[Warren]

Hello to all.
Thank you for letting me in to this place of master artists. I am just a carver at this stage.
And I would like to thank Tom Sterling for his PDF book, it has already enlightened me on some of the mysteries of Netsuke that I have been trying to replicate on bone. I am going to change to wood, it has far more scope as a median for what I am tying to achieve.
I have been carving in beef bone for a number of years now, but to date I have not been able to get the depth of an object that I so desire. Bone is just too thin and pithy.
My carving is strongly influenced by the Native art of this land - I am not Native, I am only a 5th generation European. Good Viking Stock !!!!
I would like to carve in Marine Ivory when I think I can achieve the desired result, but and there is always a but with this material, you have to be a Native to even get any raw stock and there is just not enough to go around everybody who carves. I keep looking though, as it does pop up in the strangest places for sale at times. Oh ! but very pricey.
That brings me to wood. Over here we have some very good wood that takes detail well - not that I have tried it myself yet, I don't have any hand tools at this stage and my trusty electric machine lost interest in being trusty after eating to much bone dust. Not that it worked very well for wood anyway. Too fast and only being a cheap thing it's variable speed controller only had two speeds, one being stop.
I love lizards, birds and bugs so that is where my carving heart will take me. Leaves and flowers are pretty neat too.
Well this is me, and I hope to be a part of this Forum for a long time - I have a lot of questions but unfortunately not much in the line of anything helpful to others at this stage - as I am on a learning curve going up until I'm stopped in my tracks.
Warren McConachy
North Island, New Zealand

[Janel]

Greetings Warren, and Welcome to The Carving Path!

Have a look around and see if you can find some discussion about tool making, and what sorts of resources might actually be around where you live. Actually Ko Bass just posted in this thread Small Carving Tools. There are other topics and posts which explore tool making. Good luck with making your way with the new tools and materials you are ready to work with!

Janel

[Leon]

Hello Warren and welcome.

Yes Tom can't be praised enough for his efforts to enlighten us newbie's!!
I'm sure his e-book was a great start for many (But Tom, how does your bench really looks?)
(I myself learned a lot from Janels site too. And somewhere on this forum there's a link to a short video showing her at work. Can't remember where but great stuff.)

Leon

[Janel]

Getting Started and Resources > Small Carving Instructional Videos

There are different format options, to better suit the various needs of the member's computers and modems. Thanks for remembering it.

Janel

[Doug Sanders]

Howdy!

[Debbie]

Welcome to our world! If you have any questions we will try to help to the best of our ability.

Again Welcome!

Debbie

[Warren]

Janel, on Jan 7 2008, 03:15 AM, said:

Greetings Warren, and Welcome to The Carving Path!

Have a look around and see if you can find some discussion about tool making, and what sorts of resources might actually be around where you live. Actually Ko Bass just posted in this thread Small Carving Tools. There are other topics and posts which explore tool making. Good luck with making your way with the new tools and materials you are ready to work with!

Janel

Thank you Janel, I have already been to Ko Bass's sight. It will be in my bookmarks for a long time, as will yours.
Actually, there is so much information from people on this sight I wish I'd found it earlier.
I think carving is like climbing a mountain, it looks easy from the bottom but there are many crevasses to pass first on the assent to the top.

And a big thanks to all who have sent me greetings.
As I am new to forums, I will make a few mistakes. It's not that easy to work out but I will.

[Janel]

One great part about carving is the fun of learning with each piece! Hang in there and keep trying. The more you learn, the more sense it makes.

Janel

[tsterling]

Welcome, Warren. Glad the eBook is of use to you - hope you enjoy it! I look forward to seeing your efforts.

Leon Mommersteeg, on Jan 6 2008, 08:37 AM, said:

But Tom, how does your bench really looks?)

Leon

Hi Leon, I've taken up your gauntlet and am showing you my bench (in the workbench topic - link here: My Workbenches