I had to shoot the eagle

Shot the eagle?! Don't worry I just winged it. Had to, there was a big crack in the left wing which I don't mind ( adds character ) but I don't want it to grow and ruin the bird.

So I drilled a big hole and added a homemade dowel with epoxy...

...cut it and sanded it and there it is.

I had to come to a point where I was done sanding and just live with some scratches.
So...








Pause for dramatic effect.







...boom goes the dynamite.

I stained it and just need to seal it and its done. Lots of time in this one and there is some things
I'll do different next time, but I'm pretty pleased with it and will let you know how it does at the fair.

The eagle is landing

Well I'm about 35-40 hours into this project , maybe more, I've kinda lost track. I have sanded and sanded and sanded and I still will probably sand another couple of hours before I call it done. Remember, the wifey likey so I have to look at this the rest of my life and I want it as close to perfect as my patience will allow.

I have entered several projects into the Ozarks Empire Fair over the last couple of years and have done pretty well as far as ribbons are concerned, but the have so many categories that the ribbons are handed out liberally. I also carve in the expo center for a few nights during the fair and that's the fun part. This year it looks like this is my only entry unless I can work some magic in the next month and a half, which is unlikely.

So some more sanding and the finishing is all that's left. I'll probably stain the base darker and just seal the rest and move on to some thing easier like a bear or anything I can get done in A few nights.

Eagle four

Well I'm pretty much done carving this bird. Now I just have to sand on it for probably 4 or 5 hours cause its got to be smooth.
I was talking to my wife about how much I should sell this carving for and she informed me that it's not for sale. So sorry to all who were getting out your checkbooks, this birds not for sale.

Anyway I carved the eyes and beak and am pretty pleased, I was nervous because they could really make or break this whole project.
I still have a little work to do on the feet, or talons as Napoleon Dynamite would say, but mainly just a lot of sanding and a little shaping.

Kinda mean looking huh? cool