gunstock carving - non carvewright project

[jkbogi]

I, too, use a turbo carver and can appreciate the work in this. EXCELLENT!

[Smoken D]

Fantastic Job. Really came out beautiful!

[loretta_byerly]

Very awesome, what talent!! Wow, the detail involved.... my neck hurts just thinking about doing this by hand!! Great job!!

[Gary Koval]

Mike,
It just does not get any better than that, beautiful!
Gary

[autobodyman]

You are an artist, sir!

Thanks George.

Mike, that is a beautiful gun stock, even if it isn't a CW project. It is going to make a wonderful conversational piece. Always like seeing what you have been up to. Thank you.
Hope your health improves soon.

Thank you, yea this getting old kind of sucks but I guess there's only 1 alternative to that.

Nope this is staying on the forum as far as I am concerned! Great job Mike, always a pleasure seeing your artistic talents. I appreciate that.
Get the neck healed up so we can see the finished product!

My chiropractor got shingles so I haven't been able to get in, hoping he gets better soon and I can get the neck popped again.

Your Stock looks great, Thank you. I would be afraid to take it in the woods now.

I mostly shoot it at the range but I don't think it's really anymore delicate than it was. I'm pretty careful with my guns anway.

That is a Kick A$$ Job Mike. Thank you.
Now couldn't you run the scanning probe to that to make a file. Yes, I replaced the computer I had the software on. I need to reinstall the software on my new system and I'm going to have to ask this group how to go about that. Just getting lazy when it comes to computers these days. I do plan to do that one of these days, I have a few other things I need to scan and get uploaded as well, just seems like a lot of projects to get done and my ambition level isn't what it used to be. I'm sure there would be others out there that would purchase that from you. That would be good. Thanks for sharing. Good to know people like to see it. Oh and the neck thing, been there and done that...I have 1 plate and 2 rods and 11 screws holding my head on and that looking down/up position for any length of time kills me and my hands stop working. Bummer, sorry to hear that. You just have to learn to make yourself take breaks. Hint, my scroll saw does that to me so I've tilted it on an angle and lowered my stool, sure did help out as it makes me look almost straight instead of down.

Used 6½X (3X with 3½x stacked) glasses to carve, kept my head bent low (short focus range) for hours at a time. Neck was fine till about the last day I carved then hurt pretty bad for 3 days after that. Guess next time I will make sure to take a break every hour or so and do something else that doesn't have my head in a downward position.

Man If I had your skill I would sell my Carvewright! I don't know, I got the carvewright to do the roughing out for me so I could spend more time on the detail carving, more important than ever with my neck issues. I just need to quit being lazy and get my software reloaded so I can use it again. That is really amazing work and beautiful detail. Congrats!

Thank you I appreciate that.

That is beautiful work and now a beautiful firearm.

Thank you and thanks for taking the time to reply.

I agree, amazing work. Thanks. You don't need a Carvewright machine!

Need, perhaps not but it's faster than I am and it doesn't get tired or sore like I do. I really bought the machine to scan my carvings so once I made one I could duplicate it or use it to carve bought patterns to take the majority of the wood away and spend my time under cutting and adding fine details.

I, too, use a turbo carver and can appreciate the work in this. EXCELLENT!

Thank you. The Turbo carver is great for fine details as long as the carving isn't to deep (or rather deep and crowded) as the bits are pretty short. Biggest issue I have had with it is the bearings going out. I'm on my 4th hand piece, though the last one I just sent in to have rebuilt, a little cheaper than buying a new one. Some day I want to try an eggshell.

Fantastic Job. Really came out beautiful!

Thanks, I really appreciate that.

Very awesome, what talent!! Wow, the detail involved.... my neck hurts just thinking about doing this by hand!! Great job!!

Thank you. Take lots of breaks Now if I can follow that advice

Mike,
It just does not get any better than that, beautiful!
Gary

Thank you. Oh I'm sure it could be better, more intense more carving on the entire stock but being an old guy with neck problems sometimes I just have to say, that's enough.


Called Ruger, they told me it was manufactured Feb 2002 and the wood in the stock was made exclusively for Lipsey's and is birch though they didn't say which species of birch. Based on the harness ratings I found on http://www.wood-database.com/ its likely one of the less hard ones. Pushing my fingernail into the wood I would say its a bit harder than some of the Pine I have.

Here are some pictures of it finished. I mixed 3 stains together for the leaves to be close to what our Bur Oak leaves color is in the fall. Limed oak (which looked like white paint in the can) colonial maple (which was kind of reddish) and golden oak (dark brown, almost a thinner walnut color) put three coats on and it is such a close match to the natural color of the stock, I cant really tell that I stained them.

Used colonial maple and golden oak on the squirrel, walnut on the acorns and ebony stain on the eye. Sprayed 5 coats of Defthane satin with a bit of Martin Senior urethane hardener reduced 50% with synthetic enamel reducer on the carved areas and 2 light final coats over the entire stock.

I think there were many different ways this could have been stained (or not stained) and more carving could have been done. I think if I were to do another I would strip the entire gun and do fish scales where the checking is and either stained the whole thing walnut or left it all natural.

Thanks ~Mike

[DocWheeler]

Mike,

I do not know how I missed this thread, but I did.

If I heaped the praise on you that I feel, I might be accused of things.
So I'll just say that your projects are a source or amazement to me.

[ktjwilliams]

WOW !! That's nice work ... The stain and finish came out real nice, your stain choices were spot on ... Oh,, and the neck thingy, I blew a few disc's too, you may find that an inversion rack/table helps ... I also us an inflatable traction collar I got from my Chiropractor ..

[JLT]

Mike, simply beautiful carving and finish! -Jon