Wood is Good

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It hit me today. I’ve gone hardcore. I’ve been procrastinating so hard I started working a piece of sterling silver for a moldavite pendant; anything to avoid having to write.

Silver is my least favourite metal to work. I stopped making jewelry years ago. Stone and metal working tools are mostly packed away. Proof of Hardcore Procrastination. I forced myself to stop. I’m not writing because __________________. Too many reasons; some excuses, some annoyances, some serious big girl stuff, as someone not 1mportant to you said one possibly purple lemon orange haze smoky day.

‘Nough said ‘bout my reasons this summer season while I try not to choke on smoke smells like plastic eyes burning trees fires a toxic haze too many Canada Inc. days weather forecast ”Smoke”. Literally. Forecast, spellcast, overcast, no diff, cough…cough…cough…

I choked on what I was going to say.

Wait… lemme go check the title……

Something about wood………wood chips???

I remember now.

I like to get physical, get down dirty and sweaty. Sitting in front of a black mirror screen, any form, any raisin reason season spider web length of time stirs repeat restlessness in me. Can’t focus. Can’t siphon my attention. Can’t keep me locked down lost in it. Don’t know why. Must be the way I’m wired, coded, and scripted in this show.

Here is where I got my vise grip hard on, on hard maple that is. It’s the first time in a long time working on a large piece of wood again. Frustrations transmuted through a big fishtail gouge and a mallet branded with “Wood is Good”. Tell me the manufacturer of that mallet didn’t have a sense of humour. That heavy duty vise of mine has a fourteen inch throat. Good luck trying to escape if I clamp you in it.

I’m going to give you a little in-process show of my current wood carving romance. This is something I really dislike doing; in-process documentation of a creation, never mind posting about it. Thanks to @kesityu.fashion for the inspiration and encouragement or this wouldn’t have happened. She has this unique way of showing her in-process work so that each image becomes its own work of art.

By now, you’re wondering, what is this thing the claws are carving? No, @dandays, before you fingerspeak, it’s not a human femur. I’m not carving bone.........this time.

A little bitty backstory on this piece of wood. Somewhere in summertime 2018 I had it in mind to carve a walking stick for myself in a stylized raven theme. Not long after, an arborist was cutting pieces off of a large hard maple tree, also known as sugar maple, the kind that produces that liquid dark gold delicious syrup worth drowning in.

One wood appendage just the right size, diameter, and as close to straight as a tree limb can grow, was lying on the ground. The arborist gave me the go head to take it. One less limb to haul to the dump to decay. Got it home, de-barked it, skipped using log sealer on the end grain and stored it. Removing all bark and sealing the end grain (prevents checking) are necessary for air curing green wood as evenly as possible.

That piece of maple has been sitting in my stockpile of woods, gathering dust, long dried out and no longer fresh juicy wet. I had forgotten all about it while riding life’s rollercoaster until the day of the dog walker with nine dogs (nine, ironic). I was surrounded, twice, by a pack of dogs off leash in the bowels of the ravine where I was tucked away in one of my off-trail hidey holes.

Dogs never seem to be my issue. Irresponsible self-centred humans are often an issue. It’s precisely why I was hidden away in the ravine getting a bit of respite from all that stuff.

I paused. Considered my response for a few minutes. Then I yelled, "The creek isn’t a fugging off leash dog park”. On it went. I’ll spare you those details. I left the area to seek solitude in another spot after the dog walker and his herd went by. Twenty-five minutes later, I’m surrounded a second time. I’m sitting low on a stone, drinking from a water bottle. I’m at a disadvantage if there’s an incident. Dog walker dude starts in on me with a verbal lashing.

He’s got the dogs between him and me. He’s about eight feet away. I stand up while putting the lid on my water bottle. Somehow that’s interpreted by him as me preparing to attack “his” dogs, not. Next thing I know he’s brandishing a big stick and the verbal threat, “You better watch yourself”. The guy is taller than me, is threatening me with a weapon, and has me surrounded with a nine pack of dogs. Who’s got the advantage here? Certainly not me but he’s scared for some reason I can’t fathom. I don’t look scary. Maybe it’s because I’m not backing down cowering on the ground. Sooo not my style.

Two city by-law violations and two criminal law violations later, he finally clues in that I’ll match him blow for blow if he wants to go, but he better be ready to go the distance if he starts some shite. It’s why I pack a knife. It’s why my key ring isn’t a ring. Do not offer me invitations.

Back home, next day, I’m thinking about sticks. I remember that chunk of oh so sweet sugar maple. I decide now is the time to carve that walking stick. No shots before I began the process. Wasn’t originally going to post about this at all.

I went at it with a large fishtail gouge and mallet. As I did, the phrase, “In times of war, carry a big stick and walk unseen”, dropped into my thoughts from nowhere.

I carved the bulk of wood off with the gouge after deciding my hatchet was unnecessary overkill for something this size. Original size of the maple tree limb was two thirds larger in diameter than what is in these photos and about five feet in length.

I sawed four inches off the bottom end using a bow saw. That removed a check that occurred during drying. I cut off another chunk on the top at an angle. Using a gouge for detail work across end grain requires a slow hand and careful cutting to not pull the grain which damages the wood. This brought the walking stick to the right length for me, which is just over four feet.

Typically, I limit use of power tools when I’m carving, with the exception of when I’m working with stone. I’m short on time though. Decided to pull out a fav babe, my angle grinder, the thing I know how to make dance on any project, name the material, I’ve ground it down since I was seventeen.

Safety glasses are must, now covered in finger printed maple wood dust.

An hour and a half later, the walking stick isn’t walking yet, but I’ve got it where I want it. All major roughing out is finished. Approximately eight to ten hours work and a massive mess to bring it up to this point. Four feet, two inches in length, stick portion is one and a half inches in diameter.

Shot a short video clip and turned it into a gif. I’m still finding my feet with video, tech challenged in terms of editing it, and really reluctant to talk on video. This is when I need a nineclaws stand-in while I stay behind the camera where I belong.

Some closer shots of the top. Most of the detailing will be done on this part. I may/may not carve a spiral down the length and inlay a spiral of copper wire down to the bottom. I haven’t decided yet. The bottom I want to finish off with some sort of end cap, possibly this.

What’s the design? What about drawings to show where I’m going with this thing? There are none. I don’t work that way. It’s far faster and easier for me to do all of that work in my mind. I use my imagination to visualize, design, and alter whatever I’m working on as I do it. I can’t show you that though, so you’re just going to have to take my word for it when I say I know what I’m doing. I work intuitively like the well-honed tool that I am.

Best description I can give of the design in my mind right now is this…...

Something birdy, raven or hawk (go ahead @corvidae crow lady fingersay it) done in a stylized manner; carved to fit both left and right hands because I’m ambidextrous.
Carved spiral down the length, maybe/maybe not (time issue)
Inlay of copper in a spiral down the length, maybe/maybe not (time issue)
Addition of end cap to the tip
Quartz sphere inlay in the top, maybe/maybe not
Original walking stick design idea included an inlay of a quartz sphere, one inch in diameter in the top. It took me months to find the right sized quartz sphere that is clear and almost flawless, meaning almost free of internal inclusions. This same sphere has already shown up in other photos.

I’m undecided as to where in the top of the walking stick I’ll inlay it and exactly how I want to do that. It depends on the way the bird wants to perch/fly around on the top of the stick. I’ll know what that will be when I get there with my gouge.

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We interrupt this romantic wood whale of a tale that goes on and on and on to bring you a brief newsflash update.

@brandt, You Were Warned. Now you have been turned to stone using diamond. Seems I caught you with a mouthful of broken quartz crystal teeth.

I’m not sorry.

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_{All photos taken by Nine with a Pentax digital 35mm camera and a 90mm Tamron macro lens. Video clip was shot with an ancient android cell phone. All sound effects in this post have been created and recorded by Nine. Yes, that really is the sound of my claws scratching a piece of bone. Note; no humans were harmed during the creation of that specific audio.}