I did this pelican at the same park as the pirate
I'm now working on a large cannon .



I added a rope on the pilons
Here are some gator pictures for those thet want try a gator
The gator is cement at the zoo a few miles from my house

Thanks for the gator pic I am working on a small one a part of a scene that I will post later. It was nice to see the hand struture. Looks a little human.
Best Regards,
Tom Castaneda

Tom the frony feet have five toes and the back only four
the back feet are long kinda like our feet

It was my understanding that the teeth only show on a croc when the mouth is closed. Have I got it backwards?

Bob

I like the pelican! Would you post pic's of your cannon when it is done? I just finished one, so I am interested to see what you come up with.
Cindy E.

Cannons are a pain in the arss"

I'm carving with a piece of live oak that has been laying around here
for 2 years hard as steel .

I'm drilling a 1 1/2 hole thru for a steel rod .

4 inch thick 24" wide live oak slab I'm making the cannon base stand what
ever you what to call it .

I'll post photos sure more work that I thought .

I like um both Mark.
That gator has to be the most realistic gator carving I've see. Awesome job.

I didn't carve the gator I won't take credit for someone elses work
the zoo down the road from my house built a new entrance
the gator is wire rebar and cement .

not sure who made it

Mark

Just wondering about cracking down there in the constant hot sun . Youv'e got a lot of carvings around FLorida now and I notice you don't put a stress relief cut in your stuff . Many complaints about splitting , how is that Pirate holding up after a few weeks, any cracks starting ? If they don't crack what's your cure ?

Good finish on that Pelican,,..

Tough Live Oak, I carved it down there in the past and it's the hardest wood I have ever tried. It's like carving stone. Do you use carbide chain? Thanks for sharing. Hope all is well.

Randy

I use full chisle ,

I did buy a cabide chain loved it we where cutting
logs that were dranked thru sandy mud for about a half mile

you couldn't tell they where logs just covered over
that carbide chain never slowed down did the whole job without sharpening

I still have the chain 20 years later it wore out the links
it started breaking so I retired it a long time ago .

I have thought about buying some more carbide chain from my thinking process
to my doing something usualy takes a while

to answer the cracking question it all cracks

I've put kerfs in carvings if the wood look like it was going to
split down the front not a big fan of carving a nice piece then
saw down thru all my hard work
I'll take pictures of the pirate next week and post it
I can also post some that are a few years older