Gloat and First Attempt

[Cody Colston]

I've been wanting to attempt carving and between that desire and Mike Henderson's tutorials, I've taken the plunge.

I got 10 Pheil chisels from Woodcraft and just finished a practice attempt at a ball & claw foot. I band sawed a scrap piece of Sweetgum turning stock for the blank. After carving, I wiped on a coat of Cherry gel stain to help with the details.

It's not very refined but it's a start. I hope to get better.

Mike, any chance of a ball & claw tutorial?

[Jim Kountz]

Whoa first one?? Amazing!! I think you have this down, really.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Looks good for a first attempt. My first wasn't that nice.

[mike holden]

Cody,
Excellent first try! especially for on your own!

What type of claw & ball were you trying for?
The reason I ask, is most have webbing between the knuckles and over the ball slightly, this appears missing from yours.

This seems to be very chinese in style (the originators of the claw & ball foot) as the chinese dragon did not have the webbing.

I would recommend either of the John Kirk books, American Chairs or American Furniture, for a good overview of a variety of styles. He shows British and French chairs/furniture in these books as well to show the differences. Good source books.

Mike

[Cody Colston]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Mike, I was attempting to carve a er, Chinese inspired ball & claw. yeah, that's what I was attempting to do!

Actually, I had no idea except "ball & claw." After carving it I looked at some pictures I have in a book and realized that I should have left some webbing between the talons, along with including another knuckle on the three front ones, plus the knuckles I carved were a bit knobby and the claws were too fat. Other than that, I think it was okay.

I think I like the Philadelphia style best although perhaps with a slightly more pronounced claw. I'm practicing on another one and hopefully it will be better.

Thanks again for the comments.

[Bill Bolen]

Fin job Cody...you will only get better...Bill..

[Mike Henderson]

Looks terrific for a first attempt. Looks terrific even for a later attempt. No simple little shells or flowers for you

Good job. I could do a ball and claw tutorial but I'm not that experienced in carving them (I've only done a few). Maybe we could talk one of the more experienced carvers on the forum to do a tutorial.

Mike

[Dewey Torres]

Looks terrific for a first attempt. Looks terrific even for a later attempt. No simple little shells or flowers for you

Good job. I could do a ball and claw tutorial but I'm not that experienced in carving them (I've only done a few). Maybe we could talk one of the more experienced carvers on the forum to do a tutorial.

Mike

Mike Holden...I think he means you!

[mike holden]

Dewey,
Thank you, but first I have to get well (getting there, I go to the doctor today and hopefully he will remove the last tube sticking out of me) and then of course there is a group build box to do my part of! (grin)
Mike

In the meantime, I would recommend either Phil Lowe or Andy Marlow for printed instructions on carving claw and ball feet, Phil Lowe for his video if you prefer visual. mike

[mike holden]

Cody,
I owe you an apology.

Turns out that claw & ball feet without webs are more prevalent than I thought.

First, here is what I thought of first when I saw your foot:
China0160a.JPG
Taken at the summer palace outside of Beijing

But, when I was going over some magazines last night, I came across this:
c&b001.jpg

So, you are far more correct than I thought, sorry.

Mike

[Cody Colston]

It's cool, Mike. You know that old adage, "even a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then." I certainly didn't know what I was doing...and still don't, for that matter.

Actually, I was looking through Nutting's "Furniture Treasury" last night and saw some examples without the webbing. But, I'm doing a practice one with webbing and I think I like it better.

Nutting also wrote that the first known instance of a ball & claw being used in furniture was an 8th Century piece from China. It has something to do with a Dragon protecting the world. Different strokes, evidently.

[David Keller NC]

"Actually, I had no idea except "ball & claw." After carving it I looked at some pictures I have in a book and realized that I should have left some webbing between the talons, along with including another knuckle on the three front ones, plus the knuckles I carved were a bit knobby and the claws were too fat. Other than that, I think it was okay."

Mike H.'s posted some examples, but the one you carved without webbing is probably the more prevalent style. Philadelphia B&C feet typically have an understated webbing between the front toes, a short set of talons, and somewhat pronounced knuckles. Massachusetts & New England B&C feet typically have no webbing, somewhat more pronounced talons, and back-swept side toes. Newport B&C feet have very pronounced talons, somewhat knobby knuckles on the toes, no webbing, and in some cases (Goddard-Townsend school), separated feet/balls and separated talons. Finally, New York B&C feet are very easy to recognize - the front profile has the top knuckles of the front and side toes at exactly the same height, which gives the overall appearance of being "squared".

Guys - It might be possible for me to offer a tutorial on this subject, but it will take me a while. While Phil Lowe and Allan Breed can knock one of these out in a couple of hours, I'm not that efficient. It'll take a day of carving with photos.

Cody - A couple of suggestions. Gum (if it's the sweetgum that we have here in the South) is extraordinarily difficult to carve. Even for practice, I'd suggest going slightly upscale and using a block of basswood from Henicke, or mahogany if you've a local source for 16/4 turning blanks. White pine, if you can find it in 4" beams that has a clear section for 3 feet, also makes great practice wood, but your tools have to be sharp.

And, if you'd like an example by a true master at this, Phil Lowe's now 25-year old video "Carve a Ball and Claw Foot" is a classic, and for good reason. It's available reasonably from Taunton, and is well worth buying and watching.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Cody, that's terrific for a first attempt, I can't imagine what you will do after a few years of practice under your belt.

[Cody Colston]

Thanks, Zahid.

David, a tutorial would be great if you are able. I also discovered that dry Sweetgum is difficult to carve. I've turned a bunch of it green and it cuts like butter but when it gets dry, it gets really hard.

I've switched to Cedar for practice, at least until I have a better idea of what I'm doing. The Cedar is brittle but at least it's soft and I don't trash the edge on my gouges too quickly.

I'll check out that book.

[Zahid Naqvi]

I'd be interested in a ball and claw tutorial too, in fact that's why I got into carving because I wanted to me these.

Any takers to do a B&C tutorial?