When we first moved back to the NorthWest years ago, we were told that Oregon required all new residents to buy at least 1 chainsaw per person. Seemed reasonable...My fishing buddy has been carving now professionally for 2 years - and competing at shows for more than 5 years. I used to tease him about the tiny size of his chainsaw... but he has bigger ones, too.
At first brush, people right off chainsaw carving as pure redneck folly... but it is very impressive what these guys and gals can do! Of course there is the obligatory "Big Foot" carving... some are Bigger than others!It is actually alot of fun! My friend has gotten me into it - purely for fun, though, and it is a blast. Really makes you appreciate what these carvers can do when you step back and look at the mangled firewood you've created...
Basic tools are a chainsaw, grinder for sanding, and a blow-torch for coloring. Paints help on some of the carvings to really add life.
The only drawback of carving is that you can't stop... even when you are on vacation! While camping on an island for a week, fishing for Fall Chinook, my friend suprised us all and pulled his saw out of his boat! Here he is tallying the catch for the week so far. Pretty good fishing, and pretty good carving...
My fishing buddy has a serious carving problem...
He's got big saws, and little saws. He's got big torches, too! Robert has artwork all over Columbia County, Oregon (where he is based) and all over the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and CA! Keep your eyes out, and you'll see something he cut on.
Check out his work at http://www.knotjustabear.com/ Better yet, go by and see him - he is located most days on the Oregon side of the Longview (Lewis and Clark) Bridge over the Columbia River. Stop by, and tell him a story!
Mention you saw him on NWPodcast and he's liable to throw sawdust at you!
Here is a great video we made to see how fast he could 'bust out' a bear from a log.
