As you can see the Winchester 7MM Mag I started a month ago is finally finished. The fighting elk has been custom carved on the Winchester 7mm MAG. You may remember the past posts of how I have develope this carving from start to finish. I hope you have enjoyed the process. I’m sure you can tell it is not an easy process. Still, to me it is very enjoyable.

I refinished this gun by sanding down the gun stock then resealing it. This took the majority of the scratches out of the gun. Then I carved the scene onto the gun stock. This gun has the basket weave on both sides of the grip as well as on both sides forend as well as the bottom of the forend. T0 finish the gun, I have custom painted the scene onto the gun using oil paints. It truly is a work of art. Then I have applied a coat of finish to seal everything.

I have also checked to see what year this gun was manufactured, 1970. The gun still have many years of use left. It has given me great pleasure to carve and paint this scene on this gun. Your comments are appreciated. Please feel free to leave them below.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you in person at the Cross Roads of the West Gun Show this coming September 25 & 26, 2010. The show will be held at the South Towne Expo in Salt Lake City, UT. Deb L

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.

Then I asked Allen to allow me to carve on one of his guns. You can imagine what he said to that. He believed I could carve the guns. He just didn’t want me to begin on one of his guns. His collectors guns!!! NO WAY! So, he went to the local pawn shop and purchased me a Marlin 30-30 with a stainless steel barrel. The first carving I ever completed was a grizzle bear. After finishing the grizzle bear he wanted it. I told him NO. He purchased it for me and I was going to sell the gun. Now he wished he would have allowed me to carve on one of his guns. Reason being, I am quite busy now and of course his guns are the last ones on my list…

I enjoy creating custom gun stocks. Carving beautiful works of art to be handed down from generations to generations. Watching the expression of a gun owner see their prize possession again for the first time, is a real treat to me. They can not quit looking at the gun. You see, I not only carve the gun stock, I paint the sceen too. If it is necessary I will also sand the stock down and refinish it. Making the gun almost brand new again. The sky’s the limit almost.

Thanks for asking this question. I have enjoyed answering it. If you have a question about sculpting wood. Please ask your question below. I enjoy hearing from you. Deb L

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

I thought everyone would like to see what has happened so far on the custom carving process of the Winchester 7mm MAG. As you know after choosing the pattern to be carved on the gun stock. I will then mold the carving into clay. This gives me the depth and helps me to know how many layers there will be in the carving. I can also play with the clay and redesign the pattern if it does not work out or makes the carving to deep.

After molding the design in clay, I will then carve a sample of the design. This helps me to get a very good prospective as to how it will look on the gun stock. It also helps me to see where the design may need to be changed. I also have found on some samples the subject will have to be placed in a different area. I have carved up to 12 samples of a carving before I am happy with the design.

When I am satisfied with the sample carving I will then carve the gun stock. I will have more pictures of this gun as it progresses. Check back often to see the progress. Thanks for visiting my web site. Deb Lindsay

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

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.”

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

I was approached by parents of an Eagle Scout recipient. Their son has worked so hard to achieve his goal of becoming an Eagle Scout. Now with the awards night looming close. His parents have asked if I would do something special for their son. They brought me a Heritage Rough Rider .22 caliber pistol with faux pearl handles. After some major thought. I was able to come up with this idea for him. As you can see I have custom carved the barrel of the gun to acknowledge his award, along with his name. Then, on the other side, I have placed his parents sentiments. I am sure this award will be displayed proudly for all to see during his life time. He will be able to hand it down to his children. Inspiring his children to set their goals high and work for them.

Congratulation’s Dathan! We are all very proud of you!

History of the Rough Rider .22 Combo Pistol

Here is a little history I have found about this gun.

ROUGH RIDER COMBOS (22 Long Rifle and 22 Magnum).

Born of the Traditions of the Old West, the Rough Rider maintains much of the look and feel of the Legendary Single Action Army Revolver, only in a scaled down version. Chambered for the .22 LR and .22 Magnum cartridges the Rough Rider is manufactured using state-of-the-art-precision machinery that assures its accuracy and reliability. The cylinder lock up is tight and the perfect timing of the action makes for a handgun that will put its shots where you want ‘em.

The machined barrel is micro-threaded, and inserted into the frame for the optimal barrel/cylinder gap to give you maximum ammunition performance. A hammer block in the recoil shield provides extra protection and has a red dot indicator that lets you know when the gun is ready for action. A new authentic looking flat-sided hammer paired with new exotic cocobolo grips, makes this Rough Rider both functional and handsome. There are other grip materials available. For instance our Brilliant White Mother of Pearl and Elegant Black Mother of Pearl or Green Camo Laminate grips. Additional finish options include the attractive and durable Smooth Silver Satin and the deep matt black, low gloss Black Satin or Case Hardened Finish.

Ideal for hunting, plinking or western action shooting. Let the Rough Rider be your choice in a new rimfire revolver

PROUDLY MADE IN OUR USA..

All Heritage revolvers combine quality and afford ability … an American tradition

When I started carving gun stocks. My husband was very eager to show my carvings to everyone that came to our home. Even now, he will continually get the guns out of the gun safe to show people. After having to repair several nicks and scratches in the guns. I decided I needed to find some way to protect my guns without wrapping them up in blankets. Gun manufactures and dealers will tell you not to store your guns in the carrying case. The guns will sweat causing rust in the barrel and action. So, I had to find a way to protect then and still allow the guns to breath. One day the idea came to me to use old knee high athletic socks. So, I dug out my husbands old knee high socks. I slipped them on the butts of each gun in our safe. My theory was, with both guns having socks on. If one gun hit the other gun. The socks would act at a cushion. Thus protecting both gun stocks as well as the carving.

I have used this technique for about six months now. The socks have protect the butt of the guns beautifully! The socks only go up to the bolt or scope mounts of the gun. This allows the barrel and action to be open to the air preventing rust. Normally, you a hold by the barrel or forend while putting in the safe/gun cabinet. You usually only will bang the stocks of the guns together while taking the gun in and out. By putting a sock over the butt of the gun stock. The sock covered gun will bump up against the other sock covered gun. A cushion has been formed between the guns, preventing nicks and scratches. Unless you really hit the other gun stocks quite hard. There should be no damage.

IT REALLY WORKS!!!

I hope this is as helpful to you as it  has been to me. Please remember to sign up for my email notifications. By doing so, you will receive an email from me when ever I add a post to my web site. You can unsubscribe at any time. Also, your comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to leave yours below. Thanks again for visiting my web site. I look forward to hearing from you. Deb Lindsay

How can I tell when my gun was manufactured? Have you ever wondered how you can find out? Or would you like to prove to someone your gun is older then theirs? Well, I have come across a web site that can help you determin the age of your guns. It does not list all makes of guns. But it does have the top manufactures with all of their models of guns.

The gun shown above, is a Winchester Model 94 .25-35cal. After using the web site listed above, we where able to determin this gun was manufactured in 1950. It is a very handy tool to have expecially if you are a gun collector or just a gun enthusist. Gun collectors can use this web site to help determin the value of their guns. Not to mention how interesting it if for someone to look up the age of a family heirloom. Here is the web site address: http://www.oldguns.net . You will have to scroll down part way to find the “Manufacture Dates.” Then just click on the manufacture you want, choose the model of the gun and enter your serial number. It really is that easy.

It is very interesting to be able to give this kind of information to a client.  After I have carved the gunstock with the design the client has asked for. I do my best to give them as much information about their gun as I can. This web site has been very helpful in acquiring some of this information. I hope this is helpful to you as well.

Thank you for stopping by. I have added a sign up button for you to receive an email from me when ever I add another blog to my web site. If you are interested, please feel free to sign up on the subscribers list. Also, please feel free to add your comments below. I enjoy receiving your feed back on my web site. Thanks for stopping by. Deb Lindasy