Fitting the Head

I may have already carved too much of the arms. I rounded the shoulders, but that should be saved until they've been glued to the body so I can blend them realistically to the body. So I decided to STOP and move on to checking the fit of the head to the body.

I'm keeping the arms nearby so once the head gets close to fitting the way I want, I can check all the parts in place. This is a fairly tedious process, with a lot of undercutting here and there and checking the fit over and over.

Once the head and arms fit and look about ready to glue, I can take care of some other areas first. So the head and arms take a nap while I focus on getting the boots carved and work on getting some long vertical folds in the coat. Both tasks will be more easily done before gluing on the other parts. Time to view some more reference photos.

Fabric Folds

The whole idea behind carving parts separate is so the tough-to-get-to spots can be carved and painted. This is exceptionally helpful when working on arms, where it can get very tight under and toward the armpit. trying to carve this are out of one piece will often be a source of frustration and unhappiness for the less-than-expert carver - me. So, I am working on the arms today and, before taking too much material away, I will start on the fabric folds. This is a new area of detail for me. I have only made a few serious attempts at carving folds. I started doing some research as to how folds form and look. With my first attempt, I made three serious, novice mistakes. First - I carved the figure to "finished"  dimensions which didn't leave enough enough material to work with when I didn't like some of the folds. Second - I carved way too many folds. It's best to keep details like this simplified for the best overall effect. Less is more. Third - Worst of all, I didn't use reference photos and later realized many of the folds were running in the wrong direction.

After that failed attempt, I decided to do a little fold and wrinkle study. I started studying the clothes on people to see where folds formed and the direction they went. I observed different fabrics present folds very differently. Jean folds look very different than sweatshirt folds. Heavy sweaters look very different than light weight ones. For obvious reasons, folds appear in very different places for men and women, but the folds near certain areas are the same. Lastly, loose fitting clothes show folds differently than tighter fitting ones. The point is, you want to reference the actual fabric with the one you're trying to represent. I found unlimited photo references on the internet. Search Google Images with words like: shirt, jacket, robe ... whatever, and get a lot of good material. Online clothing stores have some of the best ones. I also found, for the purposes of carving, drawings of folds to be the best reference. They're simplified, like we want to do when carving folds.  Many artists have blogs with good fabric folds posts. Some even explain why and where folds form. Lastly, when I couldn't find a reference to match the position of the body part or article of clothing I needed, I handed my daughter the camera and directed her to snap me in various poses. I did some photo editing and put together a personal
catalog of reference photos that will last me for some time.

Carving the first pass on the arm, I'm using my Denny 3/4" detail knife. Then I'll clean it up and smooth the folds with a small gouge and Denny 5/16" V-tool. It has a nice rounded bottom which is appealing on folds. Maybe I'll do a more detailed tutorial on carving folds someday, when I've master it!

Positioning Arms

Looking at the blank for the body, I can see the angle will leave the arms too close to the body. I want something a little more realistic, so I headed to my belt sander ( mounted on it's side in a vise) and set out to increase the angle of the flat spot on the body. Once I got the left side the way I wanted, I knew I would want this angle the same on both sides, so I used my trusty carpenter bevel to check the angle.

I decided, for the scale of this figure, a flat surface about the size of a quarter would be plenty of glue surface to hold the arm in place, with the added assistance of a 1/4 dowel. I will have to be sure not to touch this area on both arms and body while I shape them later.
A small drafting square and some practical shop geometry helps me locate the center of each circle. After the fact, I realize I could layout the circles with a compass and I'd already have my centers, but the coin method was better for me in positioning the arms to the body.

Next I drill holes and cut dowels to length.  Doing this at this stage of work allows me to accurately position the arms as I work, checking their appearance and position. When it comes time to glue them, I'll know exactly where they should be. Once the underside is carved to completion, I'll glue the arms of and carve the shoulders and glue line.

Laying Out the Body

I took a few days off from Santa to carve a few quick ornaments. I also made some adjustments to the head. I wasn't at all happy with the eyes, so I carved them off and will start again.  As long as you don't carve the original sockets too deep, you can usually make minor corrections. Anyway, on to the body. I went through some reference materials I have collected and chose a Santa with a long coat, open to see layers below. I found a nice picture with Santa wearing a vest with some interesting pattern - a painting challenge! My Santa body has already been roughed out and is about 8 1/2" tall. The photo is somewhat smaller, so I went into Photoshop and scaled it up to the right size. Next I put in some horizontal reference lines at key locations on the figure. I printed a hard copy so I could use my trusty dividers to transfer measurements onto the blank. Once I'm satisfied with those layout lines, I can head off to the roughout jig to get rid of some excess material quickly and safely. This saves a lot of the hand fatigue which I would expect if I did all this work with a bench knife.

Third Hand Modifications

After working on a few different project over the weekend and trying the jig with large and small blanks, I decided to make a few additions. I kept having to move the loose piece of foam pad around too much and it never seemed to stay in place. So I cut a bunch more and glued them to the jig. I also found that clamping to jig to the bench was not good for me. I came very close to nicking my large gouge. Since I prefer working at my bench, which is outfitted with a vice, I screwed a block to the bottom of the jig so I can just camp it that way. I made the block wide enough so I could fit my hand up through the vise to feed the hold-down straps. Last I added a stop block on one end to help keep the work from sliding. I only screwed this - no glue - just in case I decide to remove them for any reason. This allows me to use even less force on the hold-down straps. I don't need clamps now, so the jig is safer and more efficient than ever. Best of all, the modifications cost me $0.

Santa's Head

Well, I'm already in trouble! I've started on the head and if you look close, you'll see the eyes are a little off and. from the back, one ear is lower than the other. I thought I was being careful, but not enough I guess. I took some off the top of one ear, which helped a little. I might have to re-work the eyes though.

A Third Hand

Cutting a carving blank on a band saw still leaves a lot of material to be removed. It becomes unsafe to try to hack off all the corners with a band saw, so I turn to my large sculpting gouges. These guys are big and they take off extra material fast. But I need a  vice or clamps to hold the work in place. Often they slip off and they can damage the wood. Plus I have to worry about hitting a clamp with my gouge and chipping the edge.

This contraption is a solution to not having a third hand!  It is a little jig made from some scrap plywood, a couple of bicycle inner tubes and some padding. This device can also be a good helper device for roughing out blanks for carvers who don't own a band saw. I cut a couple slots in the plywood and found some foam rubber laying around the shop. For hold down "clamps" I chose some old bike inner tubes - free from a local bike repair shop. You could also use an old belt or strap or even a length of rope. Clamp down the jig to saw horses or a bench or table top. Feed the straps up through the slots.

Lay the carving blank under the strap loops and place some pads under the wood. Now all you have to do is put your foot through the loops and apply pressure to hold down. You can easily apply as much pressure as you need to offset the force of carving. When you need to rotate the blank, just let up on the foot pressure and adjust. Very fast and simple. It can be made to work standing or sitting down. Best of all, no dents in the wood and no worry about hitting a metal clamp with one of your tools. If you cut the rubber tube - so what? I find this jig to be very flexible and the technique removes wood fast! You have both hands on the tool and with most woods, you don't need to use a mallet.