"Bon Temps Rouler!"

It's finished!

Here is a link to a video of it dancing!

Cowboy Boots

I’m continuing the painting portion of this toy. I’ve stained and finished all the mechanical pieces and almost have the man painted and ready for assembly. One of the elements important to me was the boots. I have several other carvings planned with boots, so I wanted to try something detailed, as far as the appearance of the boots. I did some research and thought this guy would look good in some Lucchese lizard-skin boots! I spent about 3 hours drawing and burning the designs on the boots.

I wanted enough details to make them appear realistic. But that doesn’t always mean putting in every detail. On a larger boot, I would have did the stitching and other things, but on something this small, the stitching would be too small to see, if it was in porportion to the rest of the things. I used to try to put in almost every single hair on something I was carving, but sometimes just indicating a feature or a shape is more realistic.

I spent about and hour and a half painting the first one, trying to get the colors and stuff like I wanted them. The other boot only took a half hour! I didn’t want them too wild, but I didn’t want just plain boots either. This guy is not shy about standing out in a crowd! Not much more to go! Thanks for looking!

It's ...........Aliveeeeeeee!!!!!!!

It works! That doesn’t always happen, for me! I still have a little tweaking to do on one cam, but this is pretty much how it will operate. I’ll be able to start on the painting and finishing next, which shouldn’t be too bad.
Of course, one of the things that slows me down, is all the “testing” I just have to do! So, as a thank you to those that have followed my blog, I decided to post a little preview of it in action. Thanks for everyone’s encouragement and comments!

Toy in action

Here is a brief video of my progress so far, showing how he will dance. A bar will make him move his feet, shake his head, and snap his fingers. The head falling off at the end was not planned, but maybe I should leave that in...kinda like a surprise ending to his dance!

Moving along!

I still have to glue the arms on and do some cleanup carving, but you can get a better idea now. His head and right hand also move, in addition to the legs.

Making progress

Got the body and legs mostly worked out...working on arms and hands. Check out the boots!

Starting off the new year

I'm back at work, but pretty pumped up for the new year. Got some new tools and books for Christmas and re-arranged/cleaned my shop. Made a bit of money selling my carvings and planning to purchase a few more items while they are on sale. Started a Facebook page, made a few fun carvings, and here is what I am working on right now! I'll post my progress on this toy, but I am on schedule to complete it by the end of the month. Thanks for looking and check out my Facebook page , Mike Pounders' Woodcarving.