Table legs

[Mark Yundt]

I'm "cross pollinating" again. I'm primarily a woodcarver, but again, I thought you might like to see the table legs I'm making . I posted these on the carvers thread as Ball & Claw, naw, Trunk and Tusk!
These pieces are Walnut and will be the legs for an Island unit. Two of the pieces have conduit running up the center of the trunks for electrical power.
They'll fit on the island unit at a 45 degree angle with the ears laying a bit over each side.
There are also small heads I'm carving as well that will be used with corbels I'm making to support the range hood.
I started with a clay model to show the clients as well as act as my prototype to take measurements from.
These aren't finished at this point and are only roughed in as I'm now starting on the details . The clay model is also shown here.
Hope you enjoy.
Mark

[alex grams]

holy expletive!

VERY impressive. Makes my fan or shell carvings look elementary to say the least.

Without divulging too much if you don't want to, how many hours does that take per piece?

What other mediums do you work in other than wood? A skill that developed should transfer pretty well to other carving mediums.

How do you plan on finishing them? Do you have any sketches of the final product and how you are using them?

[Mark Yundt]

Hello Alex, thanks for the compliments.
Speaking of Shell carvings I've done quite a few as well. I love doing them. Currently I have a bid out to carve 4 pcs. for corner cabinets. The shells will be in Cherry, 32 inches wide and 16 inches deep. The largest shell I've carved was nearly 4 ft across with a 2 ft depth. I like glue ups!
Time? Not really sure. From the rough lumber to this point I have about a week and a half in them. I don't price by the hour. I price by the piece.It usually (?) works out better that way. And as far as calculating the cost of materials, ,,,I don't bother with that as well. Really, the price of the wood is a minor factor.
I only comment on this as the usual question or thought in the back of most peoples mind is " How do you calculate a price / time on pieces you do?"
The short answer is " I don't"
Most types of work requires calculating time, materials etc.and some formula to multiply to get a final price. That doesn't work with what I do.
Other mediums I do find interesting. I just can't find the time. Then too I figure, stick to what you do best. And wood seems to be what I do best and has the broadest appeal . Other types of carving would primarily be in stone of some sort. And the basic need of carving is to be able to see the object in the medium. So it only comes down to how you go about removing the waste essentially. Carving to me is carving. If I were just a hobbyist, I'd play with all sorts of stuff. But when it comes to making a living I can only spread myself so thin. As it is I tend to be a jack of all trades to give me enough interesting things to tackle.
Though it 's not carving in it's truest sense , I do use clay quite a bit. Sculpting as well is just as much fun. One you remove stock, the other you tend to add stock to make your final piece. I like the shift in mind set. In the background you can see a full size model I made for a carving. It's taken from the Shroud of Turin. All measurements are directly from the Shroud to make this Crucifix.
That was fun.
As far as finishing goes. Well, it's pretty typical of my work to not finish it myself. I can, and I do depending on the job requirements but not in this case. Usually I'm asked to carve a piece. And,, many times they send me the wood as well. I carve it and send it back. There , the cabinet company, designer, Architects have their own finishing people who are working on other segments of the total job. This way the finishes are controlled and match all the other work. That too is the reason they send me the wood instead of me using my own. Variations of color /grain are eliminated and match the other pieces of the total job.
Again, with the way I work, I don't make pieces to sell. I know it can and does work. Carve a piece, finish it, then try and sell it. If I did , the usual questions would fit in. but for 20+ yrs. I've never made a piece to sell.
As far as drawings as to how these will be used. I have the designers sketches of what they wanted and how the kitchen will look. Other than that, and the sketches I produced to show what the legs could look like is about it. Again, it's a matter of how I work. I don't make this stuff to suit my needs. They come to me with a problem , design, or idea and it's up to me to show them how to solve it, then make it.
Makes life easy for me. I don't have to sell a thing. They already have a need , I just fill it with a solution.
This was probably more info than you wanted,Sorry. But short answers leave out too much or are ambiguous.

[Carl Babel]

wow!

I have never carved in wood (at least nothing that I am willing to admit too ), but I have tried modeling in clay before and all I can say is that your ability to capture scale and dimension is nothing short of amazing. Absolutely stunning work!

[Sean Hughto]

Very cool! And very ambitious! That's a lot of carving.

I once carved a female Indian elephant (i.e., no tusks) in cherry as part of a coat rack I made for my daughter when she was small. As a new father, I was concerned that tusks would either be scary or somehow potentially dangerous. Anyway, it pales in comparison to yours, but given that elephant head carving by woodworkers is not likely to come up much, I hope you don't mind if a share a couple pics.

Thanks for posting your work.

[Mark Yundt]

Thank you!
Carl, Stick with ( no pun intended) the clay. Sculpting in any medium is so rewarding. I found my way with some success out of purely a need to see a 3D object. It translates so well to carving. Slightly different mind set, but so helpful. Even if you don't get into carving, keep sculpting. Just playing ,, is a reward in intself.
Sean, Great carving and post all the photos you want!
Why would you say it pales? Took just as much thought , study and inspiration to make yours as it does mine. Mine just happens to be bigger. And actually , I think bigger pieces in general are easier to do than smaller pieces. Smaller work is much more demanding in many respects. You have less room for error . If I shave off an eight of an inch,, doesn't really matter. Whereas , if you took off an eight of an inch,, that could mean a missing ear,, or an eye is gone or half the trunk.
These pieces are actually following a request to carve moldings that featured a series of elephants linked trunk to tail. I too didn't think elephants would come up very often, but in this line of work , you never know. I welcome the opportunity. It's a nice break from all the other animals I've carved ( and had to learn about) as well as the typical Acanthus leaves etc. that are part and parcel to carving.
I'm glad you posted your piece. Thanks!

[Jim Becker]

Well...those are different! And really wonderful work, too.

[gary Zimmel]

That is some real cool work. Thanks for the look see Mark.

[Van Huskey]

Those are AMAZING!!!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mark...incredible work! Thanks for posting. Incredible!

[Abi Parris]

Mark,

Beautiful work! And, please keep posting... your carvings are always superb and a pleasure to view.

[Irvin Cooper]

Jaw-dropping beautiful! I cannot even comprehend how you accomplish such beautiful work. Great, great job!

[Mark Yundt]

Thank you gentlemen!
Sorry for the delay in my response, but I had the opportunity to take another vacation. Well , it was a mini vacation this time, but still great to get away for a bit. Three in a year makes me feel a bit guilty.But if the work is there, and I have the opportunity, well, I'm gone!
Again, thank you for the kind compliments , you're all more than gracious.
Mark

[Dave Houseal]

Fantastic!

Will they send you a picture of the final table when its done? I'd love to see that!

[Mark Yundt]

Hi Dave,
Yeah, I'd like to see it too. They might send me some pics. Sometimes I can get them sometimes I don't. If I get them , I'll post them.
Mark