Welcome To Woodland Carvings

    I have been carving and sculpting in wood for over 30 years.  My father taught me how to carve when I was a kid and I have been working on my skills ever since.  I never worry about planning out the steps to get to the end, I just begin and keep going until I find what I want in the wood and then I'm done.  I have been in carving competitions both local and international and have demonstrated carving in many places but the best experience is when I give a carving to someone and see them smile.  Please look around and leave a comment if you like.  If you see something here or have an idea for a carving please contact me and I'll see what I can come up with.

 Here are some recent projects I have completed.  I use tupelo wood for my wood sculptures.  Most of the habitat that the birds are mounted on are made from brass tubes and brass rods which are shaped and soldered together then covered with a two part epoxy putty.  

American Tree Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Eastern Screech Owl

Indigo Bunting

 

I was thrilled to win a third place at the Ward World Carving Competition in Ocean City, Md.,  in the advanced division for the sculpture I did of a semipalmated plover.  

Cane Making

                                     If you need a cane why not use one that has some style.

           

Cane making is fun and it gives you a good feeling knowing that it will be used to help someone in need. If you scroll down the page you will see how I make the canes from the finished cane you see above to the beginning of the process.

Here it is:

I usually sand it and re-coat it with Minwax clear satin  acrylic finish. I let it dry overnight then resand it and re-coat it in the finishing process, at least three times.

This is a handle I am working on that is more of a stylized piece. I didn't carve any animal faces into it.                                                        Black Walnut- $125.00)

I use this draw knife to shave the bark and cambium layer off the stick. Then I make sure it is tapered down to a narrow tip, small enough at the bottom to fit into a rubber cap. This is an old draw knife I picked up at a garage sale for 3.00.   I had to sharpen it on a grinder, and now it is razor sharp! Good old carbon steel.

I rough cut the handle shape on a band saw before attaching it to the cane shaft. Then I draw an animal on the front and carve it into the handle.






I use a craftsman 1" hole cutter to make a cut into the cane shaft. This cutter makes a nice clean space for the aluminum reinforcement tube that I will add later on. The cane needs to light weight yet strong, especially where a force will be pressed on the handle.

This is the hole after using the hole cutter. The outside edge will be this but remains strong after assembling the can, aluminum shaft and handle with another hole cut.




This is the handle with the hole cut into it. I used black walnut for the handle. It carves nice and clean and leaves a beautiful finish.

I have inserted the shaft of aluminum into the handle and am ready to glue it to the cane with some 30 min epoxy. I used an old tent pole for the reinforcing shaftand a 3/8" steel rod. It is 5 inches in length and the diameter is 1". This creates a really strong joint.


 

Now that the rod is set up good, I glue it to the handle making sure there is epoxy on all the inside edges of the joint. I twist the stick into the handle so that the aluminum tube is completely hidden inside the joint. This is all done before gluing to make sure everything fits snug. Sometimes I have to do some sanding to get a good, tight joint.

I drilled out the center and will add a steel, 1/4" rod for extra strength in the joint.

The steel rod has been glued into place. I will let it set up for an hour to make sure it is good and secure.

After an hour the cane and handle are set up pretty good. The joint is very strong and still the same diameter as the cane. I can begin carving the handle now.

                                This cane features a dire wolf from the Game Of Thrones series.
                                                            (Black Walnut-$185.00)

                                                                     Taking shape!

                                                       Draw knife to shape the stick.

                               (Cherry-170.00)                                          (Walnut- 170.00)

Lil Moonshiner Scenes

I started a new series of group carvings or scenes that depict a whimsical setting of two Lil Moonshiners in action.

($65.00)

                      After a recent trip ice fishing I decided to create a scene called "Iced Whiskey"!

($65.00)

This is a scene from long ago...two men cutting ice blocks from a pond! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 ($65.00)

The next scene is a Lil Moonshiner sawing a log.

First the sitting figure.

Arms are carved separately

Before painting.

Painted 

($65.00)

 This one was inspired by 

    camping in the Adirondack
Mountains.  The Guide
Boat or canoe was light

                                                              weight and easy to port from
                                                              trail to stream.

                                                               "Adirondack Guide".
     

                                                                   ($65.00)

Woodland Wands

Walking Sticks

I do a lot of hiking and one thing I always bring with me is a good walking stick.  I decided to carve some faces into the walking sticks as a good luck charm to keep the trails safe!  Years a go I joined a Cane Making Guild in England and although I never went to any meetings, I was able to talk to other cane makers and learn some of their techniques.  I learned how to season  the wood sticks so that they hold up to a good amount of use including being used for support.  The sticks are strong and flexible making them a good friend on a long hike.

I carved this German Shepard for a a member of the Police Canine Unit as a memory of his dog.
   

The coin is from Ireland.  I made this for my Uncle's 80th birthday.

Wood Spirit penciled in then carved into the stick.

Clear, satin, polyurethane finish is brushed onto the stick.

Sticks are hung to dry.

"Long Claw" from the Game Of Thrones

($75.00)

Celtic themed stick

Dragon Stick