Collie - progress pictures

[Wood Dog]

Magnificient........what else can I say Janette.

[Flatlander]

Hello Janette, This piece is drop dead awesome. Thank you for sharing. A couple of questions: Do you do some shaping before your final fitting ? Did you use templates or do you cut directly from the paper pattern ?
I really think that only you can decide on the base color as you are the artist working on the piece. With your skill there is really no need to ask as you already have the feel for the project.
I also find the start of shaping to be a stressful step. I think because we have so much time into the project we don't want to make a mistake. I often leave the piece for a day or so and then can't wait to get back at it.
Dale.

[Rolf]

Janette,
I probably asked this once before but where are you getting this grey green wood?
I need to do a blue heron and will need to get som of that wood

[owler]

this looks great!

[Janette]

Hello Janette, This piece is drop dead awesome. Thank you for sharing. A couple of questions: Do you do some shaping before your final fitting ? Did you use templates or do you cut directly from the paper pattern ?
I really think that only you can decide on the base color as you are the artist working on the piece. With your skill there is really no need to ask as you already have the feel for the project.
I also find the start of shaping to be a stressful step. I think because we have so much time into the project we don't want to make a mistake. I often leave the piece for a day or so and then can't wait to get back at it.
Dale.

I generally cut out the entire piece before I start shaping. In this one, I'm going to get the collie all glued and shaped then do the base. I'll leave the legs unglued to the rest to do any final shaping to line up with the base. I used to trace pattern on to the wood, but now I cut out the paper piece and glue it to the wood and cut the "hairline" on the paper. I get a much better fit that way. The base is going to be butternut. they/we decided yesterday. I did manage to steer them away from the purpleheart (thank god!) I gave them some options with pictures and gave them pros and cons - and what I thought. I had to recut the front leg because as I shaped it some brown streaks showed up (hate when that happens!). I do the same- walk away frequently and come back for a fresh look.

[Janette]

Janette,
I probably asked this once before but where are you getting this grey green wood?
I need to do a blue heron and will need to get som of that wood

The gray wood is called "blue" pine. It's a pine that is stained by infestation of the pine bark beetle which eventually kills the tree. It's getting harder to find and I've had a lot of people e-mailing me. I had been able to get a good supply and was mailing pieces to people. Right now, what I can recommend is ask your local lumber yard- generally they can order it in, or do a google search. There are mills in eastern Oregon, someone told me Colorado- most places in the west that are milling it. The place I had been getting it from orders #3 grade pine- sometimes it comes in blue, sometimes it doesn't- more often lately- doesn't. Sometimes you can find a stray piece at your local Home depot or Lowes type places. A loca mill here told me they can order it so when I do need more, I'll probably go that route. There's no green in it- when I need green- I get green poplar at Home Depot generally.

[workin for wood]

Looking fantastic there Janette.

How much is this blue pine worth to you guys/gals? I've been running into this stuff quite a bit in pallets. Perhaps I should seperate some of the really good ones and bring them home. They are 3/4" rough sawn boards with 2x4 runners. Some times I see the blue pine in the 2x4 runners. I figure I cut them where they are nailed on to the runners and end up with basically several 3/4 x 5 x 18" long boards. I've tossed and turned over it because of the labor involved in seperating them loading them in my pickup and taking them home then cutting them and dealing with the scraps with nails in them. I've just been selling them back to my work along with all the other pallets I scrounge up.

[Janette]

When I do get my blue pine- it's generally in 10" to 12" widths. I had to resort to a4" once, but much thinner and it would only be useful for very small pieces. Once I've gotten a source lined up (and have time) I will gather my list of people who want it- and get more names from you guys- and go get a huge pile of it. I will let people know.

Jeff- I definitely think it's worth hanging on to if you run across it. I use it quite frequently and it really is handy for gray, skies, water, wolves, herons...well...anything that color.

[Flatlander]

This color in spruce will become more common as the pine beetles are destroying thousands of acres of our B.C. forests every year. A trip thru the rockies is rather disheartening because you can actually see total mountains where the beetles have killed every tree. They are just brown dead trees standing as far as you can see.Don't overpay for your wood, there will be no shortage.

[Janette]

It's sad that we're losing so much forest. At least we're able to make something nice from the lumber so it isn't a total waste.

[Janette]

Front 1/2 all shaped and glued

Finished hand sanding and gluing the front half of the dog. I left the legs unglued so I can finish them up after the base is done. 50hrs and counting...

closeupweb.JPG closeup2web.JPG webprogress.JPG

[JudyV]

Janette, thanks for the sideview pics. Sometimes that's the hardest part to figure out, especially when you are just starting. Prog pics are so helpful. Looks terrific, can you imagine when you put the finish on and the color pops? I can hardly wait.

Judy
www.jlwooddesign.com

[Tor]

That is coming along very well. I was going to note that BE walnut is a nice wood, but then I saw that you have decided on the base.

Tor

[JimSawyer]

I can't believe I never soptted this post in all this time! I've been wanting to see how you did with this piece. And I've got to say, "WOW". I can't imagine tackling something so detailed. You're doing an amazing job at it!! Can't wait to see it with the finish on it!

[Janette]

Finally ready for finish

Well, here it is all ready for finish. Ended up changing the invisible"eye"- made it black and put a highlight to "suggest" an eye. Everyone is happy now! The main body is glued together in 3 sections, the base is another, the front legs and the back legs - to make finishing easier.

webreadyforfinish.jpg