Carving in progress.

[David Price]

I,m in the middle of a carving and the thought  occurred to me,   now that I know how to post pictures this mighty be and interesting  subject for the  builders that  never saw a carving in the raw form.  I wish I started the pictures with the pencil drawing but I didn't think of it until it was too late.

One of the pictures shows  a chip that broke out and I blew it away by accident.  I will show how I fix a mistake
like this in the next group of pictures.   Would you believe that this is the first mistake that I ever made.....I didn't think so !   I wouldn't have believed it either.

David Price

[David Price]

photo hosting sites

[wattlebuster]

Wow is the only words that come to my weak mind. WOW

[smylee grouch]

It sure looks like it's going to be another beauty. Do you stab in your outlines?

[BOB HILL]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing.    Bob

[Timothy88]

Thank you for sharing. That is some really nice carving!

[David Price]

Smylee grouch,

Most of the carving is stabbed in with gouges and chisels.  Sometime on a very long line that has a very shallow curve,  I use some kind of a knife.

[SingleMalt]

I'm in awe that you've done such a wonderful job. Are your stabbing chisels and gouges custom shaped, or made?  I'd like to see how it's done.

[J Henry]

 Beautiful,where do you get your patterns/ideas? Again Very Nice.

[oldtravler61]

  David exceptional work. The design is flawless in my eyes. Your idea of a mistake an mine are way different. Thanks for showing..! Oldtravler

[Kingsburyarms]

David - Very NICE!!!! - - Keep Posting the pictures, Great job!!!! -

[n stephenson]

That`s gonna be VERY NICE!!!      Fine work David!!!

[David Price]

Single malt
My stabbing chisels are not custom made.  I use the same chisels and gouges to do carving and wire inlay, and to build the complete rifle.  Good chisels and gouges are quite expensive but there is also a cost in  time  to make them yourself. 

J Henry,
The designs come out of my head, but I must say that looking at all the books and pictures over the last sixty years that I have been building rifles, has certainly influenced me.  I find myself having a tendency to repeat my designs on the next rifle, which is what a lot of the old rifle builders did.  I am trying not to get caught in that same trap.  It is very time consuming to  come up with a completely new design each time,  but that is also part of the  challenge. 

I have had enough interest here on ALR on carving that I intend to post a mini tutorial in the next couple of days.  I think I have enough going here now.

David Price

[Kingsburyarms]

David, do I see a hint of path for some silver wire inlay in the lower right side of the stock?  - I see the lines on the first image, but not the carving - mmmmmm

[David Price]

Old travler61,
The next four pictures are the way I repair a chip. The last two are the gouges and chisels set up ready to go.  They are lined up with progressive radius so I don't have to take the time searching for the correct size.

Kingsburyarms,
Very observant, That wavy line will be incise carving.  The patch box lid will have silver wire around it.

[A.Merrill]

    Some fine work. Did you cut the butt stock molding with chisels, scrapers or a scratch stock .   Al

[Firelock]

That is absolutely beautiful.

[PPatch]

Masterful work Dave and the overall design is top notch. I like the way you cut the leaf eyes, more open than one usually sees. That bottom molding is an eye catcher too.

dave

[mountainman]

Very interesting to see step by step,, thanks for posting

[QuanLoi]

Beautiful work... I don't think I'll live long enough to gain the experience to equal that kind of skill...

[elkhorne]

David,
Another masterpiece as is the norm for you! Beautiful work. The little carving knives you are using in pictures 15, 16 and 17 are very interesting. I have some 1/16" X 1/2" O-1 tool steel. Would that be appropriate to make some of these small carving knives? Can you share the dimensions of these tow knives so we can try to make facsimiles of them. They look very useful for fine carving as long as they are razor sharp so they just slice the wood instead of cutting or sawing it! Hope these questions make since and can help all. Thanks and look forward to watching your progress on this fine piece.
elkhorne

[draken]

All I can say is "Good Grief", and I mean that in an entirely complimentary way.  I'm not certain if I have ever  seen such clean and precise carving.  Fantastic work David!

[David Price]

Elkhorn,
John Bivens made the knife for me about 20 years ago when I took a carving class with him.  Originally it was as big as the bigger one in the picture.  The little tiny one is the one he made.  It was as big as the bigger one that is in the picture.  I have sharpened   it  down to where it is now.  I bought the steel for the one that I made  at Woodcraft.  It may not be on there catalog so ask them for it.  The steel that you have will probably work.   IT MUST BE VERY SHARP.  As the pictures will show, I use it for cutting most of my edges.  I intend on posting a mini tutorial some time this week on carving.

DAVID PRICE

[elkhorne]

David,
Thank you very much. I saw a knife similar to yours in an article in the archives and it probably was an attempt to duplicate Mr. Bivin's design. It looks like it would be really usable for very fine wood removal. Looking forward to your upcoming carving tutorial. I made an attempt to emulate your sharpening jig several years ago and have thought about redoing it to accommodate my "handicap" - being left handed! LOL! I have followed your advice on stones and have my full set of diamond stones and ceramic ones. Thanks for all your inspiration.
elkhorne

[Kingsburyarms]

This is getting better all the time - that knife looks like the perfect "Curve cutter" and you can see it has been sharpened more than once - Great job David, not only on the rifle but on the pictures, the tutorial and the uploads - Nice to see the shop again...

Jon