Due to a very tight schedule I was forced to begin the carving of the whale in the rain.
The material I had to work with was western yellow cedar. The cut-off end of the log became the dorsal fin and whale-rider.
| SMD Woodwork Kent, Ohio, U.S.A. | Stephen M Downey Hand Made Furniture |
| Finest Quality Custom Woodworking. Custom Handmade Furniture Building, Restoration and Repair. Woodcarving, Wood Sculpture | ||
| Home Furniture Woodcarving Design Contact About Order and Pricing Links | ||
| The process of carving a large project | ||
Due to a very tight schedule I was forced to begin the carving of the whale in the rain. | In 1987 I was commissioned to do a carving in the style of the Native American tribes of The Pacific Northwest in Southeast Alaska.. The carving was intended to depict the story of a Native American boy who was befriended by the Killer Whale. | The material I had to work with was western yellow cedar. The cut-off end of the log became the dorsal fin and whale-rider. |
 After three days of working the project on-site with a chainsaw, I trucked the project to my home for the rest of the work. |  Working
in my garage with an electric chainsaw I continued to shape the piece. I
carefully created a flat area on both pieces for a
hopefully permanent glue joint. |
 At this stage I was still supporting the work on sawhorses, but it was now necessary to devise the mounting system for the whale, which would be used at the installation site. |  Having permanently glued the dorsal fin/rider section to the top, I was then able to carve the piece as a whole |  With the final shaping completed and the mounting system in place I drew the surface designs on the whale.. |
 Using a "V Parting tool" I carved the surface designs into the whale |  I was fortunate to be able to enlist several neighborhood children to help with the painting. |
 The whale and rider were finished and ready to be transported to the park where it would be displayed. |  A tapered post, pre-fitted to a tapered hole in the belly of the whale made the final installation easy. |
| Home Furniture Woodcarving Design Contact About Order and Pricing Links Copyright 2009 SMD Woodwork and Design |