Piping Plover, standing over her nest.

This is a simple, giftware item, carved in driftwood.

After selecting a driftwood log, I cut it to length and roughed out the bird. I used a carving tool that attaches to an angle grinder to make the rough cuts. The wood is hardened by absorption of salt, and has defects, but it makes an interesting carving medium.

The next step is to refine the shape further. I use a die grinder with carbide cutting burrs for this.

The first burr is a flame shape. The second is a long taper and finishes refining the shapes.

The wood runs vertical to the birds beak and so I will have to glue in a piece. It would surely break off if I do not take this step. Above you can see where I have indicated a hole for the beak. A small piece of hard maple is shaped and glued in place. I used five minute epoxy glue mixed with saw dust to act as a filler and glue.

Before adding the beak I detailed the bird using smaller carbide bits and diamond bits on a rotary tool.

The final details were carved after the beak had set. Mostly I used diamond bits for this. Sanding was done with a flap sander and a cone sander, using a rotary tool. Ready to finish.

I applied thin washes of water paints to give colour. This allows the wood grain to show through and fit’s the design well.

The final step was a protective coat of varnish. Results below.

Available for purchase. Price is $45 plus $10 shipping. Contact me for more information.
 
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