I was contacted by Jacky of JC Interiors ( www.jcinteriorsltd.co.uk), Wetherby, regarding a sign for one of her clients. Apparently the piece of wood she had been given by the client had some sentimental value and he wanted the name of the farm carving simply onto it.
When Jacky sent the above picture I had some reservations about the condition of the piece ~ I felt the crack was only going to get worse and the smaller splits would probably expand ~ but it was important to the client to have this particular piece.
Once planed and sanded it looked a lot nicer, the grain became more apparent and the different shades were uncovered.
I had to try and position the letters as centrally as possible without encroaching on the main split in the middle.
The carving itself was a little frustrating, I found it extremely difficult to get a nice crisp “v” in the middle of each letter ~ the wood in parts was like polystyrene and crumbled away, or pulled other bits with it, even with my razor-sharp chisels. Sometimes you just have to shrug your shoulders and get on with it ~ ordinarily I wouldn’t have attempted to carve a piece like this, but the customer is always right!
Actually, once finished and oiled, it had a certain rustic charm!
