Clan Crest size M/L work in progress

**DCampbell16B** · 23rd August 20, 02:02 PM

I always wanted one of these, but could never justify the expense. So I took a piece of 2"x6" poplar, split it and edge glued it together to a 1"x12" and dug in. Basswood next time, should there ever be one. I will never use poplar again....

It's about 11" across (that's 27.94 cm to the rest of the world). I need to carve the motto, trim down to the garter then paint.

20200817_101708_copy_1083x737.jpg

**MichiganKyle** · 23rd August 20, 04:30 PM

Are you planning on casting it in something else or just carving it directly?

**DCampbell16B** · 23rd August 20, 04:56 PM

Just carving directly.

**ThistleDown** · 23rd August 20, 11:48 PM

Nicely done! Have you thought of big-leaf maple, alder or cedar for your next one? Yellow cedar (if you can access it where you are -- enquire) is the first-choice of the peoples of the Northwest Coast, who do such exceptional carvings. An easy wood to work for fine detailing, in my experience.

**MichiganKyle** · 25th August 20, 09:09 AM

I've always loved carving a nice hard maple. Don't need to worry about the grain nearly as much as something with a large loose grain like mahogany.

That said, this looks nice so far!

**DCampbell16B** · 25th August 20, 09:49 AM

Thistledown, I hadn't thought about cedar. It is local, but I think it is pretty knotty. I'll give some a try sometime. I've heard that Big Leaf Maple is relatively soft, but it's only over on your coast.

MIKyle, yeah, hard maple can make some very fine detail. I've done some. For this though detail is likely to be hidden in the paint. And yes the detail in hard maple is great, but it is hard to carve too. Like really hard. At least with the poplar I didn't have to resharpen every three cuts.

**MichiganKyle** · 25th August 20, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by DCampbell16B

MIKyle, yeah, hard maple can make some very fine detail. I've done some. For this though detail is likely to be hidden in the paint. And yes the detail in hard maple is great, but it is hard to carve too. Like really hard. At least with the poplar I didn't have to resharpen every three cuts.

Indeed. Very true. Part of the reason I love carving maple - takes forever, but it's very precise. And when redoing hardwood floors, the difference between oak and maple flooring takes it from a "yeah, this is doable" task to "what in blue blazes was I thinking taking this on".

**ThistleDown** · 25th August 20, 06:31 PM

[QUOTE=DCampbell16B;1387389]Thistledown, I hadn't thought about cedar. It is local, but I think it is pretty knotty. I'll give some a try sometime. I've heard that Big Leaf Maple is relatively soft, but it's only over on your coast./QUOTE]

Big Leaf Maple is good and worth considering for the future (it takes stains and waxes with ease), but I was suggesting Yellow Cedar, not the cedar that you have locally. Old Growth Red Cedar is often used by the Salish, Tlingit and Haida people. To finish they use water-based natural paints, some oil stains, and bees wax. And boot polish!

In Scotland we still find Bog Oak sometimes, but I find it hard on tools and probably not something you want to spend time on at your entry level. This is a very good piece you are working on; I like your careful work, symmetry and the use of joined planks to achieve the width you want.