Ammo box. Just finished this, March 2021. Bent the sheet metal in the vise using two pieces of angle iron as something or a primitive brake. Bent the steel for the handle in the vise using a c clamp to grab it better. The hinge and clasp I got at Canadian tire. Maybe I will try and make those next. Its not as square as I’d like and the edges are a little off owing to the imperfect bending, inexperience cutting, tolerance from the rivets and hinges among other things. Next time I will be able to plan all that better owing to the experience.
Bear. This one has a Polar look to it. This was the first time I ever tried to carve a figure in earnest. The wood if I recall correctly is dimensional white pine 2×4. Well it is a 2×4 the question is if its white pine or not. Using all hand tools ie saw, chisel, little carving knife, filed, sanded down and linseed oiled up by hand too. Doing the coats of linseed oil was fun. Between coats as it was drying I watched the Ted Bundy documentary on Netflix and kicked the boxing bag. Totally normal evening. I’ve written about this elsewhere, how I always was bottom of the class in art, but still felt I could do this and that that has a certain meaning for me. 2019.
Lion
I always wanted to carve a lion. What an animal. The linseed oil applications were not as even as I’d have liked but that’s OK, the bear turned out better in that regard. Possibly owing to the nature of the wood or to what extent it was sanded? Because I followed the same procedure both times. Learned much and enjoyed.
Another lion. Hadnt carved in a while. Want to try a few new things next time but it was important toget this one done and now keep going and getting better. How fun is it to work wood with hand tools? Plus it makes your hands strong.
First carving of Buffalo. Trying new things every time. This time I sanded more than ever to get a roundness to it. Next time I will try and make the legs smaller, this is tough with grained wood. The final products have been looking a little rough on the surface, this is dimensional lumber but it is a bit of a surprise, maybe a combination of the wax paste applied and the whitish light? Gotta sand more I guess! Elbow grease. Still they look better to the naked eye in my opinion.
Sean van der Lee 