Posts Tagged ‘Gun Collectors’

Custom Carved Labor Day Wishes

Just want to wish everyone a wonderful custom carved labor day weekend! It amazes me the year is two thirds over. Before we know it we will be celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, then the New Year! It continues to amaze me how fast the year flys by when you are having fun. Is anyone ready for Christmas this year? I have been thinking I would start on my Christmas list for my family and friends. At least I will start at the end of the month. LOL

I am looking forward to this month and have been for most of the year. I am scheduled to go to my first gun show. It will be held in Salt Lake City, Ut, at the South Town Expo Center. This gun show will be held on September 25 & 26, 2010. I will have about 12 guns on display and many of those guns will be for sale. This is a great opportunity to come and see for yourself what they look like in person. Not to mention placing your order for a custom carved gun stock of your own. Maybe you are interested in having a gun stock carved for someone special in your life. All of this is possible at the upcoming gun  show. The gun showis a great place to begin collecting guns. I know many gun collectors have started their collections this way. You can also pick up the newest items on the market for your guns. Have you thought of protecting your guns with a new gun safe?

Here’s wishing you a safe and happy Labor Day weekend! Please drive safe! I am looking forward to meeting you all there. Thanks for stopping by today. I do appreciate you visiting my web site. Happy carving! Deb L

Custom Carved Gun stock-How To Be Creative With My Gun Stock.

I learned a long time ago, it is much more interesting to be creative with my art then just the same old thing. I enjoy carving custom engraved gun stocks. The wildlife is wonderful to have custom carved on your gun stock. It adds character and value to your gun stock. It also give you a very good opportunity to tell your story to your friends and acquaintances. Still, have you ever thought of the unusual?

What if you had your wife’s gun stock carved with her favorite flowers of picture? What about a scene of your favorite hunting trip? Or the hunting trip of your dreams? Maybe you would like to donate a very unique item to your local charity? The examples shown above are only some ideas. If you can think of something you like or would enjoy retelling a good hunting story. You can have it carved onto your gun stock to remember forever.

I have carved several gun stocks for family reunions, local community raffles, etc. It always draws a crowd and the excitement of owning a unique custom carved gun stock is priceless. Not to mention the value of your gun goes way up! Gun collectors go nuts over a good custom carved gun stock.  What will your custom engraved gun stock look like? Will you place your gun over the fire place or in a place of honor for everyone to see?

I look forward to helping you design and carve a custom engraved gun stock for you or your favorite charity. Please feel free to contact me and thanks for stopping by. I look forward to visiting with you. Deb L

Custom Carved Henry .22cal Golden Boy Rifle

Custom carved Henry .22cal Golden Boy will be my next project. I love to carve the Henry rifles. Their gun stocks are fantastic! The grain of the wood are always beautiful not to mention the quality of the gun itself. This gun stock will have a custom carved company logo on it. I never thougth I would be using my gun stock carvings to advertise for a company. Still, it just goes to show you can put anything on a gun stock if you can image it. I will be posting pictures of this gun as I carve it. Please check back often to see the progress.

I’m not sure if I have ever shared some backgroud about the Henry Repeating Arms rifles. I hav included a little bit of the history of this gun below.

History

Read the rest of this entry »

How Can I Get My Gun Stock Custom Carved?

How can I get my gun stock custom carved? This is a questions I have been receiving for months now. Or What designs can I have carved on a gun stock? There are many other questions too. Normally, I will talk to you for a while to find out what your interests are. Then I can suggest some ideas to you. Or if you have a picture you like. A hunting trip you have gone on you remember. These are all ideas you can draw from to decide on your custom gun stock carving.

Do you like the basket weave design on the forend and/or grip of the gun? Do you like leaves, horns, hooves, tree limbs, or scroll work? How much of your gun stock would you like carved (butt stock, forend, reverse side of butt stock, grip)? Is your gun stock in need of refinishing? Do you have some large scratches? Is the gun stocks finish pealing? Do you want your design painted? There are so many thing you can do to your gun stock. It all really depends on what much you would like to see on your gun stock and how much of the gun stock either needs refinished or how much you would like to have carved. All of these things are what helps me determine the design that will go on your custom carved gun stock.

Each custom carved gun stock if unique and deserve my full attention. Not only to the detail but to the scene as well as the design of the scene being put on the gun stock. Its a passion to me to create a one of a kind work of art for each client I have. I look forward to working on your design and to carving it for you.

Thanks for visiting my web site. I look forward to chatting with you in person and carving a gun stock for you. Thanks again Deb L.

Why Did I Choose Gun Stock Carving?

I have been asked many time why I chose to carve or engrave gun stocks? Instead of carving eggs, gourds, engrave on glass, etc. Well, my husband is an avid hunter. He loves guns and has aquired quite a collection. We usually go to the gun shows that are in the Salt Lake valley. One time, as we where getting out of our truck, he said to me: “Its your turn to buy something. What do you want? What kind of gun do you want to buy?” I told him, “I didn’t know.” I would look for something while where in the gun show. When we entered the gun show, I heard the wine of a dental drill. At least that is what I thought I heard. We went to that booth to see what it was. Sure enough it was a high speed pen that used dental bits. Called the Paragrave. I was allowed to try the tool. I  immediately fell in love with it. We wondered around the show for about another two hours. Came back to that same booth and purchased the tool.

Since that time I have tried my hand at engraving rocks, tile, eggs, glass, mirrors, metal and everything else I could get my hands on. In February 2009, I went to my first carving class with Dr. Lew Jensen, inventor of the Paragrave high speed pen. Again, we carved all kinds of differnet materials. Out of them all I have found I enjoy carving or sculpting wood. It is the medium I have found gives me the more enjoyment and the most challengs. Read the rest of this entry »

What Animal Would You Like Me To Carve Next?

I am asking this question of my readers. What animal would you like to see me carve next? I have custom carved, or engraved, many animals on different gun stocks over the year. I have enjoyed carving each and every one. Some of them are more challenging then others. Still, I get a tremendous satisfaction from completing each carving or engraving I do. Now, I am wondering if there is a certain animal you would like to see carved? To date I have carved elk, moose, mule deer, a mountain lion, grizzly bear, and mountain goats to mention a few.

There are lots more animals out there to be carved. Which one should it be? Help me decide by commenting below. You will be the one making this decision for me this time. So hurry and leave your choice below in the comment section. I will be adding the basket weave and something else to the forend and/or grip of the gun.

Here are a few ideas. Please do not limit your decision on just these pictures. Antelope, Black Bear, Big Horn Sheep to name a few.

I will keep a tally of requests. The highest number will decide the next carving. The decision date will be August 15th. I will post the results here on my blog. The gun will be for sell and on display at the Cross Roads of the West Gun Show in Salt Lake City, Utah, this coming September 25 & 26, 2010. I’m sure this gun will make any gun collector proud. Will that person be you?

Thanks for participating in this decision! Deb L

How I custom carved a Winchester 7mm MAG gun stock?

While camping over the 4th of July weekend. I was able to play with my clay and develop yet another pattern for a really cool gun. The gun is a Winchester 7mm REM mag, model 70. After hearing the story behind the purchase of this gun and the time it took for the owner to purchase it. I know this gun will remain in his possession for the rest of his life and then be passed on to his children. Definately a family heirloom!

I have been itching to carve this picture for a long time now. I just hadn’t found the right gun for the picture. This old calendar photo of two bull elk fighting, intregues me. Finally, I get to carve this pattern on someone’s gun stock. I have come up with my own design using the picture as an inspiration. I believe this carving will go very well on this gun. The owner loves to hunt, especially elk. For this reason I have chosen this design.

After working the pattern in clay to determine the layers and depth of the carving. I will then carve the pattern on a sample piece of wood. Sometimes this process will take several sample carvings before I am satisfied with the end result. When the design has been carved to my satisfaction, as well as the design tweeked just right. Then, and only then, will I carve the pattern onto the gun stock. After completing the carving, the sanding process will begin. Hand painting the artwork is the final step, using oil paints and very small brushes (usually the brushes only have a few hairs in each brush). This bring the scene to life. 

Check back here often for pictures I will be posting of this gun as I complete this project. This will give you an even better idea of how I create the art for each gun and the process I use to carve it.

Your comments are greatly appreciated. Please leave your thoughts below. I look forward to hearing from you. Deb L

Winchester .30-30 Model 94 Gunstock Before and After!!!

In June of this year, I posted some before pictures of this gun. After working for over a month on this gun. It is finally finished. Each side of this gun has been carved. On the front of the gun was a medallion of a stage coach. I did not remove this. Instead I carved two trees, representing two people who have intertwined their together. I also put their names with the date their lives became one. On the reverse I put a picture of a memory the gun owner had of their past life together. You see… Pauly contracted cancer and passed away several years ago. This gun was hers, but John wanted something to remember their time together. This is the result.

Each side has been custom carved and then hand painted. I didn’t know it at the time I painted the gun., but the colors I chose are the colors of the horses each of them road. I guess there was some kind of influence there. When I John received his gun last night he stated, “This gun means a great deal to me. I will never let it leave my hands. Thank you so much.”

How Do I Come Up With The Design?

Calender picture

How Do I Come Up With The Design you ask. Well, I do not have an easy answer to that question. There are many ways in which I come up with my designs for a custom gun stock carving. Usually, I see a picture of something that inspires me. I might be 4 wheeling in the mountains with my husband and see a landscape I like. I will take many pictures of that scene at different angles. Other times I will have a client bring me a picture of what they would like on their gun.

Photo from client

When I have client contact me to carve a gun for them. I will talk to them and find out all I can about their likes and dislikes. This helps me design something that I’m sure they will enjoy. This is when the real process actually begins. I begin focusing on the client. Their likes and dislikes. During this process, I actually allow the gun to talk to me. I know this is kind of hokus pokus, but to me it works.

Personal drawing

Many times, in the middle of the night, an idea or design will come to me. I will have to get up and draw it out on paper. Otherwise I will not be able to go back to sleep until I get the picture out of my head. My clients and my art mean that much to me. A clients gun is very special to them. There is usually a story behind each gun. Wheather it was in the purchase of the gun or a special hunt. The gun means as much to the client as my art does to me. Even the value of a gun is increased greatly when a carving has been put on a gun. Ask any gun collector. This is what they will tell you.

I hope I have helped you understand my process of finding the design for each project. If you have any questions. Please feel free to ask me in the comment section below. Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you. Deb L

What Is Relief Carving?

It has come to my attention I have never explained what relief carving is or the different types. So, I thought I would do my best to explain this to you. Here goes…

There are actually several types of carvings. The type of carving I use is called full relief carving. This means I have a smooth piece of wood, like a gun stock, that I carve part of the wood away. The end result is the place where the picture is and there is no part of the original gun stock left in the area of the picture. In other words, the front side of a picture in 3D. There is 2D carving, or semi relief carving, which is a carving you would get if you left part of the original wood in the picture. You usually will see this from carving which has been completed by a laser. You do not get much shaping, (deminsion) to your picture/carving. There is also full round carving. This would be when you take a block of wood (say 4 inch by 4 inch) and carve the entire animal or object out of the wood. Like carving the complete elk, legs and all. Like the status of animals, etc. Here are a few of examples.

(Full Relief Carving)

As you can see this gun stock of a moose. I have used the full relief carving method to carve this gun stock. There is nothing left of the original gun stock in the picture. There is, however, the original gunstock outside the design.

(Semi Relief Carving)

Yet on the wood carving of the horses head, (shown above), there is still part of the original plate left in the main picture design. This is knows as semi relief carving.

(Full Round Carving) – ( This carving is a Craig Hone original)

With full round carving, (shown in the picture above) there is nothing left of the original outside portion of wood. The difference is you have all sides carved with the full round carving, only one half of a carving is left with the full relieve carving method, and with the semi relief method you still have part of the original wood in the picture.

After I have carved my design, I sand the project. Then I hand paint each carving. To me this helps to define the carving even more and it helps to bring the carving to life.

I hope this helps you to understand the types of carvings as well as just how unique each type of carving is. If you have any questions about this or have a question about something I have talked about on one of my posts. Please feel free to ask me in the comments below. I would be happy to explain it to you. If I don’t know something I will find out for you and let you know.

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comments and feed back. Have a wonderful summer! Deb L