Cherry Acanthus and Mldgs.

[Mark Yundt]

These are in no particular sequence ,just shots as I was working on this project . There are a variety of Acanthus scrolls which will appear above doorways, cabinets etc. in inset panels. There are roses to be carved which will become medallions in the center of these inset panels. The large carvings are also going over doorways with accompanying Acanthus carvings.
The legs are for a sink (34") and a tall cabinet (84") two of each.
There are also arches that I'm carving to match other moldings that are being used. In the case of the arches I was able to miter the existing molding into the arch and then adjust the spacing of the leaf on leaf design to match perfectly from one miter joint to the other by either stretching or shrinking the pattern I made for the design.
Everything here is just roughed out and needs to be sanded.

[Mark Yundt]

Here are the arches. There are two of these needed and they span 4 ft. with short returns on each side.

[Mark Yundt]

And the start of two Angel Brackets which will be 2 ft tall and approx. 1 ft wide and 7" deep.

[Chuck George]

Mark, thanks for taking the time to post the pics. Always inspiring and I really love the acanthus! Hope you can share some pics of the finished project.

Chuck

[Ryan Mooney]

Really nice work, appreciate you sharing it I could look at stuff like this all day

[Anthony Albano]

Really appreciate seeing your work

[Mark Yundt]

Thanks guys. Most likely I won't get to see the finished rooms and cabinets. That's usually the case in my work.
I forgot to add the return photos for the arches where I was able to match the pattern .

[randall rosenthal]

beautiful work. when it comes to carving.....this is the real deal.

[Roger Strautman]

As always Mark you are hitting another grand slam with your carving. Did you make the arches or were they supplied for you? Mitering the arch can be a challenge if one hasn't attempted it before. Did you glue down the acanthus to carve them? Thanks for sharing!

[Mark Yundt]

The arches were supplied though I have made them before. The company that is doing the rest of the cabinetry farmed them out for custom knives and did all the mitering of the new arch and matched it to the moldings and had it fitted to the respective cabinet prior to shipping them to me. So I had one chance to get it right. The moldings I had to match were from Enkeboll which doesn't supply curved moldings. Not crazy about the look of their molding but I copied it. It's rather lame looking as far as what an actual leaf on leaf Acanthus should look like. Same goes for the larger carvings. These too had to match other "carvings" in the house but ones for specific sizes weren't available so I had to make and match these as well.
To carve the individual leaf scrolls and things like that ( there were also 2 pcs. that were 3 ft long) I used double sided tape to secure it to a plywood panel to carve it. Years ago I used to use a drop of glue here and there to secure it but it makes a mess removing the carvings, splintering, snapping etc. With the tape it's secure and removes easily provided you don't use too much.
Also, use the thicker cloth type tape and not the very thin stuff.
In the future with this designer we've decided to go strictly custom instead of trying to match existing CNC made pieces. Why pay for custom work ( besides having a certain size made) when all I'm really doing is becoming a copy machine duplicating pieces everyone else already has. Doesn't make sense to me. You want custom? Then let me design it and carve it for a specific need. I guess many are used to looking at what everyone else has and doesn't know anything else and has a fear of stepping outside the known parameters. It's a learning and growing process that I think will benefit the designers and homeowners.

[Mark Yundt]

By the way. Those arches had to be the most miserable pieces to carve. They were glued up 6 layers thick out of segmented boards. Granted, a more economical way to do it but misery for a carver. Grain went every which way from layer to layer and joint to joint. Within one slicing cut you would encounter 3-4 or more grain shifts. Trying to keep cuts clean and edges of a leaf for example sharp was a night mare. I constantly had to keep adjusting cuts from one end to the other let alone in just one section.
Glad there were only two to do. And like I said there was no room for error as my "practice" piece was the finished arch. A little disconcerting to say the least.

[Brian Ashton]

Love this sort of work. Keep the progress pics coming.

[Roger Strautman]

By the way. Those arches had to be the most miserable pieces to carve. They were glued up 6 layers thick out of segmented boards. Granted, a more economical way to do it but misery for a carver. Grain went every which way from layer to layer and joint to joint. Within one slicing cut you would encounter 3-4 or more grain shifts. Trying to keep cuts clean and edges of a leaf for example sharp was a night mare. I constantly had to keep adjusting cuts from one end to the other let alone in just one section.
Glad there were only two to do. And like I said there was no room for error as my "practice" piece was the finished arch. A little disconcerting to say the least.

I feel your pain with all the grain changes. Looks like a lot of slicing cuts to me. I guess if I were to make that piece I would have made a wide straight piece then cut and glue the segments so after it was molded it I would look like one continues board. Although your carving work somewhat hides the grain issues.

[Mark Yundt]

There are a number of ways to build these things and each has its positives and negatives. Sometimes you just play the hand you're dealt. They ship these pieces in and I just carve my way through them the best I can. Once these are stained and finished the grain I don't believe will be an issue. The finishers are pretty good with this company.