Chainsaw carving a recreation

[autobodyman]

I bought my wife a moose bird feeder from one of those Chinese reseller catalogs, I thought it looked pretty cute but it's only 12" tall. I think if a live bird landed on it, it would knock it over. A tree trimmer buddy of mine said he had some Elm logs on his trailer and said he would drop off any of the pieces I wanted. I got them last week.

I don't have a tractor or skid steer so I cut the section I wanted and used my plow truck to move the sections in front of my woodshop.



I squared the log section and took photos of my subject from 2 directions, traced in my CorelDraw program and sized to fit my block (19" x 14" x 30"), printed and then traced my patterns on two sides of the block. Started whacking at it with my chainsaws.

The above right picture is after the first afternoon.

Though I should have been working in my BodyShop Monday afternoon it was almost 50° so I did some more roughing on the moose with some grinders.

I've got a bit more roughing/grinding to do outside when it warms up again this weekend (8° F today) then I'll move it into the woodshop cover with a garbage bag when I'm not working on it (the wood is pretty green) and work on finishing it up inside. The other antler (bird seed holder) I'll carve from a separate piece and attach later. I've never done a chainsaw carving on green hardwood before (always been from dead standing pines I've harvested) so I have no idea how badly this will split and crack in the drying process or how long it will take to dry. This may all end up being for naught.

Again if I shouldn't be posting non-carvewright work, I apologize and hope the moderators will pull this stuff.

Anyway what do you think of my re-sized reproduction so far?

Thanks ~Mike

By the way if you want to see more of the progress photos: Here

[cnsranch]

That is so cool - I've always wanted to do that - my problem is, I am not an artist in any way, shape or form.

Really cool, looking forward to the finished pics.

[dbfletcher]

wow.. it is just crazy scary how much talent you have. Every tiem you post something, I'm just blown away.

[Digitalwoodshop]

That is pretty "SLICK".... Nice Work !!!!

AL

[WRW]

That's some fine chainsaw whacking. I tryed carving with a chainsaw once and made a fine looking piece of firewood.
Thanks for sharing.

[SharonB]

I know one thing for sure.... my birds would love it. Right now they have to get their seed off the ground. Great job so far. Just hope it doesn't crack on you to bad.

[JDPratt]

Artistry like this always amazes me. Fantastic work. I have tried this before, but my lack of artistic ability keeps holding me back. My wife and I were watching the new show Sawdogs (a chainsaw carving crew) and she commented that it was like her brain and my hands were making something. I am the woodworker/carpenter/anything with tools and she is an artist by trade. She has a habit of sitting around the house making soap carvings to pass the time. I am always amazed at how people like you and my wife can see things in a block of wood and carve it out. Thank goodness the CW exists for people like me.

[autobodyman]

Thanks everyone for the positive replies, much appreciated.

Did a bit more on the moose this afternoon. Mostly just a final bit of shaping/smoothing with my 4½" grinder and a Kutzall Extreme disc and a bit of rounding on the base.

I haven't decided if I will cut the moose off from the base or not. I think the extra height of the base may be nice, I'll decide when I get the carving is finished.

I also roughed out the other antler with chainsaws and grinder, it's a bit large at this point.

Because the roughed antler wood is so green I tried to rough it out so it's all about an inch thick and tossed it into a bucket of DNA (denatured alcohol). I've done this with Elm bowl rough outs and so far none has cracked, only warped a bit. I'm hoping for the same results with the antler roughout. After a couple days in the DNA I will wrap it with masking paper and leave to dry for about 3 weeks to a month and then finish carving the antler.


I've moved the carving into my woodshop and covered it with a heavy trash bag. I didn't think it would dry anytime soon outside as we are getting below freezing every night. I'm not sure how long it will take to dry out like this (I'll be checking it often) but I assume at least a couple months. When it's dry, if it hasn't exploded I'll finish the carving and soak it with Superdeck natural stain. I'm going to have to remember to drill some drain holes in the antlers (where the bird seed will go) for rain/snow drainage.

Well anyway, what do you think the project?

Thank you ~Mike

[CarverJerry]

Great job Mike, you've got lots of special talents that lots of us don't. Thanks for showing....

[Kenm810]

Love the Moose Bird Feeder, It's coming along Great Mike,

Quote: remember to drill some drain holes in the antlers (where the bird seed will go) for rain/snow drainage.

Question, I've Made several Bird Feeders with, and with out my Carver, --
Have you/or maybe anyone, found a way to keep the bird seed from plugging the drain holes in your projects.

On my feeders I've found if I drill the holes to small, when it rains the seed plugs the holes with in a minute or two,
If I make the hole to big the seed falls or washes out and ends just feeding the Ducks and Other Critters on the ground or grass,
I've tried small screens to cover the drain holes, but with out much luck. --- just wanted ask.

Ps. My Feeders have Roofs, but the rain and snow always finds a way to get in anyway