits and sanded him down with my sand-o-flex and then buffed him out I saw a few places I would consider making a change or modification. Nowadays before I do anything else I ask myself what impact will it have, will it make it better or just different in any given area of the carving. After all I am not Michael Angelo and this is not the La Pieta so I don't expect perfection. In the end I am happy with the final product and am getting more comfortable with the pine knots and the process of carving them.

On a side note Gary Burns the "tree wiz" gave me some wonderful advise on how to keep the bits clean while carving;

"I have a piece of 2x4 on my carving bench that I just dig into when mine start clogging. If you carve a little trench in some soft wood like pine or fir the pitch seems to get pushed out some how. That is what I have been doing for years. My carving bench is riddled with places that I cleaned the bit out on. It turns into a sculpture all in itself eventually!"

Let me say this works wonderfully and has now become my method of cleaning the bits, I do it during the carving if they begin to clog and then again at the end before I switch bits.

as always happy trails

and

Carpe diem 4 carving