Raven Stick Topper

Nice carving. How did you achieve the color?

-- Galootish log blog, http://www.timberframe-tools.com

nice claude.

-- working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Great looking topper Claude…Well done…Love the raven…

-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.

That’s pretty darn cool.

Nice carving. How did you achieve the color?

- swirt

Black acrylic paint, followed by acrylic water-based varnish cut 50-50 with water. Gave it just enough shine to look similar to a bird’s coloring. The eyes reflect light well, just like a real eye. I used a drop of Mod Podge on each eye – goes on cloudy, but dries crystal clear. I have also used fingernail topcoat, but don’t like the acetone smell.

-- https://www.etsy.com/shop/ClaudesWoodcarving

Looking good.

-- https://dutchypatterns.com/

Thanks for the details on the coloring. I’d never thought of thinning a waterbased varnish… that is pretty interesting.

-- Galootish log blog, http://www.timberframe-tools.com

Thanks for the details on the coloring. I d never thought of thinning a waterbased varnish… that is pretty interesting.

- swirt

I should have mentioned… I thin the black and put on two or three coats to get the color deep enough to hide any wood grain. When one uses full strength acrylic paint, as it dries, it shrinks. Any little imperfections in the wood will therefore show up as a small place where there is no paint. Thinned paint doesn’t shrink as much as it dries, and I can go back and put some even thinner paint on the small “holes” in the finish; this is thinned to 4 parts water/1 part black paint, and will flow into the holes and color them. It only takes 10-15 minutes between coats, as I have a fan blowing on the carving after I paint it.

-- https://www.etsy.com/shop/ClaudesWoodcarving

Very good carving. A good friend of mine was a cane maker and wood carver. His best was a vulture handled stick for visiting friends in hospital. Well, he thought it was hilarious! We thought it fitting to bury him with one. He’d have enjoyed the joke.

-- Some of my most creative moments have been when I've had to cover up an error in my woodworking.

Thanks for the extra info CLaudF.

-- Galootish log blog, http://www.timberframe-tools.com