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  Finishing the wood carving. First, I apply three coats of Enduro-Var. Enduro-Var is a water based urethane made by General Finishes. This seals the wood and provides a slight amber color. Next, I use Shaker maple tinted General Finishes water based stain to add color and depth. This is a meticulous process of brushing on and wiping off the stain to get the desired color and shading effect. The edge is stained slightly darker. The banner will overlap the edge and it will look better this way, if  seen from the side. The banner was sealed with a water based sanding sealer. Then, I applied as many coats of acrylic paint as it took to get an even black while still being able to tell that it is wood underneath. It took many coats of gold in the lettering followed by some touch-up of the black around the edges of the letters. Once the point was done, I applied three coats of General Finishes water based, clear, polyurethane top coat with a satin finish. After carefully measuring the positi

  The carving of the face is completed. Here we see the refinement of the wind. With the shape just right, there is a lot of undercutting to create the strong shadows and visually separate the wind from the concave background. The undercutting is done and the background surface is cleaned up. To create the effect of a deeper, darker background once the finish is applied, the concave background is stippled. Here is a close up of the stippling effect on the background. Next up, carving the letters on the banner that will go over the carving. The lettering is done and here is the banner temporarily clamped to the carving to get a good look at how it will go together.    

 Quite a bit of work has gone into refining the face of Poseidon. For reference, the below this latest photo is one of how the same part of the carving looked at the time of the last post.  All of the progress posts for the Poseidon carving can be found at www.texaswoodcarving.com/search/label/Poseidon .

 Shaping things up on the Poseidon carving. We are getting close to refinement and details.

  A quick updated on the Poseidon carving. Continuing to rough out the face and surrounding forms.      

  The fun begins. Creating lots of wood chip as we start to go from wood slabs towards carved form. Here the wind areas on either side of the face are getting pushed back. With all this wood being cut away, it would be a shame for it to go to waste. The solution? Mulch. This way the wood can return to the earth and help the garden grow without raising land fills. So, here we are so far. You can start to see the forms taking shape.

  Gluing the Poseidon face and wind to get enough depth for the carving. After measuring the right alignment a few times, I apply Titebond glue and hold the layers in place with a couple of clamps. Once pressure is applied, the layers may want to slide a little bit out of place. To help prevent this, I put in a couple of screws to keep it from slipping. The screws are placed in spots that will be carved down low enough that the holes will disappear. Once the placement is secure, we need lots of pressure. The spots where the clamps press the wood on top will be carved away. Wood blocks or strips are used on the back to protect the wood from the clamps. After over 24 hours passed, the clamps are removed and carving can begin.

This is the first post for a new carving featuring a relief of Poseidon. Here is the design sketch. To get started, we need some glued-up slabs of two-inch basswood.  The carving will be deeper than two inches. I will cut out the raised central area and banner to glue to the desired depth. So, I need to layout the shapes that will be needed for the layers. Here is a tiled enlargement to help get the approximate placement on the slabs. To help get accurate arches, I'm using a string tied to a screw at the center. The length of the string is adjusted to the radius of each concentric arch. Here is one of the basswood slabs with the pattern drawn on. Time to go to the Dallas Makerspace to cut the pieces on the band saw. The pieces are rough cut and laid out to get an idea of how it will go together. Next up, gluing the central raised area to the background. Stay tuned.

  With all the carving done the Christus Rex needs to be finished. This process involves a lot of step which we will look at with the photos below.  The carving is sealed with three coats of Enduro-Var. Enduro-Var is a water based finish that seals, strengthens and provide a slightly amber color to the basswood.  After the coats of Enduro-Var, the hands are glued in, and the carving is ready to be painted. The color we see here will provide the base color for the face, hands, and feet. Multiple coats of white acrylic are added for the alb and the whites of the eyes. The base brown color for the hair is then applied. Each color needs to dry before the next color goes on to avoid unnecessary blending.    Multiple coats of blue and are used for the chasuble and stole. Gold then goes on for the crown, halo, chasuble, and stole. A very faint touch of red is added to the face to give it a more lifelike appearance and a slightly lighter brown is dry brushed on the hair to give it more depth

  Here are some photos showing the finish process on the cross and the assembly of the cross with the processional staff.    First, a water based pre-stain was applied to the cross. Then, multiple coats of dark walnut stain were applied to get the right depth of color. After the stain, three coats of polycrylic are applied over the stain to protect the finish. The four carvings on the ends of the cross are painted white and gold. The frames of these carvings are also painted with gold.  After the base painting is done, three more coats of polycrylic are applied and then the same stain used on the cross is used to create shadows and greater definition to the carvings on the ends of the cross.   We designed a custom turned and cut staff head to connect the cross to a brass pole. Here is the staff head before any finish is applied.    The staff head was finished with the same dark walnut stain used for the cross and then three coats of polycrylic were applied to the staff head.    The sta

   Here are some photos taken during the carving and assembly of the cross for the Christus Rex. The cross is made from poplar and will be stained dark before all is done to give a better contrast with the figure on the cross.   The vertical and cross bars are cut out and the ends cut to shape with a coping saw as shown in the last post . In this photo, I'm finishing she edges and surfaces with a hand scraper.   Lowering the background for the lamb carving on the left end of the cross bar.    Here is the nearly finished lamb carving.    Carving the chalice and host for the right side of the cross bar.    Now the dove is nearly done on the top of the vertical bar.   Carving the blessing had on the bottom of the cross.    With the carvings on the ends of the cross done, it is time to join the vertical and cross bars. I'm using a Japanese pull saw to make the cross cuts for the joinery.   The joint is cut and ready for assembly.    Dry fitting the cross to make sure the joint is j