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7-12-09

ahhhh...
another day nearly done :)
and i've been teaching myself (with some help from the man in my life) how to do a bit of chainsaw carving...
step one.. find a chunk of wood. i'musing pine from my stepfather's farm. darned handy that horrible wind that went through a month ago tipping trees up all over the show. my man is gettting stuck into his lathe work.
step two.. the chainsaw.. my man very kindly bought me (oops,himself) a nice little chainsaw just a week ago :)
step three.. SAFETY GEAR. do not coontinue past this step if you do not have the gear. a chainsaw will take a leg off. and if it kicks in just the right spot, it will come back through your face. also, the saw will spit lots of chips straight into your face. instead of safety glasses that won't stay on over my glasses, i've found a mesh safety visor/faceplate arrangement that is great. earmuffs - i've had forever. new work gloves!! could have done without them, but i love them :)
step four... decide on your design, debark your log, and figure out the safest way to start shaping your log. i don't have a proper carving tip for my saw (oops, my man's saw) so i'm taking extra care with this. i don't want to have a kickback
step five... after design is roughed out, go back and tidy up a little bit. i always leave a bit extra on as i figure i'd rather go back than redo my design because i took too much off
step six.. sanding..

as i mentioned at the start, i'm a learner, and loving it.
with all my crafts, i double check all the info i can.

there are plenty of good websites about for this topic. i like the chainsaw chick, but you'llfind your own way :)

take care