(George G) wrote in message ...
Hi Gang - Glad to see some newcomers joining in. This discussion group
has been going downhill for a long time. Maybe with new blood we can
recover.

I guess I'm one of the newcomers. I drop by a number of forums just
to read what everyone else has to say and to occasionally leave
comments of my own.

I think I've mentioned that I am more of a "whittler" than a "carver"
and I use the classical definitions: Shaping wood using knives is
"whittling". Shaping wood using chisels and gouges is "carving".
Shaping wood while wearing a beret is "sculpture". I whittle mostly
whimsies and hobo art like ball-in-a-cage, chains, various types of
swivel joints, etc. I've also just started doing some wood spirits.
I do this strictly as a hobby and I'm not on a mission to collect a
lot of pieces so I really take my time and try to do a good job. I'm
really an amateur in all senses of the word but I find whittling
relaxing and sort of rewarding when I produce a really nice piece. I
did a ball-in-a-ball, which is a ball in a round cage that came out
great - real tight fit with perfect straight edges on the cage -
that's my "bragging piece".

Like most folks at my level of skill and experience I use almost
exclusively basswood. I do just about all my work in hand using a
whittlers kife set with replaceable blades, but I think my next
purchase will be an artists sketch box (in wood of course) to hold my
knives so I can buy a few fixed blades and maybe a few gouges like a
veiner to do the hair on the wood spirits. Who knows - maybe I'll
just buy a beret too.

Best regards,

Mike