Ozark Walking Sticks

Inexpensive Wood Carving Travel Case

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:21:40 +0000

When it comes to wood carving, one of the best things is that you can carve anywhere that you have your tools and a little room to sit. If you are like me, you have added wood carving tools along your journey of carving. There is absolutely no way that I could carry all of my wood carving tools and materials with me away from home, but with a very inexpensive item from Wal-mart, you can take a few of the essential carving tools with you.

I found a clear, single layer tackle box at Wal-mart that does the perfect job of carrying a few of my carving tools while on the go. The tackle box holds my carving knife, small detail knife, carving glove, thumb guard, a few triangle blanks of basswood, and a small leather strop. That’s everything that I need to carve a small Santa ornament or refrigerator magnet.

Wood Carving Travel Case

Cutting Triangle Blanks for Wood Carving

admin — Sun, 06 May 2012 18:33:49 +0000

I posted a picture of some faces that I have been working on, that were carved on the corner of a basswood blank. I received a comment asking how I cut those blanks. With a couple pictures, I hope that I can do justice to the explanation.

Here is a finished picture of the triangle cutting jig with a 2″X2″ piece of basswood sitting on it.

Triangle Blank Cutting Jig for Wood Carving

I have to say that this is not my own idea or design, but I don’t remember exactly who I learn this from to give them credit. If my memory serves me right, it came from a past article in Woodcarving Illustrated or off of the Woodcarving Illustrated forum.

I started with a scrap piece of 2X4 and used a table saw to make the triangle blank cutting jig. Using the table saw, I set the blade to a 45 degree angle and the depth of the blade to go about halfway through the piece. Run the piece through one pass and then turn it around and send it through again to create the trough in the jig for the carving wood to sit in.

Now put the table saw blade back up to the normal up and down angle (90 degrees). Cut a groove down the middle of the trough that you just created about 3/4 of the length of the jig to form a guide for the blade.

Here are a few pictures to show better detail of the end result after cutting the jig.

Triangle Blank Cutting Jig for Wood Carving

The end result will be triangle blanks similar to this:

Triangle Basswood Blank

Wood Carved Faces

admin — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:02:49 +0000

Hey everybody! It’s been over a month since I posted anything on the blog. It is has been very busy around my house and I haven’t had much time to devote to the blog or to much carving. I have a ton of ideas and things that I have been making notes on to share, so don’t give up on me. I will get back to sharing as soon as I can.

For now, I wanted to share some faces that I carved on the triangle block of basswood. I think that they turned out fairly well. I need to give them a face lift with some paint and they should be ready to be refrigerator magnets.

Let me know what you think of these.

Wood Carved Faces in Basswood

Click on the image to see the expanded picture of all 4 faces.

Make Your Own Wood Carving Knife and Tool Strop At Home

admin — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:14:52 +0000

A leather strop is an essential tool for keeping your wood carving tools and knives sharp and in top condition for carving. The difference in a good carving and a great carving can sometimes be as simple as having properly sharpened and maintained wood carving tools. Using a leather strop during the carving process will keep a razor edge on your wood carving tools and cause less headaches in the long run with the outcome and ease of the carving process.

Wood carvers have the option of buying a mass produced leather strop or making their own. I have both and discovered that making your own is only a few steps from being complete with just a few simple items. Here is a very simple picture tutorial of the strop making process:

Leather Strop Materials Ready

All it takes to make a leather strop is a scrap piece of board that is flat and smooth, piece of leather and some glue.

Leather Strop Clamped to Dry

Apply a liberal amount of glue to the board in the area that you want the leather to be applied. Place the leather with the rough side facing up because this will aid in holding the sharpening compound. Now with the leather in place, use a couple clamps to clamp another piece of board on top of the leather to keep the leather flat against the wood during the drying process and to smooth out any ridges in the glue.

Leather Strop Glued and Dry

After the glue is completely dry, usually you are safe to assume the glue is dry after letting it sit for at least 24 hours, remove the clamps and you have your leather strop ready for sharpening compound application.

Leather Strop Clamped in Place on Carving Bench

With the leather strop loaded with compound, you are now ready to attach it to your work bench in any manner that you see fit to keep the strop in a solid, flat position. Now you are ready to strop your wood carving tools and knives while you are carving to keep them razor sharp.

Fish Hooks Make Great Ornament Hangers

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 13:42:31 +0000

Ordinary fish hooks make very functional Christmas ornament hangers. Using a pair of wire cutters, carefully cut the fish hook a short distance below the eye of the hook. Use caution not to throw the sharp barbed hook into your eye or skin and also do this process where you can easily find the sharp hook so that you don’t risk stepping on it later with bare feet. The actual hook and most of the hook shaft are scrapped and the eye is then used as the hanging mechanism on the ornament.

Most of my Christmas ornaments are made of basswood and therefore will allow me to insert the short hook shaft that is attached to the eye, into the ornament with a pair of pliers and a little bit of force. I have found that most of the time, the eye will remain securely in the ornament without any further assistance, but there are times that a small amount of glue is needed to keep it securely in place. I usually wait until I am completely done finishing the ornament (painting) before I insert the eye.

Ornament Hook

3 Wood Carving Sharpening Secrets

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:02:07 +0000

While doing some research on wood carving tool and knife sharpening, I have been to Arleen’s videos more than once because she does a great job of explaining various topics for beginning wood carvers. I found her 3 Sharpening Secrets again this past week and I felt compelled to share them with you so that you too could be let in on the secrets if you haven’t found them already.

Here are the 3 Sharpening Secrets videos that Arleen has posted on her YouTube Channel – Carverswoodshop. You can click the name to be taken to YouTube or click the video to watch the embedded video here.

#1 Sharpening Secret

#2 Sharpening Secret

#3 Sharpening Secret

Ozark Walking Sticks Survival Bracelets and Straps

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:13:54 +0000

Have you ever found yourself on a nature walk, hike, or general outdoor experience that called for some type of rope? If you like to get outdoors and interact with nature, soon or later, you will find a time that some 550 paracord would be really handy to have. Probably, you won’t have any rope or paracord unless you plan ahead and bring some along. A long piece of rope can be cumbersome and weigh you down. A wad of 550 paracord can become easily tangled and hung up on your gear and on the surrounding landscape. Well, here is your solution to the problem of not having any rope or line when you need it: Survival Bracelets or Survival Straps.

Group of Survival Bracelets

These really stylish and practical survival products are so convenient to have around and can be worn on your wrist, ankle or even clipped to your hiking gear. They are made of 550 paracord that is manufactured to support up to 550 pounds in a single strand. Each bracelet or strap contained one continuous piece of 550 paracord in lengths that range from 8′ to 18′ depending on the length of the chosen bracelet or strap. A rough estimate is that each inch contains approximately 1′ of 550 paracord, so a 9″ survival bracelet contains about 9′ of 550 paracord.

Each bracelet is hand made in Southeast Missouri and is comprised of a 3/8″ plastic contoured side release buckle and 550 paracord (the same that our military uses), using a cobra knot format. If you find yourself needing rope or line, just take the bracelet apart, which takes just seconds to do, and you have a continuous piece of very strong paracord at your disposal. 550 Paracord can be used for a huge range of things:

Lash items together
Hoist heavy items
Make a snare
Shoe laces
Bow string
Tying a splint
Tourniquet
Fix broken straps on hiking gear, kayaks and backpacks
Secure a temporary shelter
Support line when navigating rough water with another person

Group of Survival Bracelets

The bracelets marked as “A” and “B” in the above picture are examples of Wide Survival Bracelets and hold about twice the amount of 550 Paracord as Regular Survival Bracelets.

Bracelets “C” “D” and “E” are examples of Regular Survival Bracelets and hold from about 7′ to 10′ of 550 Paracord.

Bracelet “F” is an example of a Regular Survival Bracelet with Glow-in-the-Dark beads attached.

To purchase a bracelet, choose an option below:

Wide Survival Bracelets $15.00 with Free Shipping

Regular Survival Bracelets $10.00 with Free Shipping

Regular Survival Bracelets with Glow-in-the-Dark Beads $15.00 with Free Shipping

Easy to Make and Use Sharpening Board for Wood Carving Knives

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:22:08 +0000

I recently watched a really good video on the Carver’s Woodshop Youtube Channel that talked about using varying grades of sandpaper to sharpen and touch up wood carving tools. Arleen showed how to use a scrap piece of wood and some sandpaper to create a really easy wood carving sharpening tool. The video that I am referring too can be found here : Carverswoodshop

After watching this video, I began to scavenge my wood carving supplies and found that I had a piece of 1X4 board that I wanted to try for this type of project. I used the board as a type of progressive work space that utilized several grades of sandpaper in succession to sharpen some wood carving knives that I made from old pocket knife blades.

I glued rectangle pieces of sandpaper onto the board in order of their grit grade from roughest to finest. I used 150 grade, 220 grade and 400 grade sandpaper. The board fits nicely on my lap in the seated position and allows me to start with the 150 grade paper and progress to the finest 400 grade sandpaper. After each grade of sandpaper is completed, I move to the next and then for the final touch, I use a handheld leather strop or power strop attached to my drill.

The knives that I most recently worked with were originally sharpened and used as folding pocket knives. The angle of regular pocket knives is not really very useful for whittling and wood carving, so you needed to alter them for carving. Using the sandpaper progression, I was able to take them from pocket knife condition to wood carving condition without a whole lot of effort. Another nice advantage of using sandpaper by hand, is that you don’t have to worry too much about building up too much heat on your blade to cause it to lose temper.

Here is a picture of the sharpening board.

Wood Carving Sharpening Board

Wood Carving as a Healing Method

admin — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:30:04 +0000

While doing some wood carving research the other day, I found a great article that talks about the healing attributes that wood carving can have for a person. The article details how art and decoration can affect your mood and therefore alter your stress levels. It also relays those same attributes to wood carving projects.

When you as a wood carver enjoy the projects that you are working on, you will tend to feel better about them and yourself. You will also do a better job on the wood carving project. I have to say that I agree, that when I am doing a wood carving project that I enjoy working on, it allows me to relax and time can get away from me. I have always been a firm believer that people should find a hobby that they enjoy and stick with it. You will become more relaxed and get your mind off of the stresses of everyday life.

To read the article for yourself, check it out at White Eagle Studios.

Optimize Images to Reduce Load Time on Websites

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:10:39 +0000

As I have made my way learning different aspects of running a blog, I have found that there are many tips and tricks that although may seem small, can really make a difference. One such trick is to always use an image optimizing program to optimize or reduce the size of your image files. By reducing the size of the file itself, each time that someone loads a page with that image, it takes less time to load the image because of the small file size.

As I have gone along, I have found that a great little program called Free Image Optimizer is my best option. It is easy to use, works every time and best of all, it’s completely free. You have the option of downloading the program so that it is available when not connected to the internet, or to use the online optimization tool.

Here is a link to the download page for the Free Image Optimizer: Free Image Optimizer

I have no agreements or deals with this company, therefore, I can give a very honest and non-biased review of their program. If you have a blog or website, it would be beneficial to check them or any other image optimizer out.