LIWCA OPEN CARVING WEDNESDAYS 2010

(Corrected as of 1/9/10)

JAN, 27
FEB, 17
MAR, 24
APR, 28
MAY, 19
JUN, 16

SUMMER BREAK

SEP, 15
OCT, 27
NOV, 24
DEC, 15

LIWCA 2010 MEETING DATES

LIWCA MEETING DATES 2010 (Corrected as of 1/9/10)

JAN 12
FEB 9
MAR 9
APR 13
MAY 11
JUN 8

SUMMER BREAK

SEP 7
OCT 12
NOV 9
DEC 14

2011 TO BE ANNOUNCED

Open Carving

The next Open carving night is
Dec 23, 2009 ! Hope you can make it.

Dick Milligan Exhibit

Noted cartoonist Dick Milligan (a member of our club) will have an exhibit for the month of December at the Islip Public Library. The presentation will have a Christmas theme featuring carvings and sketches by Dick. Great place to take your spouse, grandchildren or children!

The Islip Public Library

71 Monell Avenue, Islip, N.Y. 11751

www.isliplibrary.org

LIBRARY HOURS

Monday – Thursday 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Friday – Saturday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sunday 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

(September – May)

For a link as to what part Dick Milligan played in designing the "TOMCAT" logo click link: http://www.grummanpark.org/tomcatlogo.htm

Open Carving UPDATE...

The next OPEN CARVING night will be Wednesday 11.25.09
No carving Wednesday 11.18.09

Carving Tip:

Here is a tip from another carver:

"I worked for a fire training agency where we used boiled linseed oil to finish the wooden handles on the fire axes.

Polyurethane or shellac finishes would bubble and/or melt when exposed to the heat of a fire.

When using boiled linseed oil (or any oil and petroleum based finish) be cautious about saturating piles of sawdust or rags with it. It is subject to spontaneous combustion.

If you use rags, make sure to hand wash them good with soap and water then air dry
outside, or store them in sealed metal containers." Daniel Starbuck

Thanks Daniel! Good advice for certain!

CARVE A TREE TRUNK

Ed Goodwin IV (Skip's son) has a friend who is looking to have a tree
trunk carved into something but the challenge is it has to be in the
ground while its being carved to make it part of his property. If you
know anyone that would be interested in this project contact and get
details at:
longislandcorgisociety@yahoo.com

REMINDER !!! Calling all interested carvers...

This Wednesday 10.28.09 at 7 P.M. is OPEN Carving at the Massapequa Club House. Last month we had ten carvers carving and sharing ideas...can we break this number....COME ON DOWN AND CARVE.
Ed

This Weekend...what an opportunity!

ONLY - 2 spots open in Stu Martin's seminar this weekend 10/09 - 10/11.


Friday (optional) 6PM - 9PM Sat 9 - 5
Sun 9 - 5

Cost is $175
We'll be carving anything he does - Mountain men,
Native American busts,
Santas. Call Frank Barry at 631-981-2758.

Stu Martin website: http://www.stumartin.com/

Good Deal on Wood

Basswood Natural Edge Slabs:
Basswood is a soft textured white wood with very little grain. Ideally suited to relief carving. chip carving and pyrography.

Basswood Boutique Tissue Boxes:
Great for chip carving,
Shallow relief carving,
and Pyoragraphy!

Questions? Contact Skip G!

Open Carving

Tonight at the club house will be open carving...come on down and get some help on your projects.

The Bayard Cutting Arboretum Show

Our club went to the The Bayard Cutting Arboretum Show on 9.12.09, 9.13.09
Thanks to all who helped: Frank, Ed S., Roy, Helmut, and Skip at the show and a BIG THANKS to all who loaned us exhibits for the show.
(If your name should be listed please contact me or Frank and we will be happy to include you.

September Meeting 2009

We had a great meeting renewing friendships after the summer. On the right are pictures from the meeting.
Reminder we need book, knives, old tools, wood etc. for the Dark Horse !!!
Reminder A Memorial Service for Edward Carey
September 26, 2009 at 1:00 PM
St Peter's Lutheran Church
2332 Grand Avenue
Baldwin, NY 11510
You are invited to join in the celebration of his life.
Reminder Stu Martin workshop see Frank Barry.
Reminder dues are due $20.00 see Skip Goodwin.

Welcome back!! We’re looking forward to another good year for the LIWCA! Step up and help out with something this year. Thanks!!!!

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: Hello! I hope you all had a good summer! The weather wasn’t the best, but sometimes that means there is more time for carving. This will be my 7th year as the president. That means you either like what I’m doing or no one is motivated enough to run. I operate on the principle that you like what I’m doing. I do feel invigorated for this year. I just got back from two beach vacations and I stopped at the Ward Wildfowl Museum in Salisbury MD. They have some awesome bird carvings there and I may try a few later in the year.

We have had more people helping out in the last year or two and we seem to be able to get a decent stride going, even in the face of declining memberships in clubs like ours. We had many good meetings last year. I am looking forward to another great year for the LIWCA. Please make an effort to come down and participate – that is the key to a healthy club! Keep Carving! Frank

June meeting: This was a carving meeting. We also had a very productive business meeting session. During this session, we voted on a couple of issues. As expected, the Competition drives down the Treasury and we have approximately $200.00 to start the year. A motion was raised to increase the dues to $20.00 as they have not been increased in many years. The motion was voted on and carried. We also had a motion to stop the practice of awarding prize money for the competition. This was voted on and passed 22 to 5. We should be in okay financial shape for the year. Please continue to support the 50/50 and the dark horse, because after dues, that is our only income.

We held our annual elections in June and the slate of officers shown above were all voted back in. However, Phil Gonsowski has indicated that he has been doing the library for many years now and he is ready for someone else to take over. We’re waiting for someone to step in. Pete Battaglia said that he has been handling the coffee for four years and due to some time constraints, he might not be able to do it this year. No one stepped up, so we may or may not have coffee at the future meetings. We’ll see what happens in September – note that we may have a “taker” for this one already. That’s a good sign of cooperation and we haven’t even started yet!

We also presented the Joe Cella award for the year. Roger Schroeder made the presentation of our traditional plaque to Skip Goodwin. Roger again noted that each year, the “right” person seems to win the award and I have to agree. Skip has been very active in the club lately and he has obtained all of that excellent basswood and is selling it at a great price while donating $1 to the club for each piece bought. In addition, he has been active in donating carvings to the veterans at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital. THANK YOU SKIP FOR ALL YOU DO – CONGRATULATIONS!

Seminar News – Stu Martin will be here on October 9th, 10th and 11th. We will carve on Friday night from 6 PM to 9 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 5. Stu will carve any of his roughouts. Frank Barry has been contacting those who signed up for full payments or deposits. The cost of the seminar will be $175. We’ll have a maximum of 12 in the class. Please let me know a/s/a/p if you are signed up and may not make it. Also let me know if you want to be on the waiting list. Somehow, every year, we manage to work it out where all who are on the waiting list get in to the class. I should note that of the 12 people who took the seminar last year – ALL 12 SIGNED UP AGAIN!!! That speaks volumes about the quality of the instruction and the value of the carving. See Frank Barry for details.

September Event - I have also committed us to setting up an exhibit at the Fall Festival at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale in September. I’m looking for a few more people to help out and for some carvings to display. I’m particularly interested if you have a cypress knee carving that you can lend us for the weekend. No sales allowed though. I have to have our diplay plans approved, so see Frank Barry soon if you want to participate.

September Meeting: This will be a combination carving meeting and we will have a presentation. We will have a presentation on finishes using some specific techniques and some finishing items will be for sale.

Sad news: Ed Carey, a member of the club for several years passed away on 08/09/09 after a lengthy bout with cancer. Ed was a welcome addition to our club and he was pretty outspoken about a few issues. One thing that I remember about Ed was how much he wanted us to help out with the restoration of Nunley’s carousel a few years ago, but he got sick and couldn’t pursue this at the time. He attended a meeting at the end of 2008 and presented Joel with a gnome hat in appreciation of some of the things that Joel taught him over the years. He will be missed!

MISC:
• Ed Conti’s contact info is: 516-799-1684 or by email to liwca_club@yahoo.com
• This years dues are being increased to $20 based on a vote in June. Due now.
• Thanks to Charles LaMorgese for running the dark horse and Steve Aguanno for the 50/50.
• Skip Goodwin acquired some excellent basswood plaques and wood and is offering it to you for a great price. He is also donating $1 per piece to the club. See Skip for details.

Meeting Dates for the calendar year: **= change from the normal date you would expect

Tuesday club meetings:
09/08/09
10/13/09
11/10/09
12/08/09

Wednesday “open carving meetings”:
09/16/09
10/21/09
11/18/09
12/16/09

Memorial Service for Edward Carey

A Memorial Service for Edward Carey
September 26, 2009 at 1:00 PM
St Peter's Lutheran Church
2332 Grand Avenue
Baldwin, NY 11510
You are invited to join in the celebration of his life.

Refreshments afterwards

FREE Color Chart

Below is a link to a downloadable color chart from Delta Craft Products...

Color Comparison Chart from Delta Creamcoat CLICK HERE

BLAST FROM THE PAST ... 1979

The above article about the club's competition was in Chip Chats
March-April 1979.
Al Maone

(Click on picture and it will enlarge)

Thank you Al, if anyone else has something the club might appreciate or be interested in please send it to...Ed

September Program 2009

Our September program will feature:
Bob Bein and
Mike Bein of
E.B.S. Finishing
With over 75 years of experience they will be demonstrating stains and finishes with aerosol and spray cans. Bring your questions and tips you use to share with the club.

Get Ready for A New Year of Carving

Summer is winding down and our New Year starts next month...
Reminder our dues are $20.00 for the year. Be sure to see Skip Goodwin at our next meeting.

Woodcarver Online Magazine

Friends in Carving -

The July/August issue of Woodcarver Online Magazine is now available at http://carverscompanion.com/. Once there click on the WOM logo.

Included in this issue:


•Dollywood '08 Wood Carving Showcase Report and Gallery

*Wood Carvers Roundup (MI) 2009

*"This is your basswood . . ."

*"Ol' Don's Drawing Table

*Pete LeClair's "Amory"

*Events, Happenin's and Going's-on


Coming up in Part II

VCS Project Announcement

A book review or two

Enjoy!...Matt Kelley: Woodcarver, E-zine Editor

Condolences...Ed Carey

Condolences are extended to the family of Ed Carey who passed on Aug. 9, 2009.
Memorial will be at a later date.

Wood Carving Tools for the Beginning Galoot

By Mike Gabor

A galoot is a hand tool aficionado, specifically old hand tools. They prefer muscle power over horse power. Some times finding and restoring old hand tools are more of a drive then wood working it’s self. Old wood carving tools are a great find and when lovingly restored can last for many more years.

The galoot community includes, but is not restricted to, collectors of old tools. The only qualification for being a galoot is a love of hand tools (especially older hand tools) and a willingness to admit that this love may seem odd or unexplainable to others. By extension, galoots are often interested in old methods of achieving wood or metal work. For example, it is not uncommon for a galoot to create a replacement tool handle with a spokeshave, to resaw a plank with a frame saw, or even to forge and temper his or her own chisels. According to wikipedia.

The following is basic list of Galoot hand tools.

Wooden Mallet

A wood mallet is important to use so you don’t damage your tools. You can make your own or find one in a garage sale or similar place.

Chisels (Morticing, Paring)

Many chisels can be found at flea markets and antique stores. The Morticing chisel is hit with the mallet and used for cutting across the grain. Thy paring chisel is used for more delicate work by taking thin shavings from the work piece.

Measuring and Marking tools

Accuracy is one of the chief hallmarks of good woodworking. Stay true to your cuts and to your love of hand tools with a combination square - look for fine machining and deep etch markings. A try square will get you into smaller spaces and is important for furniture making. A sliding bevel will help you transfer accurate angles from one working piece of wood to another. Folding rulers have been mostly replaced by the tape measure. Don’t let that bother you - use your folding wood rule with pride. Marking knives, gauges, and awls will keep your fine cuts as accurate as possible.

Plane (Block, Smoothing, Jack, Jointer)

Planes smooth the surface of your work piece. The block plane is for shearing off the end grain of your piece, the smoothing plane is for very small shavings, the jack plane smoothes with more blade depth. The jointer plane is a long plane used for flattening the joint face of a board.

Brace and Bit and Hand Drill

The brace and bit are used for drilling larger holes in the wood. While the hand drill is used for smaller holes.

Saws (rip, crosscut, coping)

Saw teeth are designed for different cutting applications. The rip saw is used to cut down the length of the grain. The crosscut saw as its name applies is used for cutting across the grain. While the coping blade is small and maneuverable are cutting intricate designs.

Tool Box and Workbench

With your new found interest in the galoot lifestyle the first thing for you to build should be your tool box and workbench. There is nothing like working on a custom made bench exactly to your liking that you can build on to as your collection grows.

I hope this gave you a nice introduction to the galoot lifestyle and their use of wood carving tools.

Two by Four and More

I've wondered how lumber sizes came to be, but I had never encountered a history of why or how.
I came across a document produced by the U.S. Forest Service entitled History of Yard Lumber Size Standards (September 1964). While this article is 45 years old, it contains an interesting history of when and why lumber was reduced from the common nomenclature (2x4, for instance) to the actual sizes used today.
Click HERE for article

Must Have Telephone Number

Here's a number worth putting in your cell phone or your home phone speed dial: 1-800-goog411 or 1-800-466-4411. This is a service from Google, and it's free -- great when you are on the road. Don't waste your money on information calls and don't waste your time manually dialing the number. I am driving along in my car and I need to call the golf course and I don't know the number. I hit the speed dial for information that I have programmed (1-800-goog411). The voice at the other end says, "Say the name of the business and the City & State." You say, "Parker Plastic, Sand Springs, OK." He says, 'Connecting' and Parker Plastic answers the phone. How great is that? This is nationwide and it is absolutely free! Works on cell and landline phones.

Go to link below and watch the short clip for a quick demonstration.

http://www.google.com/goog411/

Joe Cella Award 2009

The "Joe Cella Award" for outstanding service, 2009 was given to
Skip Goodwin! Congratulations!!!

I Can See Clearly Now

Woodcarving Illustrated Issue #4 Page 20

Tip submitted by John Mignone, a frequent contributor to Wood Carving Illustrated.

In any dust-producing environment, dust sticking to eye glasses is a problem. To solve this, purchase anti-static sheets that you normally throw into your clothes dryer. Rub the lenses with a sheet. It will leave a greasy looking coating. Then rub the lenses with a tissue until clear. Your eyes will stay dust-free for hours.

Another problem with eye glasses comes with fogging. This is especially common when moving between areas of contrasting temperatures and when wearing a dust mask. Anti-fog creams are hard to come by and greatly overpriced. Simply put a drop of any liquid hand soap on each lens and smear it around. Rub with a tissue until clear. This will give you hours of fog-free vision.

How To Judge A Carving

CARVING SHOW JUDGING CRITERIA

From CHIP CHATS Jan.-Feb., 1989, Page 25

Carving should be judged on seven elements and be given points on a scale equal to the percentage shown in the table at the bottom of this page.

Creativity -- Having the power to originate or create; to bring into, or cause to come into existence; to make out of nothing (Artistic style or composition which enhances the nature of the piece).

Originality -- The quality of being new or novel; the ability to create or make something new; inventiveness (Newness or freshness of design).

Finish -- To complete, bring to an end, polish, the final touches given to a work (Paint, stain, polish, etc., which are the final touches given to a project).

Execution -- Performance; the act or manner of carrying anything into effect, completion (Rendition of detail, cleanness of cuts)

Complexity -- The state of being intricate or involved; something intricate (The amount of detail included in the project).

Realism -- The tendency to concern oneself with actuality or fact; the practice of presenting people or things as they are in real life without idealization (True to life).

Presentation -- The act, manner, or state of introducing, offering or bringing to consideration (Over-all effect of project on audience; environment supporting carved or detailed pieces).

The following percentages were assigned to each of the seven points.

	Abstract	Chip	Caricature	Realistic Or Stylized Carving
Creativity	25%	10%	20%	25%
Originality	15%	15%	20%	10%
Finish	10%	15%	20%	10%
Execution	10%	10%	10%	25%
Complexity	10%	10%	10%	25%
Realism	10%	25%	5%	0%
Presentation	20%	15%	15%	5%
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%

Note: Some judges start with a total number of points equal to the percentage assigned to the category, then subtract points if need be in each category as they judge. To assign the total score, they will total the number subtracted, then subtract that number from 100.

Wood Carving for Beginners

Dedication: Carving is not like collecting stamps, its more like golf or tennis or flying radio control airplanes. To be successful, it takes a bit of determination and dedication and commitment.

Clubs: You don’t have to join a club to be successful, but it surely helps. Club members are always willing to teach a newcomer the ropes and you can make great friends. The Colewood site lists clubs all over the USA: http://www.woodburning.com/clubs.htm

What do I carve? Where do I find plans? There are hundreds of plan books available. They come in a soft cover 81/2 by 11 format. Most of these books will give detailed instructions, plans and step by step photos, painting instructions for a subject such as carving clowns or Santas or bears, etc. For sources, see supplier paragraph. Some suppliers sell 3 view blue prints for a whole range of subjects. Another good source is wood carving magazines. See the magazine paragraph. If you are in a hurry to get started, you can try the local library which might have a small selection of carving books.

Magazines: Wood Carving Illustrated: www.carvingworld.com (order on line) or 800-457-9112. A very good magazine, has plans with complete instructions, articles on techniques like sharpening, painting, wood types.

Chip Chats: National Woodcarvers association: www.chipchats.org (register on line) Mostly information on wood carving shows, some plans, membership includes the magazine.

Enlarging plans: Most plans will be less than full size. No problem. The copying machines at Kinkos or Staples enlarge up to 400% and have 11 by 14 paper. Sometimes you will need to make a few shots and then piece the sheets together for a big enlargement. That’s probably not news to you, but it always amazes me, since when I started, you had to manually enlarge the plans with graph paper and a pencil. You don’t have to enlarge to the size the author specifies. If you can’t get a block of wood that big or the piece is to big for your mantel, make it a bit smaller.

Suppliers: There are dozens of companies with catalogues that you can order from by mail or telephone. The larger ones also have a web site. A few of the larger suppliers also have a limited number of retail outlets. You might want to deal with two or three, since each one has strengths and weaknesses. I’ve listed some of the suppliers I have dealt with below:

Woodcraft is my main supplier, good with blocks of wood, carving tools, sharpening equipment and equipment for woodworkers like router bits and table saws: 800-225-1153, www.woodcraft.com

Wood Carvers Supply, Inc. 800-284-6229 strictly for carvers, tools, books, wood, plans, eyes, feet

CraftWoods, 800-468-7070 another strictly for carvers, plans, cutouts or blanks, books, tools, eyes, feet, painting supplies

What kind of wood to use: Basswood, a white fairly soft wood is the best for carvings you are going to paint. It is not expensive compared to other carving woods and readily available from carving suppliers. It doesn’t pay to use lumber yard wood considering the time and effort you are putting in. Tupulo is similar to bass, about the same price but not as readily available. If you want a beautiful piece of wood for a natural finish, Honduras mahagony or butternut are good.

Making blanks (also called cutouts): Chain saw carvers and whittlers take a block of wood and chop away until they release the animal in the wood. For us amateurs, starting with a blank is a lot easier. A blank is a piece of wood cut to the profile of the piece you are carving. Typically for a person, it will be the front profile and for and animal, the side profile. An even better blank will be cut to two profiles.

Use carbon paper or transfer paper to draw the plan on the blank You could also glue the pattern to the blank with spray contact cement. Give some thought to the grain. For a deer, you’d want the grain to run the length of the legs.

You can cut out the blank with a coping saw or a saber saw or a scroll saw, but it is not easy. If you are a serious carver, eventually you will want to get a band saw. It makes cutting blanks a pleasure. Band saws range in price from $150 on up. The main variables in bandsaws are the capacity and the quality. The most important capacity measure is the thickness of wood the band saw can cut. The quality relates to how easily you can adjust the saw, how well it holds its adjustments, how straight and true it cuts and how long it lasts. Get the best band saw you can afford, it is a lifetime investment.

If you want to cut both profiles, first cut one profile, then tack the scrap pieces back on with a few drops of glue, trace the other profile on, cut out and then knock off the glued on pieces.

You can buy ready cut blanks. The suppliers that deal strictly with wood carving supplies carry them. There are kits available for ducks and birds that include the blank, glass eyes, cast feet, instructions and even paint. Sometimes authors will offer blanks for their plans.

Holding Carving: You can hold a small carving in your hand while you work with your carving knife. It’s a good idea to wear a kelvar glove on the holding hand. See supplier’s catalogs. For larger carvings, where you want to use chisels and gouges, some sort of holding device promotes safety and ease of work. If you have extra money, the supplier’s catalogs have all sorts of patent holding devices. I’ll screw a block of wood onto the base of my carving and hold the block in a bench vise while I wield my chisels. A bench vise is an essential investment for any shop. Get a nice size vise (a 4 inch jaw is good) and bolt it securely to your workbench. Another trick I use is to get a ¾ or 1 inch dowel about two feet long, bore about a 1 inch deep hole in the base of the carving and glue the dowel in place. You can now clamp the dowel in the vise at any angel or height you want for easy carving. When you are finished, simply cut the dowel off flush with the base of the carving.

Tools: You’re not going to find good wood carving tools in a hardware store. The easiest way is to buy them from the catalogs. You can power carve using a flexible shaft tool with grinding bits or you can use hand tools. Hand tools would be best for beginners. That doesn’t mean that experts don’t use them. It’s a personal decision.

Hand Tools: Hand tools break down into knives and chisels. You can do a lot of carving with a simple knife. A good penknife will do, but you are better off with a carving knife with a fixed blade and a comfortable wooden handle. They run from $20 to $40 apiece.

Chisels can be variations on flat, skew, gouges, or vee. Prices are all over the map. You can spend $30 for a set of 5 chisels or a single Swiss made chisel. Buy the best you can afford. The better chisels come in an infinite number of variations. Take a gouge for example. There can be 8 sweeps ( amount of curvature) and a dozen widths from .5 mm to 30 mm. Some people are happy with one or two gouges and others have to have them all.

Sharpening: It’s a pain, but even the best Swiss made chisel will soon become an expensive paperweight if you don’t keep it sharp. A beginner doesn’t need heavy duty power grinding tools. With good tools, its just a question of maintaining the edge. Get a fine diamond stone. It lasts forever, cuts like the devil and doesn’t need messy lubricant. In addition you want a good leather strop and some honing compound to get that perfect edge. Woodcraft has a 2 inch by 6 inch fine diamond stone.They have a real nice Rick Butz strop with two sides, an angle and a round edge. Compound tube needed as well.

Power Carving: One bit of wisdom: If you can’t carve with hand tools, power tools aren’t going to make you any better. I never owned a Dremel tool, but I don’t think they are much use for power carving. The basic tool is a flexible shaft tool like the Foredom. Its consists of a motor that you hang up like a plasma bottle with a flexible shaft 2 or 3 feet long with a small hand piece/chuck at the end. You also have a variable speed control/on off switch. There are many types of cutting bits, stones, carbide, diamond, ruby, high speed steel, etc. Each type comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and degrees of coarseness. It’s been my experience that even the coarsest of these bits, a large structured carbide bit doesn’t remove wood very fast. The diamond and ruby bits are for microscopic detailing on bird carvings.

For faster wood removal, use the Arbortech. It is a wheel with chainsaw like teeth that mounts on a angle grinder. There are standard Arbortech of 4 inch diameter and a “mini” Arbortech of 2 inch diameter. A skilled user can do fast wood removal or fairly fine detail with an Arbortech.

Just for completeness, I’ll mention the chainsaw. A beginner is just as likely to cut off his leg as the wood he is working on, but there are chainsaw artists who make beautiful large carvings from logs.

Finishing: Natural: If your carving is made of a nice piece of walnut or cherry or butternut, a natural finish is the best bet. Linseed oil or a clear Danish oil finish is very easy to apply. Even white woods like basswood or pine can be given a “natural” finish using stains like Minwax. Staining carvings can be tricky. Unlike furniture, carvings have a lot of end grain which soaks up more stain than the side grain giving a very uneven finish.

Acrylics: Most beginners will want to paint their carvings. Some carvers use oil paints, but acrylics which can be thinned with water are far easier to use. Leave the acrylics in tubes for artists, the paint in bottles are fine. You can get the traditional artist’s colors like cadmium red medium or burnt umber in bottles from Liquitex. Craft colors from companies like Delta Ceramcoat are less expensive and come in colors like Christmas Green, Pinecone Brown, etc. Some carvers like to use the acrylics very thin to achieve an “antique” effect.

Brushes: Maybe it’s just me, but the only decent brush I’ve ever had was a sable brush. Sable brushes are VERY expensive, but they last forever and the round ones hold a beautiful point.

Classes:The best way to get a lot of knowledge in a short time is to take a class. A three day class given by an expert might run $150. Usually, the entire class will be devoted to carving one project and the teacher will provide the blanks and the drawings. You bring the tools. The best way to find out about classes is to belong to a club, since the classes are usually sponsored by a club.

by Jerry Silverbus

Welcome to the Long Island Wood Carvers Association website

Meeting Place:
North Massapequa Community Center at
214 North Albany Ave. Massapequa,NY 11758
(516) 755-1841

We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM (except for July and August). The third Wednesday of each month at 7:00PM (except July and August) we meet for Open Carving, and share tips and idea for carving.

Our next meeting is scheduled for September 8, 2009

Questions: contact us at - liwca_club@yahoo.com