Tools of The Trade...or as I prefer to call them INSTRUMENTS

In the last post, there were a couple of tools featured that were used that deserve some mention.  I thought this would be a good time to give them the credit that they were due.

Keeping the right proportions, measurements and symmetry are a challenge to every sculptor and carver.  I use a few tools that for me, are critical and are always on the bench.

Left to right these are;

1)  6" plastic see through ruler in both standard and metric sizes...metric being critical as it makes it easier and faster to divide by 2 which is something that is always done for symmetry, 

2) 6" adjustable square, 

3) calipers, again in both standard and metric.  I bought these when we lived in Mexico.  They cost $5.00 and are incredible!, 

4) compass and 

5) 6" square, again in both standard and metric, and purchased in Mexico for a $1.00.

Next comes likely the most important tool...

PENCILS....I usually use between 3 and 5 pencils per duck.  the more you can mark on ti the clearer you can see.  As I progress on the carving, I am able to pencil in more detail.  the more detail I pencil in , the easier it is to see where to remove wood and shape the bird.  I use the red one to mark where I need to remove wood or to mark with a "?" so I focus on what needs to be done in a particular area.

Third is my gauges and markers.  Most are not always on the bench but the are all within reach.

Starting with the brass stand these are;

1) a device made by my friend Jim that allows you to mark a point on a pattern that is being held up and transfer it to the wooden carving.  

2) a similar but simpler device I made to allow me to transfer a mark from a pattern to the carving or from one side of the bird to the other,or in the case of marking out the head, I can lay the head on its side, set the pencil to the middle of the head and then spin the head around the pencil and have a perfect center line or to mark the water line around a bird. 

3) adjustable compass that I never use as a compass but another device for transferring marks from patterns to carvings. This one IS AWAYS ON THE BENCH.

4) A pattern transferring tool I designed and built to allow me to transfer patterns from clay  or wood models to make a pattern for future use. 

5) a set of outside calipers that I use to measure the walls of the duck to ensure I do not make them too thin when I am hollowing them out, 

6) a piece of plastic green packing strapping that is flexible and can bend around and over curves on the duck to allow me to mark center lines and other lines that need to be kept straight on curved surfaces and last 

7) a template marking tool that allows me to make a pattern and transfer it to another piece of wood so that when it is cut, it will fit perfectly into the first.

This is an example of the pattern transferring tool at work.  here I am transferring the final size of this decoy to paper to be able to make a pattern for the next generation 

On this bird, I decided that I wanted to raise the angle of the head a bit but I had already taken too much took off to simply cut away some more at the back of the head.  I decided to put in a wedge of sorts, but the head and the cavity that I carved for it are curved.    

I used teh template maker to get a profile of the curve.  I then made a paper template that I transferred to a pice of wood and cut out on the band saw

Test fit of the wedge...nearly perfect.

Wedge glued in with 5 minute epoxy.

The head fit perfectly onto the new wedge and here it the newer and better  profile.  Something is still bothering me about the head though.  more to come