Post #176073 by SilverLine on Sun, Jul 31, 2005 8:38 PM

It was not completely finished in these pictures, but there was really very little left to do; trim the bottom flat and level and do the same for the top with a slight slope to the rear, which I’ve now done. And it still needs some kind of stain and finish. (Needs some kind of hair, too. Any ideas?)

This was a real challenge for me. Having been a photographer for about 25 years now, visualizing things in 3-D was something new! I’ve NEVER done anything like this, and it was FUN! (I may be hooked!)

The first two I carved were small (made from would-be firewood), and pretty awful, but not so bad that I thought I couldn’t do better. So why not try a big one?! (It’s just shy of 5 feet tall.)

The design idea came from The Islands Menu in BOT. It’s an interesting design but still something I thought I could do. I like the long, stretched out look of it; thought it would fit my log fairly well, too.

The wood is a Hackberry limb from a split-trunk tree in the neighborhood. It’s reputed to carve well and I can’t disagree. I did all the work with standard carpentry chisels and using a miter saw only for the mouth. Striped the bark with a 100+ year-old drawn knife. Took about two weeks to complete working only a couple hours a day. I used two large, but short, trunk sections as “sawhorses” to make things easier (a tip I learned reading this forum).

Thanks for all the tips from everybody here! I’ve learned a lot, and have LOT to learn. Any suggestions for improvment would be GREATLY appreciated!

Classic Silver Line Boats

[ Edited by: SilverLine 2007-03-06 11:14 ]