to have access to a lathe, try
turning your own—it gives you complete
control over the size, shape, and wood
in your carvings and ensures that your
projects are truly made “from scratch.”
Finally, send me photos of your signs
of spring—either your versions of these
projects or the little indications that
winter is giving way to warmer weather,
and kinder days are on their way. Enjoy!
Mindy Kinsey
Wanda Marsh’s power carved
morning glory project can be
found on page 76.
Woodcarving Illustrated
|
SPRING 2014
6
from our
mailbag
Whittling a Santa
Article Patterns
Two things I noticed that could improve this great
article are:
1. The grid is set to 20mm grid instead of the 1" the
article says it is.
2. The blank size could be 8 " tall instead of the 10"
the article states it needs to be (a waste of 1 " of
prime carving wood). I should have measured it
myself before cutting it instead of just assuming the
article was correct.
I love the article. I am in the process of carving it
myself because I loved it so much.
Lynn Thomson
Riverton, Utah
Editor’s note: You’re right, the squares on the grid
aren’t 1"—they aren’t supposed to be. You need to
enlarge the pattern until the squares are 1", by either
using a photocopier or by drawing a square at a time
on a 1" grid, to create a full-sized pattern. The enlarged
pattern will create a figure that is 10" tall, like the
author’s original. We use this technique when the
patterns are too large to fit in the magazine. For next
time, we will consider printing the increase percentage
on the pattern (in this case, 133%), along with better
instructions for using the grid.
FOX HUNT
Robert P. Chartier of Ware,
Mass., and Dale Chiarelli of
Lincoln Park, Mich., are the
winners drawn from the
correct entries received for
WCI
Holiday 2013 (Issue 65).
The fox was in the patterns
on page 86, in the Realistic
Raccoon article.
Find the fox in this issue, and contact us with the page number and
location. Two readers randomly selected from all correct replies will
receive a $25 Fox Chapel Publishing gift certificate. Entries must be
received by March 25, 2014, to be eligible.
NOTE: With his feet on the
“ground,” the contest fox faces left (other foxes in
WCI
don’t count).
Send your entry to
Woodcarving Illustrated
, Attn: Find the Fox, 1970
Broad Street, East Petersburg, Pa. 17520, or enter online under the
contests link at www.woodcarvingillustrated.com.
More Power Carving
Like many Boomers, I have developed arthritis in
my hand, particularly in my basal thumb joints.
This makes it impossible to work with hand tools,
so I’ve had to switch to power tools. I’ve been a loyal
subscriber for many years, and perhaps I should be
able to convert hand-tool directions into power-tool
instructions, but I struggle with figuring out which bit
will give me the same results as the hand tools. Please
include at least one power-carved project in each issue
of your magazine! I know the majority of your readers
probably use hand tools, but that shouldn’t mean you
neglect what is probably about 30% of the carving
world. Without at least one power project (not which
power tool to buy, you’ve had a few of those), or a
sidebar to correlate the project to power tools, I will
be forced to discontinue my subscription.
Jacki Madewell
Via e-mail
Woodcarving Illustrated
|
SPRING 2014
8
reader
gallery
Old West Town
Randall Prouse
of Indio, Calif., created this Old West
town from a piece of cottonwood bark his wife found. The
horizontal carving includes several buildings and signs based on
photographs of the Old West. Randall plans to install flickering
LEDs in the open windows to resemble candles and firelight.
Golden Ornament
Kevin Andersen
of Grundy Center,
Iowa, is a master goldsmith who
also carves. He didn’t have time