Post #443336 by Grand Poobah on Sun, Mar 29, 2009 6:30 AM

Thanks for all of the kinds words. They actually pushed me to go a little further. I work with gel stain quite a bit with cabinetry. I assumed that it would also work well here. Well you know what they say about assumptions! The stain gelled in the scales and made them look worse. I decided to go back and sand the whole thing back down. I also took the advice Polynesiac and carved the hand area a little deeper. (Thanks for that) The stain appears darker than it does in the picture. Going back and re-sanding, and re-carving the scales made it look a lot smoother. A couple of coats of spar urethane and he will be done!

The pine has been a real pain as there is a lot of tearout when I have to carve deep into it. I read an earlier post about carving with the grain, which I get, but is that possible when the cut calls for going deep against the grain? Any suggestions? I have since gotten a sharpener so I am hopeful that sharper chisels would help solve some of the problem. I wish I knew what wood the heads I had carved earlier were made of (The guys with the sharp teeth). That wood was soft and easier to carve. Unfortunately I have to grab what I can find.

[ Edited by: Grand Poobah 2009-03-29 06:32 ]