I've been doing a lot of work around the house, including doing many things with my grandson, and have decided to do something different. I found this shell among the many that we've collected and thought that it would be fun to carve this up and try to replace the missing "ears" that have been knocked off. Once completed, it will be gilded and attached to a round wall plaque(painted/gilded). I've got the blank glued up and ready to carve. Here's hoping that the process will hold my grandson's attention.

Another beauty in the works. It'll be very interesting to see this one in progress. Not that the previous one wasn't. It's always a treat to watch as you progress.

29 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Another beauty in the works. It'll be very interesting to see this one in progress. Not that the previous one wasn't. It's always a treat to watch as you progress.

Oh yeah beautiful stuff!!

Looking forward to your work Frederick.  How old is the grandson?  Will you allow him to participate?

1 hour ago, Cal said:

Looking forward to your work Frederick.  How old is the grandson?  Will you allow him to participate?

Cal, Teddy is almost 4 years old and enjoys being in the shop with me, as well as helping his Grandmother do gardening. We also have a 2 year old granddaughter that we're watching 4 days a week, along with Teddy. He enjoys doing "things" with wood while I do the machine work. At this point, I'm somewhat worried about him being around the razor-sharp gouges but he listens very well. I may just give him a screwed-down board(to the shop floor), some nails, drill, and his hammer to occupy his time while I carve(try to at least). We just completed a 4-chamber bat house, got it painted, and hung up on the south-facing shop wall. Here's a photo of the completed project:

 

WOW!! Nice shop! And the bat house looks good too.

John

Yes, I think I agree that four may be a bit young to be given razor sharp toys to play with!  Our son was probably about four when he helped me build a small shelving unit.  He sure felt proud to have helped!

 

 

I might suggest that you find another location for the bat house though.  Those flying rats can get into the smallest of cracks to take up residence in the attic area.  Not to mention the fertilizer they will leave behind exiting the house.  But that is a great looking house you made for them

Rough carving started. I'm trying to gauge the amount of wood to leave on top of the "knuckles" of the shell. This will then allow me to carve the "ears" on each of the knuckles. Finding time to carve has been difficult for me because of the time demands needed for for watching our grandchildren 4 days a week and the demands of yard/house work.

Another great carving project! That's one big shell Fredrick!

 

I've finally found a little bit of time to resume carving on this shell. The "ears" are being carved into the convex volutes. Once these are done, I'll address the many finish details that need to be done. Would an application of glue stabilize the thin ears for finishing?

CA might be better. The thin stuff will soak in better than PVA glues.

Finally found time to do some carving to the shell. My wife just had replacement hip surgery and that's taken up all of my time, as well as my daughter/son-in-law, and grandchildren returning back to Brooklyn. I just need to do some minor "corrections" to the shell, add the slight growth rings, do some light sanding, and then proceed with the painting/gilding. I did manage to get the mounting plaque put together and turned. It was good to be back at the lathe!!!!!

Shell almost finished in terms of carving/sanding. I'm undecided on how to do the growth rings on the shell. I can scratch, indent, or carve them in. I'll be trying various methods before proceeding.

A little more finishing to this shell and it's ready for the painting/gilding.

Shell carving/plaque received first coat of gilding primer.

 

Gilding completed on the plaque, with a little touch up to do. I'm starting the gilding of the shell today and will post some photos.

Completion. The growth rings were a challenge to do and I'll try something different next time.

Wow, that looks great!