The Luthier Community

gilmoreguitars wrote:So...is the sound board the belly of the turtle and the back the outside back shell of the turtle?
You are a crzy dude!
And I love it!!
David

You got it right, David.

Now and then everybody should do something a bit crazy

I have carved a bit on the full size "dummy" soundboard. Enough to know that it will work out fine. A half day more of that and I will glue up the real body block. Once I get to that point, my old woodcarving chops will kick in and things should happen fairly fast.

G

Well, I keep busy resawing and packing wood, but this thing is always calling and I find my spare moments....well, I just can't stay away from it

So here is the full size foam and wood mock-up. Still kinda rough, but I have the shapes and problems worked out, so I am actually good to go to the real thing.


This shot from the tail end (real tail, in this case) shows a bit more form and you can see on the left that there will be a natural arm bevel


So, that big block of basswood for the body looked a little rough after having sat at the bottom of an outside wood stack for 30 years, but after cutting about 3 inches off the end, the wood is sound with only a small center check that will not be a problem


So, I cleaned it up and cut to rough size and glued up the 5" thick body block


And here is the real white spruce top plate glued up


More, later (and it will probably be fairly soon)

Well, could not resist taking a couple of hours off sorting and resawing wood.

Trimmed the big body block to about a half inch larger than needed and drew a rough line around the edge representing the approximate lower edge of the shell


This will guide me in roughing off a bunch of the excess wood. The initial block weighs a bit over 24 pounds, so a lot has to go.

For this I use my trusty Gransfors carving hatchet, a really nice tool that a friend gave me



So far only removed about 5 pounds, but the rough form is starting to emerge. Have not done any wood carving for many years and it really feels good to have a reason to be doing it again

Thanks for looking,

G

let the chips fly Grant, really interesting to watch how it's made!
Mike

Just the term "carving hatchet" gets me going! Looking great, Grant.

Tim

Never let it be said that Grant doesn't take on big projects! This is amazing, Grant!

First, thanks for the comments I really appreciate that.

Well, I took my late afternoon/early evening break and spent another 2 1/2 hours removing another 3 pounds of wood.

First I bandsawed the outline to close to the final line. Went easier with that part thinned down to about half of its original 5" thickness

I had to clamp on an auxillary larger table (piece of particle board) since only the center section is still flat to ride on the bandsaw table and it was off the edge

Next I hand planed off most of the rough surface from the carving hatchet


Then it was time to switch to gouges and a mallet. Worked the back edge down a bit


Then the front


Then some in the center and more refinement along the edges


One more carving session and I should be at a point where I can start some of the shell detail. Then I can temporarily clamp on the top plate and start carving the top and sides. I will get the outside pretty much to finished before I start hollowing everything out.

Stay tuned.

G

In the last few photos and the description, you mention the "front." Is the "front" that you are talking about the inside of the back (carapace)? Or, really the soundboard?

{smacks self in head} Oh, wait a minute (I thought I had lost the plot), the front of a turtle's shell is where the head is, and the back (edge) is where she lays eggs. OK, I'm back on track.

It's a shame there isn't a video archivist handy to create a video of the entire process!

Dennis