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Carved Mare-and-Colt Chaise, Part 2 From "Woodsculpting" episode DWDS-103

	Montana-based woodsculptor Amber Jean draws inspiration from the American West.
	The finished chaise lounge.

In this episode of DIY's Woodsculpting Workshop, we meet woodsculptor Amber Jean as she creates a relief carving depicting a mare and colt. In this segment, she moves from hand-carving with chisels to power tools for grinding and smoothing surfaces.

Materials used in this episode:

Chisels
Hand-held router
Pneumatic tools and attachments (grinders, etc.)
Air compressor
Sharpening stone
Drawing paper
Carbon paper
Pens
Dust mask
Goggles or protective glasses
Gloves

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Mare and Colt Carving, Part 2

• Using a large-capacity air compressor and pneumatic power tools, such as a rotary grinder, Amber Jean is able to remove a lot of wood quickly (figures A and B). Power tools are ideal, once the basic wood shapes have been established, for removing large amounts of wood in a short amount of time. Tools like these in the hands of a skilled artist can allow the forms to emerge quickly.

  Figure A

  Figure B

  
  

  
  

• For some of the detail work, Amber continues using finer power tools such as small pneumatic grinders (figure C).

• For example, she uses the corner of the cylindrical grinder-tip to rough out the lines within the form of the hair and mane (figure D).

• Tip: Rather than waste time changing grinder tips on a single pneumatic tool, Amber simply keeps several tools (or tool heads) on hand, each with a different size or type of tip installed. Since the entire tool -- tip and all-- can be attached or detached with a quick-release mechanism, she can quickly switch from one to another as she works.

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  

  
  

• After the general shapes have been created (figure E), Amber switches back to chisel work

• She does nearly all of her hand work using only six chisels. The chisels that she uses (figure F) are made with high-quality steel so that blades hold their edge for a long time. Their hexagonal shape of the handles keeps them from rolling when set down.

  Figure E

  Figure F

  
  

  	Amber Jean recommends the use of a water-wheel for sharpening chisels.
  	Pneumatic tools are used for creating the basic shapes and forms of the large carving.

  
  

Amber Jean spent more than six weeks carefully crafting the forms and details of the carving (figures G and H) before shipping it to her collaborator in Seattle, Washington for the completion of the chaise lounge.

Figure G

Figure H

	Figure I
	Figure J