Wagon Wheels-Part 2-Spokes & Hubs

This part of the Wheel project will take some time and effort so just relax and take your time. Here's a list of things you'll need:
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1. Small, Wooden Barrel Spools - (Available at Hobby Lobby-Item #211110) 1-3/16" X 7/8"; 5/16" hole.
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2. Flat Washers-5/16" (Lowes)
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3. Package of 1/8" Bamboo Skewers (Walmart)
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4. Super Glue & Accelerator (Hobby Shop).
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5. Elmers Wood Filler (Lowes).
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If you can't find the Bamboo Skewers you can use 1/8" dowel it's just that the Skewers are a schoosh smaller and makes the insertions a little easier. If you can't find them in Walmart try Ace Hardware...they had them too.
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The most difficult part of these steps is the drilling of the holes. You want to make sure you get them centered as much as possible. Using the smaller drills first will help do this. To make the spoke jig just get a compass and start drawing circles about every 1/2" and then divide the circle so you have 14 spokes. Having all those extra circles will let you make smaller wheels.
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There are lots of photos showing how I did this part of the project so you shouldn't have any problems. Just remember, this wheel is only the backdrop for our figure so we have some wiggle room as far as accuracy goes. In the next post we'll paint the wheel and do the rims.
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Have fun and if you have a problem just send me a comment.

Who Is That Masked Man?

No...this isn't a Native American mummy, just the painted Winter Horses piece all masked up to keep the white paint off his face. I do it with a toothbrush dipped in white paint and while it is possible to control it a little I just wanted to make sure he didn't end up with a bunch of white freckles.
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This piece turned out pretty nice. All that painting really make the piece even if some of it does get covered a little with snow. Standing in that deep snow also really adds to the scene.
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Lots of photos in the Gallery and comments are always welcome.
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Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Wagon Wheels - Part 1

First let me start by saying that we are not going to be making a technically accurate wagon wheel. This is a simple wheel you can quickly make that will work and look almost just as good the more fancy ones.
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Like my wheel, my circle cutting jig is a real simple one that gets the job done. You can buy a commercial one or find some more plans for this type of jig by Googling but I doubt if they will do the job any better. Besides, you probably have most of the materials already laying around your shop. If you follow my plans you might have to make some adjustment for the jig to match your saw. I have a 12" Craftsman. One thing you will probably have to buy is the 1/4" Birch plywood to use for the blanks. I checked at Lowes and while they do have this material it is 5-ply where the best stuff is the 3-ply variety. Either will work okay it's just easier to drill the spoke holes in the 3-ply.
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You will need some Super Glue....the real thin stuff. My recommendation is to go to a Hobby shop that sells model train supplies and also buy a small spray bottle of Super Glue Accelerator. While the glue sets pretty quick on it's own that accelerator will set it off instantly so you won't have to stand there holding it for what seems like forever.
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We will only make the Circle Cutting Jig and cut the wheel rim with this post. In the next one we'll work on the spokes and hub then move on to the painting and the installation of the outer rim.
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I guess that's it for the first part of this project. If you have some questions just fire away. Lots of photos in the Gallery.
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Oh.....One more thing. When leaving a comment they have now changed that area to where you can sigh on with your name instead of doing it with "Anonymous". Where it says "Comment as" just click the arrow and pick "Name/URL" and type in your name.
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Another little gadget is the "World Hits Map". Click on that icon and you can see where all the Blog hits are coming from. You can also become an "Out West Addict" by clicking on the "Follow" button. Once you register with Google you might even want to create your own Blog.

A New Project?

Who's up for a new tutorial? I'm stuck at the moment with my Winter Horse carving

until I get myself a Rapidograph pen to do some of the designs on his robe so I thought I would sound you all out on a new project.

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Some of you have been after me to do some sort of wagon so what better place to start than doing a wheel? They're actually quite simple to make if you're willing to give up a little accuracy. I saw no sense in carving the individual wheel spokes of this piece being as it was only a backdrop for the figure. The wheel does have a metal rim that might present a problem but I'll show you a couple of other ways you can do that part that will work almost as good. This will be a much smaller figure than I normally carve and it's size will be determined by the size of the wheel.

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So, let me know what you think and I start looking for my wheel jigs!!!

Sorry, no additional photos with this one.

Winter Horses

I did the head for this piece setting at my booth at the Dayton show. A number of attendees stood and watched and Old Reliable did his magic. I love it when they say "You actually carve with that?" I sure do!
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We had a great time at the Dayton show...the best yet. We were lucky enough to sell all our Native Americans which is why this fella showed up. I was fortunate enough to have included an Indian head blank in my kit so as soon as the others left the reservation I started this one.
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I did a similar top hat on a piece earlier but thought I would do it again in a snow scene. I really tried to get him to look like he's really clutching that robe close as it must be down in the single digits out there on the res. I have him temporarily standingin a unfinished base but that one will be replaced just as soon as I can truck home a new sheet of MDF (medium density fiberboard) to make a new one. As you can see by this one I glue two thicknesses together then carve it to shape and lastly sand the living hell out of it to give it a nice smooth surface. Once thats done I'll fill in any low spots with some body putty and then several coats of filler primer before the final spray of flat white.
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I named this piece Winter Horses and I couldn't think of anything else so it might change. But the robe will be covered with painting of horses which should really make it a colorful carving.
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There are a few more photos in the Gallery and comments are welcome.

Pancho-Part 8-The Paint Job!

As you can see this is not the Bottlestopper we've been working on. However, it will make a good subsitute as it has a lot more detail than just the head and hat.

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There is a real load of photos in the gallery...some 80 or so. They show the painting process completely or as complete as I can show you. There are a couple of things I'll mention that the photos don't explain and one of the most important of these is learning to load your brush with wash or paint. When painting anything, from your house to this carving, get in the habit of really loading your brush with paint right up the the metal ferrel. The more paint you have the longer you'll be able to paint and the smoother your strokes will be. Naturally, when painting extremely small areas like the whites of the eyes you can only use the tip of the brush but as you will find the more you practice a loaded brush is really the way to go. And squeeze out enough paint from the tube or bottle so you can see the color. Don't be a dabber!!

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If you've used a burning pen to outline the color seperations of your carving you'll quickly see just how this helps in painting. Paint will just not craw or bleed across that burnt line. If you think it does then you've crossed the line! It also makes your carving "Pop" once it's varnished. Your colors are clean and crisp.

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Another tip is to get up every so often and go wash your hands. The carving is wet when you paint it and your hands are oily so it will get dirty if you're not careful. And buy a little tub of brush cleaner and soap up your brushes every once in a while. It keeps them soft and flexible and helps them retain their point. If your brushes get flared out on the ends then toss them...there is nothing that will ruin a project more than a worn out brush.

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One more thing....before you varnish your piece spray a very light coat of Deft or Testors Dulcoat onto those areas on the hat where you used the Sharpie pen and on the collar where you used the Gold pen. When it dries hit it again with another light coat and let it get good and dry. This will keep those colors from liquidfying again when you brush on the varnish. Even then be careful when you varnish those areas.

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So, thats wraps up this project! I hope you've enjoyed it and that it helps you in your carving. If you have any additional questions just drop me a comment and I'll try and answer them.

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One more thing....if you click on the above photo it's large enough to show everything. Like I said, tons of photos in the Gallery.

Pancho Gets Busted!

I swear....if I do one more Mexican the INS will be showing up at my front gate! This is it! No more Mexicans! At least for a while.
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This one started out to be another Bottlestopper but the head turned out so well that I thought it warrented either a complete figure or at least a bust treatment. Considering that the Dayton show is just a few days away I thought I would try and get something done before I left so a bust it's going to be.
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I did a similar one a long time ago which won a 1st place ribbon at the big show in Davenport. This ones a little simpler but should be a lot more colorful with the serape, the neckerchief, his shirt which will receive some special treatment and a fancy sombrero. It's an impressive size of about 10" tall with the walnut base and I plan on offering it at a very reasonable price so it should go pretty quick. At least I hope so otherwise it ketchup and crackers for the wife and me on our trip to Ohio! Only kidding. As just about all I've been turning out lately speaks spanish I did this one pretty quick. I carved the head and hat in about 2 hours down at our weekly carving session and whipped out the lowerpart and the base yesterday afternoon.
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I will use this figure to demonstrate the wet-on-wet painting technique as the last post on the Pancho Bottlestopper series. That way you will be able to see how I do some of the more intricate brushwork. While I'll do this painting before the Dayton show I might not have the time to get the Blog post up.
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There are a few more photos in the Gallery and your comments are always welcome.