Introduction
I started woodcarving in December 2015 as a result of my interest in Bonsai.
I had acquired a few carving gouges to assist in creating deadwood on my trees when I discovered a whole new hobby via the internet. I quickly found and subscribed to the online tuition presented by Chris Pye, and suddenly I was hooked.
Follow this link if you are interested in my Bonsai website. http://www.pembrayr.com/ab1.htm
Living in Ayrshire, I haven't found a local carving club or society, and there don't seem to be many other carvers living nearby. The internet and the online vidos presented by Chris Pye have been invaluable. If you haven't come across them, follow the link and have a look. www.woodcarvingworkshops.tv I think its very worthwhile.
In April 2016, whilst visiting Dumfries House, I spotted a Green man newly carved into a wall. I decided to try and copy it and this was the result.
In June 2016, I managed to acquire a vice and some second hand timber and built my own carving bench. One of the early lessons was that I should ensure that the bench is built to fit the carver. I'm tall, so I made the top of the bench 42" (1080mm) above the floor. I quickly found that all the bashing with a mallet soon caused the bench to move around. The box at the bottom contains two layers of bricks used to weigh it down. This works very well, but will be even better when I get a big enough rubber mat for the bench to stand on.
