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General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: Jim Kibler on October 29, 2015, 03:18:44 AM

Title: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jim Kibler on October 29, 2015, 03:18:44 AM
Below are some photos showing the progression of some carving for my latest rifle.  Since these photos  it has been finished a little further with more, patina added, but you will get the idea.  I'll post some completed pics on my website sometime soon.  If you have any questions, as always, please feel free to ask.

Thanks,
​Jim

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Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: PPatch on October 29, 2015, 03:26:22 AM
Gorgeous Jim. Another fine gun in the making. Love it.

dave
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Maalsral on October 29, 2015, 04:38:24 AM
Beautiful! I love that stuff.
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Willbarq on October 29, 2015, 06:42:37 AM
That is some super fine work there! And you are Ohio right?
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: wattlebuster on October 29, 2015, 11:59:32 AM
Wow :o
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Mike Brooks on October 29, 2015, 01:58:42 PM
Wow, crisp work. Stabbed in I assume....
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: grabenkater on October 29, 2015, 02:34:43 PM
I used to come to this forum for inspiration, now all I get is "@!*% boy, you are never going to have this amazing talent!"

 ;)
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Boompa on October 29, 2015, 03:07:39 PM
Perfect, not a flaw. Amazing. :o
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: smart dog on October 29, 2015, 03:20:50 PM
Beautiful Jim,
I like your leaf and tendril details.  They are simple but give a more sophisticated look to the work. I also like the way you do the incised accents, gradually widening and terminating them abruptly.

dave 
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Curtis on October 29, 2015, 04:25:31 PM
Jim, your 3D modeling is simply superb!  And as always, you have an eye for creating a very fluid "flow" to your carving designs, almost like they are moving on the rifle, alive.

Curtis
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Captchee on October 29, 2015, 04:59:54 PM
very nice Jim . Very nice indeed
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Bill Ladd on October 29, 2015, 04:59:59 PM
Jim - when is the next time you're teaching a class on carving?
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jim Kibler on October 29, 2015, 06:07:16 PM
Thanks guys.  This gun is just about ready to go out the door, so that's always a good thing!

Mike:   The carving was stabbed in, with gouges, but I also use a skew chisel as a knife to trim edges as well.

Bill:   Not sure when I'll be doing another carving class right now.  I'll have to give this some thought.
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Mike Brooks on October 29, 2015, 07:21:50 PM
Thanks guys.  This gun is just about ready to go out the door, so that's always a good thing!

Mike:   The carving was stabbed in, with gouges, but I also use a skew chisel as a knife to trim edges as well.

Bill:   Not sure when I'll be doing another carving class right now.  I'll have to give this some thought.
You ought to come to Iowa for a couple weeks and teach me how to carve. Maybe I could teach you something about prize winning chickens while you're here..... :P That's about the best I can do. ;)
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Hemo on October 29, 2015, 07:25:24 PM
Beautiful work as always< Jim! The butt architecture looks strikingly similar to the "Quaker gun" practice carving pieces you made for the WKU carving course. Coincidence?

Gregg
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Daryl on October 29, 2015, 08:13:16 PM
Jim- you are certainly an artist in wood.
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: jerrywh on October 29, 2015, 09:49:21 PM
 Jim. That is great. Mostly because it has dimension. The overlapping of the elements is what gives the design dimension.  Dimension is lacking with almost all amateur carvers.  In engraving that is accomplished in many different ways. One way is to overlap the border on a design. You are becoming a real master. Flow, dimension and balance. You got it.
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jim Kibler on October 30, 2015, 04:00:36 PM
Thanks guys.  I keep trying with this stuff.  There's always so much to learn and ways to improve.  Endless number of cool things that can be created... 

Mike, an education on chickens might be neat sometime.  Maybe I'll be passing through your area one of these days.  Maybe some catching some big catfish would be fun too...

Hemo,  must be just a coincidence with the stocks.  Sometimes patterns start to develop in work.  And they can be hard to break!

I'll post some pictures of the finished gun before too long.

Thanks!
Jim

Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: J. Talbert on October 31, 2015, 12:01:38 AM
Just some more excellent Kibler Signature carving.

Thanks for showing the process!

Jeff
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: oldtravler61 on October 31, 2015, 01:19:19 AM
Excellent work Jim!
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Tom Currie on October 31, 2015, 03:37:57 AM
To my eye I has a bold Germanic feel. No low relief in this carving. I love it.

Jim, Thanks for sharing your work with us.
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Marcruger on November 01, 2015, 05:50:48 PM
I reckon that carving goes in the "incredible" category! 
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Squirrel pizza on November 02, 2015, 02:56:04 AM
The carving is outstanding and speaks for itself, could you spare a minute to tell what you stained the rifle with? Beautiful work.
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jim Kibler on November 09, 2015, 12:58:43 AM
The carving is outstanding and speaks for itself, could you spare a minute to tell what you stained the rifle with? Beautiful work.

Ooops, forgot to answer this question.  As to the stain, it's not quite as yellow in person, though it still has a nice amber look.  I stained it with ferric nitrate crystals dissolved in alcohol.  I played with my usual iron nitrate stain, but for whatever reason thought the crystals looked a little nicer.  On top of that, went some amber Transtint dye mixed with the finish. 

For the finish, I sealed with Permalyn and then used some of my leaded linseed oil on top.

Thanks again for the nice comments.

Jim
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Squirrel pizza on November 09, 2015, 11:43:45 PM
Thanks for taking the time to explain the finish. I admire how clean it looks and makes the maple grain pop. Very nice indeed. I believe I'll have a bunch of practicing to do to duplicate it. Could you share a recipe as to amounts of ferric nitrate crystals to alcohol, etc.,or if that part a trade secret?  ;) Thanks again, Mike
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: D. Taylor Sapergia on November 10, 2015, 12:17:56 AM
In one or two pages, can you describe how you get your background so perfect?
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: PPatch on November 10, 2015, 12:43:11 AM
Could you share a recipe as to amounts of ferric nitrate crystals to alcohol, etc.,or if that part a trade secret?  ;) Thanks again, Mike

Mike with Ferric Nitrate crystals I do either a 1:3 or 1:5 ratio FN to alcohol (or water). I do it 1:3 FN to alcohol by volume and sneak up on the staining with just one or maybe two coats, heating in between. Past 3 I don't see any improvement.

I'm sure Jim will get back with you on his "trade secret" mix.  ;)

dave
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Squirrel pizza on November 10, 2015, 02:33:56 AM
Thanks Dave. I would imagine that using alcohol would dry/evaporate quicker, but is there an advantage/disadvantage between the color of the stain? When it comes time for linseed oil I always cut the first coat 50/50 with turpentine so it sinks into the wood better. Is this the thought with using alcohol with the ferric nitrate? And after the first coat and heating do you "card" the stock? Steel wool, anything? Thanks, Mike
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jim Kibler on November 10, 2015, 04:26:51 AM
Thanks for taking the time to explain the finish. I admire how clean it looks and makes the maple grain pop. Very nice indeed. I believe I'll have a bunch of practicing to do to duplicate it. Could you share a recipe as to amounts of ferric nitrate crystals to alcohol, etc.,or if that part a trade secret?  ;) Thanks again, Mike

Hey Mike.  I'm not sure the ratio of ferric nitrate to alcohol.  I just poured some alcohol in a container, added crystals and gave it a try on scrap wood.  I added some more ferric nitrate and then went with it. 

Jim
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jim Kibler on November 10, 2015, 04:33:23 AM
In one or two pages, can you describe how you get your background so perfect?

Hey Taylor.  When the gun is in hand, it's not as perfect as it seems here.  If you play it in the light you can see some facets from the chisel work.  Accessible areas were cleaned up with a file.  A trick Gary Brumfield shared was to take a three cornered file and snap the tip off.  This sharp edge can be used to clean up background relatively close to carving. 

Sometimes just a chisel cut background is nice, but this wood was pretty difficult to cut so I did a little more file work than usual.  Finally the background was lightly scraped with a chisel ground with a squared edge.

I'll share final pictures of the gun in a day or two. 

Thanks!
Jim
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: PPatch on November 10, 2015, 04:58:16 AM
Thanks Dave. I would imagine that using alcohol would dry/evaporate quicker, but is there an advantage/disadvantage between the color of the stain? When it comes time for linseed oil I always cut the first coat 50/50 with turpentine so it sinks into the wood better. Is this the thought with using alcohol with the ferric nitrate? And after the first coat and heating do you "card" the stock? Steel wool, anything? Thanks, Mike

Yes, I use the alcohol simply because it dries faster and seems to mix with the crystals quicker, no other reasons and frankly I've never considered if one or the other penetrates deeper. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to test that out and report back to the forum.  ;D

Also, that I am aware of here is no difference in color between alcohol or water. I see too that Jim has revealed his dark Ferric Nitrate art to the world "dump some crystals in and give it a go!"  :o

dave
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jim Kibler on November 10, 2015, 05:09:38 AM
One big advantage of alcohol is that the grain doesn't raise as much as with water. 

PPatch,  I fly by the seat of my pants a lot more than most would think...  Keeps things entertaining!
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Squirrel pizza on November 10, 2015, 06:01:02 AM
Just as I thought, you've been talking to my father! He always said, "I could tell you but it'll stick better if you figure it out on you're own". A little trial and error. Like the time when I put the paper clip in the electric outlet. I do choose to accept this mission, hopefully it doesn't self destruct as forcefully as the paper clip.
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jerry V Lape on November 10, 2015, 08:36:59 AM
I was fortunate to have attended one of his classes.  He clearly is "One with the Grain" and has the sharpest chisels and gouges on the planet.  The cuts I observed him making on background really required very little further work to my eye. His eye sight is clearly superior to mine because he pointed out detail which I couldn't see even with magnivisor. He is clearly driven by the love of the artistic aspects of the work which shows through in the carving especially. 
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: cmac on November 10, 2015, 03:27:48 PM
Amazing carving!!!!
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: pushboater on November 10, 2015, 08:09:57 PM
Beautiful work Jim. Love your work!
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: flatsguide on November 11, 2015, 04:02:06 AM
Jim,
Fine work indeed! I really like the way the overlapping carving on the patch box lid flows into the forward portion of the lid.
Regards, Richard
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: natureboy396 on November 13, 2015, 04:59:12 AM
Simply incredible... Jim
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: fm tim on November 16, 2015, 10:12:00 PM
I once asked the late Don Getz who he thought was the best carver, and with no hesitation he said Jim Kibler.
Title: Re: Some Recent Carving
Post by: Jeff Peters on November 17, 2015, 10:19:40 PM
That's just pretty
Nice job

Jeff