Waxing and Sealing Walking Sticks and Wood Carving Projects

 Beginner Wood Carving Information, Walking Sticks  1 Response »
Sep 252011
 

Should wood carvers wax or seal their wood carvings?  If so, when should you do this process?  What types of waxes and seals have been used successfully?  These may be some of the same questions that you are asking yourself when you hear a veteran wood carver talk about applying wax or sealer to their wood carving projects, especially their walking sticks.

Wax and sealer may benefit you in your wood carving finishing.  Sometimes the wax or seal is applied before painting and sometimes after painting if not both.  One benefit to using seal before painting is that it can aid in keeping the paint from soaking into the wood too heavily and running into areas that it is not intended to be.  It also can help keep the end grain from eating all of your paint and appearing much darker than the rest of the wood carving.  The end grain without any treatment will act like a sponge and soak up more paint than other areas. Continue reading »

Personalized Signs from Hickgirlexpressions.com

 Other Interests  No Responses »
Sep 212011
 

My wife has started her own website and features vinyl lettering and personalized signs.  I think what she is doing is really neat and wanted to share some of her ideas with you.

Here are a few of the things that she has been working on recently:

Whittom Anniversary Sign

Whittom Anniversary Sign

Glass Family Name Sign

Glass Family Name Sign

Painted Stocking on Glass Door Panel

Painted Stocking on Glass Door Panel

Painted Snowman Scene on Glass Table Top

Painted Snowman Scene on Glass Table Top

If you like what she has been working on, check out her website: Hick Girl Expressions

4 Ways to Mark and/or Sign Your Wood Carving

 Beginner Wood Carving Information  1 Response »
Sep 182011
 

There are several ways that you as a wood carver can sign or mark your wood carvings.  Some popular ways are with some type of readily available marking medium, pyrography, trinkets, or carving.

  • Marking Medium

I have used a blue ink pen on some of my pieces to mark my initials and year of the carving.  Paint can also be used to apply your signature or marking to a wood carving before the finishing and sealing process is completed.

  • Pyrography

Pyrography is a whole type of creative art of its’ own, but for this idea, we are focusing on using a wood burning iron to create your signature or mark.  You could use the iron to burn your initials, sign your name, or even make or purchase a brand to burn your symbol into the wood carving. Continue reading »

4 Reasons to Mark and/or Sign Your Wood Carvings

 Beginner Wood Carving Information  No Responses »
Sep 112011
 

The idea of marking in some way or signing your wood carving comes from some of the same reasons that painters sign their paintings.  There are several reasons why marking in some way or signing your wood carving projects can be important.

  • Claim Ownership

By marking or signing the wood carving, you are taking ownership and claiming that you produced that particular piece.  This can be a valuable concept if you become well known for your wood carving, because it will allow others to see that you created that piece and they may consider adding it to their collection. Continue reading »

Why Mark Your Wood Carving Tools?

 Beginner Wood Carving Information  No Responses »
Sep 042011
 

Why would someone want to mark their wood carving tools?  Well, the answer is quite simply to keep track of them.  Just like in school when you wrote your name on the outside of your notebook, if you are taking your wood carving tools out of the shop, you need to have them marked.

The marking will make the tool unique to you, so if you are carving with a your wood carving club and you lay your Flexcut Detail Knife down, two other carvers next to you don’t innocently pick it up as their own.  Also having a unique mark will help to identify your tools if they are stolen or misplaced in a public place.

I have my initials burned into my knives and palm tools.  I have also seen others that will use symbols or colors to mark their tools.  It’s not very often that you see a Murphy Bench Knife with an Ace of Hearts in the side in red.  You could also use those little colored dots that are used for yard sale pricing and wrap one around the shaft of your palm tools.

The point here is that you don’t have to damage or deface your tools in the process of marking them.  You just need some way of identifying your own tools and keeping them separate from other people’s tools.