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

Eagle three

I was able to get some more carving done this week and man is this a big project. I put about 4 more hours into it this week and it looks pretty much the same. I had to skinny up the wings quite a bit which took the most time but I also added some more shape to the feet and head.
The main problem I ran into was the bottom of the wings, which you can see in the picture below. There just not symmetrical, which really bothers me. I almost have them fixed but ran out of time when my helper got home and didn't get a picture. I show comparison photo's in another blog later, but don't worry it will be fine. I just have to cut away everything that doesn't look like an eagle.

Below is a good view of how much I took off the wings so they weren't so chunky. Chunky is good on babies not eagles. Also, you can see more shape to the head and beak.

I think I have about 20+ hours in this already and will probably spend that much more trying to complete it, unless it really speeds up which sometimes happens when I don't run into to many symmetry problems.

This is when production came to a grinding halt, but when all the fun started. Henry is really jammin' to some tunes.
You see, I told you, chunky is good on babies not eagles.

This was about 6 weeks ago. I was in the other room and didn't hear any noise ( this is a real red flag to a parent of a toddler who loves his brother but can't really love gentle ) So I ran in the room and found that I was wrong he can love gentle.
For you that don't know me the littlest is Harrison ( he is abut 10 weeks now ) and believe it or not, just as cute as his big brother.

Last one I promise. Henry jammin' with daddy's scwrench ( chainsaw wrench, also known as a T-wrench )

Eagle two

This is where we left off (above). A few guide lines with the sharpie and I'm ready to go.

It really helps to sit back and stare at the carving for a few minutes and making some rough sketch lines before getting after at it, just to make sure the proportions are right. With this large of a project ( 5ft tall x 18in around ) it's easy to get lost in one section and mess up the entire carving,

This is the sketch lines drawn with the tip of my chainsaw. Man it really helps to visualize it with just a few cuts.

I still have lots of work to do but its going good so far. At this point if I mess anything up it should be fairly easy to fix. It seems for me that if I make a mistake that can't be overcome ,without a fire, it's usually within the first few steps. So far anyway.

This is my oldest boy Henry. He's helping daddy water some sod that I got from work and used to patch in some of my lawn.
I threw it in because he's so stinkin' cute.

Eagle one

This big chunk of Hackberry was one of four logs I got from some random old guy driving down my street one day while I was carving in my driveway. It was really hard to understand what he was saying, but he wanted to give me logs. Well, I have no shortage of logs and didn't really want them until he said I could cut what I wanted and he'd load them with his backhoe. Load them with a backhoe, I thought ; they must be big. Well they are, I could only take two at a time because I drive a Ford Ranger, so I made two trips. The logs are 18in in diameter and 4 to 5 feet tall weighing around 300lbs, I think. I had to move them by myself twice. Let me just say a fella can move more than he thinks with the right leverage.
Anyway, This is the only one I have carved on yet and it's hard. I roughed it out about 4 months ago and it's been sitting in my driveway getting questions like, is it a bunny, is it an angel, is it a gargoyle which is fine because now I want to carve all of the above, but I must see this one done before changing directions.

The first two pictures are the original rough out work, the last two are almost up to date, minus the work on the tail and legs, that is not shown.

Now it's starting to look like the eagle is landing where I want him. Let me just say I have to sharpen all 4 of my chains which had just been sharpened prior to this 3 hour session. Usually I can get by with two chains.
Doesn't look like much for 3 hours but I'm excited again about this project and that seems to be the most important part, motivation. If I don't like the way it is looking I'm very capable of cutting it's head off and warming myself next to it's burial, but this has only happened once. Usually I can look at it with disgust for a while and then get bored and fix it.

Finished fishin'

The trash man said no more wood scrap in the trash or they would have to charge me more money. Does that make any sense to anyone? Oh well whatever, this way of disposal is much more fun and this winter will help keep me warm when I'm carving in my covered and well lit carving fort which this project is funding.
So other than a few minor setbacks all went well with the completion of the crappie which 3 different fishermen guessed first try. Don't feel bad if you guessed wrong ; aunt Jerri, because the arm fin was an inch to high the first time and that threw the whole thing off. What? you never heard the term, arm fin, well it's real scientific, and much funnier than pectoral fin.

Here she is in all her glory. Steve told me not to worry about putting a finish on it but I had to because I knew the beautiful grain would really pop with something on it. I used Thompson's water seal because it really helps repel water and is a clear finish. This picture is right after my second attempt at a finish so it looks glossy but is just wet. Second attempt? Oh yeah the first attempt I didn't check the forecast and it got well below 50 degrees that night and clouded it over so I had to strip it off and do it again

The last step in carving the fish was the scales. I took a u-gouge and ground the sharp edge flat and used it as a punch with a mallet like a thousand times for what I think looks real fishy.
I also carved the eye with my chip-carving knife.

Al, I hope you enjoy your fishy stump, I sure enjoyed carving it and I recommend sealing it every spring and setting it on a gravel bed or something to keep it off the wet ground to extend it's life.