# Anyone carve something ugly?



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

On purpose. I came across this ornament I made decades ago. It was another one of my unfinished projects. I was building a hutch out of walnut when I inherited a oak dining room suit from a family member and the project got shelved. If I can ever get done remodeling my shop I plan to go ahead and finish the project. I have the doors made so all I need to do is build the cabinet and carve the drawer fronts and some trim. 

The picture was the hutch I saw in a antique shop I was copying.


----------



## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Funny that you should ask. I took a bunch of dead carving projects to the wood-waste bin at the transfer station just yesterday. Hummingbirds, raven dishes (ultra good cedar, too) and other stuff.
They've been sitting in waste wood bags with chips and shavings for months. Never miss 'em.

For every 10 carvings that I start, 3 die, 3 become the living dead and 4 actually get finished.
Fortunately, I don't fall in love with any of them, but the determination to finish some of them is quite surprising.

I think that the mask is worth finishing, whether you ever get the hutch done or not. He's laughing at the incredible mess that I made in the kitchen last night, doing fish & chips.


----------



## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

Ha, everything I've ever carved is ugly. :laughing:


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I don't know how ugly this is, but it's one of about a half dozen carvings I did as a sconce like wall hanging. They were all done with Balsa wood, and finished dark. When I have some time, I'll take more pictures.
.
























.


----------



## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

The only thing I would consider ugly would be these wooden dentures I made as a joke for a friend.


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

This one was done as a twosome to post #4. I don't know how ugly it is, but it makes for an interesting wall display.
.

























.


----------



## unclefester (Aug 23, 2013)

cabinetman said:


> I don't know how ugly this is, but it's one of about a half dozen carvings I did as a sconce like wall hanging. They were all done with Balsa wood, and finished dark. When I have some time, I'll take more pictures. . .


Oh my gosh that's my mother in law!


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

unclefester said:


> Oh my gosh that's my mother in law!


Purely coincidental. :laughing:








 







.


----------



## unclefester (Aug 23, 2013)

cabinetman said:


> Purely coincidental. :laughing: .


Ya sure? She's like a bad penny


----------



## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

cabinetman said:


> I don't know how ugly this is, but it's one of about a half dozen carvings I did as a sconce like wall hanging. They were all done with Balsa wood, and finished dark. When I have some time, I'll take more pictures. . .


I've never carved balsa wood cabby. 
Explain how it carves. 
When I was a kid I made small boats from balsa and raced them in the curbs after it rained. 
These boats were only an inch or two long. 
They were not intricate at all.


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Dominick said:


> I've never carved balsa wood cabby.
> Explain how it carves.
> When I was a kid I made small boats from balsa and raced them in the curbs after it rained.
> These boats were only an inch or two long.
> They were not intricate at all.


The wood is very soft and grainy. Your tooling has to be very sharp, or it will grab the grain and tear it instead of cutting it. Paring is done with deliberate strokes, removing small amounts at a time. Once you get used to carving very soft wood you get used to carving heavy and leaving some to sand back...as it sands so easy. It dents easy too.


















.


----------



## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Ugly? That's beautiful to me, Steve! It's definitely less ugly than anything I've ever carved. Very well done. I like Cabinetman's sconces too. And Dominick's wooden choppers. Cool stuff.


----------



## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

Unclefester, now be careful, you know what they say, "LOOK AT HER MOTHER, IF YOU WANT TO. KNOW WHAT SHE WIll LOOK LIKE IN A FEW YEARS". Post number 7

Dale in Indy


----------

