Treebone Photo Gallery
This is a 60's vintage Sheridan Blue Streak I've had for a while, restocked in a simple, but elegant claro walnut of about the same age.
Rack of English and Bastogne blanks in my shop
We never know who will drop in.
View from the shop at sunset.
Elk herd in the hayfield below my house
Cimarron Traffic Jam
Neighbor enjoying Christmas dinner of Cholla cactus.
Neighbors relaxing after a delightful repast of Cholla cactus
Neighbor kids armwrestling
Group of bullets in a gunstock blank
Bullets are not hard on my saw, but spikes, nails and barbed wire always put the finishing touch to a bandsaw blade. I was able to pull this one out, then sawed through the hole to see how deep it went. Interesting to see how the spike altered the color of the wood.
Sometimes surprises lurk in seemingly solid gunstock blanks. The top photo is a carved stock, I had no idea the bullets were there when I started carving it.
The lower photo just above here is an expanded jacketed bullet that I discovered when rough shaping in the bandsaw. Fortunately the bullets are softer than the carver bits and bandsaw blade.
The lower photo just above here is an expanded jacketed bullet that I discovered when rough shaping in the bandsaw. Fortunately the bullets are softer than the carver bits and bandsaw blade.
New highwall stocks in carver
Treebone carving room
Overhead view of my carving room in the old shop in New Mexico, just completed winter of 06. Previously I had been working in the unheated and poorly lit wood storage room, so this is quite a treat for me. In the foreground you can see my two carvers, a 6 spindle (blanks in place ready to be carved) and a 2 spindle on the right for custom work. The bandsaw, boring machine and hand work area in the background.
SemiBullpup from customer pattern
The finished product. (See the picture above.)
Ever seen a presentation grade axe??
OK, I think it is time for a bit of a story for those of you that have read this far...
Sometimes I get asked if I will carve customer provided wood. Actually it happens alot.
One fellow asked if I'd ever carved Bois d arc (Bodark, or osage orange) and infact I had a long time ago.
He wanted to send a log that he'd had for a LONG time. "OK' I said.
What he wanted was a midrange shotgun butt for a rolling block, with a schnabble forearm.
Then, if possible, a sharps pistolgrip out of the same wood.
Well here is what arrived in the mail, handed over the counter in the post office with a bit of a squinted eye by the post lady
Sometimes I get asked if I will carve customer provided wood. Actually it happens alot.
One fellow asked if I'd ever carved Bois d arc (Bodark, or osage orange) and infact I had a long time ago.
He wanted to send a log that he'd had for a LONG time. "OK' I said.
What he wanted was a midrange shotgun butt for a rolling block, with a schnabble forearm.
Then, if possible, a sharps pistolgrip out of the same wood.
Well here is what arrived in the mail, handed over the counter in the post office with a bit of a squinted eye by the post lady
It was pretty heavy for its size, and was wrapped in about 2 rolls of silver duct tape.
When I finally managed to get through all the tape, I found what appeared to be a muddy
bug eaten fence post. Hmmm... I could see my bandsaw was going to need a new blade when I
eventually got this cut down to size.
When I finally managed to get through all the tape, I found what appeared to be a muddy
bug eaten fence post. Hmmm... I could see my bandsaw was going to need a new blade when I
eventually got this cut down to size.
After a bit of head scratching and pondering where the stock would be hiding in this stick, I proceeded to dive in. Although there was a lot of wood there, finding an acceptable section that
was not riddled with bug galleries or cracks was not going to happen. The best I could do
was find the least amount of defect in the critical wrist area. Here is what I ended up with...
was not riddled with bug galleries or cracks was not going to happen. The best I could do
was find the least amount of defect in the critical wrist area. Here is what I ended up with...
The bug galleries were packed with bug 'frass" or poop if you will. They went completely through to the other side, and when picked out with a dental pick, leave an interesting tunnel. At least the wrist area is solid, so I had not doubt the stock will survive. Bodark is a really tough wood, infact the owner used it to make bows (thus 'bow of the ark")
The next picture shows it in my duplicator after shaping
The next picture shows it in my duplicator after shaping
Yes, it really is that yellow color, the picture is not altered. However it will turn a darker color as it ages.
The wood is quite hard, and demands extremely sharp cutters. The good news is, it does not dull cutters, but the mud and impacked dust on the outside definitely did.
The wood is quite hard, and demands extremely sharp cutters. The good news is, it does not dull cutters, but the mud and impacked dust on the outside definitely did.
The buttstock is out of the carver, and ready to have the bug galleries scraped out. Just above it you can see the forearm pattern sitting on the blank ready to be carved, on the left is the pistolgrip pattern and blank.
Sorry, I forgot to get a pic of the whole set when I shipped it.
Sorry, I forgot to get a pic of the whole set when I shipped it.