Bart Sharp
05-31-2005, 11:51 PM
Here is my latest project, and my first attempt at carving walnut. My initial impression was how soft walnut is (at least the piece I was working with). It seemed comparable to basswood in terms of ease of carving. My second impression was that the wood was a little "splintery" for lack of a better description. I had to be extra careful to make good cross-grain stop cuts before cutting with the grain. By the way, this is one of the beautiful pieces of wood that Lou Sansone so generously sent me, so thanks again to Lou.
This is also my first time using a BLO finish. I absolutely love how it looks and feels. Despite my concerns, there were no problems with getting excess oil out of the letters. I made sure to not let it sit too long and get tacky, and the cotton rags I used were absorbant enough to just pull the pooled oil right out. It darkens the exposed end-grain in the letters just enough to add a just the right amount of contrast.
The picture isn't the best, because I'm too impatient to wait until daylight to get a better one. Any comments, criticisms, or suggestions are welcome!
Thanks,
Bart
This is also my first time using a BLO finish. I absolutely love how it looks and feels. Despite my concerns, there were no problems with getting excess oil out of the letters. I made sure to not let it sit too long and get tacky, and the cotton rags I used were absorbant enough to just pull the pooled oil right out. It darkens the exposed end-grain in the letters just enough to add a just the right amount of contrast.
The picture isn't the best, because I'm too impatient to wait until daylight to get a better one. Any comments, criticisms, or suggestions are welcome!
Thanks,
Bart