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

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

The gun stock carving article listed below was in the Uintah Basin Standard newspaper in the Basin Life section. It is an article on me and how I do my carvings. As well as how I got started in this business. The article came out on Wednesday, June 2, 2010. I have included it here in its entirety so everyone can enjoy reading it.

Your comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to leaving them below. Don’t forget to tell your friends and family to have a look too. Thanks again, Deb Lindsay

Boneta artist’s creativity spans from guns to glass

By Cheryl Mecham, Uintah Basin Standard

The first carving Deb Lindsay took to a gun show happened to be on a stock for a sub-machine gun. She didn’t know that until a security man stopped her just inside the front doors.

“He said ‘I’ve gotta check that gun,’” she recalled with a laugh. “He didn’t know that there wasn’t a gun attached, it was just the stock.”

Lindsay explained her mistake. She’d ordered a few gunstocks from a website.

“They were about the right size and they were cheap. I didn’t know what they were,” she confessed, her laughter filling the kitchen of the home she shares with her husband, Allen.

Her rhinestone cowgirl belt and jeans say she’s country. Warm hazel eyes and a quick smile say she’s hospitable. When the conversation turns to art, a visitor finds out Lindsay is knowledgeable and passionate about whatever she sets her hand to. Currently that is carving.

Lindsay uses a unique handheld rotary tool called a Paragrave, which slices through wood and other materials at 1 million rpm. The tool was developed by Lew Jensen, a retired Vernal dentist.

Since trying her hand at gunstocks for a relatively short time, her daily practice and subsequent success resulted in top honors: best of show at the Duchesne County Fair and a first place and best of show in the professional division at the Utah State Fair. Lindsay was home in Boneta, crafting another gunstock, when she got the call about her ribbons from fellow carvers in Salt Lake City.

“All I knew was that I had done a good job,” she said with a shrug, explaining that she didn’t really understand that her carving had taken the show for a couple of minutes.

When she realized what her friends were so excited about she said her sense of satisfaction skyrocketed to exhilaration. Lindsay said the same feelings occur after she has put the final sealant over her designs – her last stroke of artistry – before handing it back to the owner.

“It’s a mixture of relief and exhilaration. I think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the best work I’ve ever done,’” she said. “Then the next one comes along.”

Lindsay has confidence in her artistic ability, but strives for perfection in whatever she undertakes, which has made her a life-long student. She has taken classes from Jensen and is currently being tutored by Keith Hone of the Hone Studio near Spanish Fork, Utah.

Oddly, for a woman who declares that she “hates to hunt,” Lindsay finds the irony of carving gunstocks amusing. But those who see her work are lining up for a custom carved stock of their own. Like John Lyda, owner of J&P Saddle in Ballard, who has commissioned a custom carving in memory of his late wife, Pauly, on the stock of his late wife’s gun.

Lindsay has learned that no one readily parts with a gun.

“Men are very proud of their guns. They’re an extension of the person who owns them,” she explained, adding, “When I am entrusted with one, I feel it’s a privilege. Some are handed down in families for hundreds of years.”

The inspiration for each design comes long before the actual carving. Lindsay confessed that her mind must be in a relaxed state in order to be creative, which is usually after she has gone to bed. “I lay awake at night I do my best designing,” she said.

To fortify her imagination, Lindsay and her husband take weekend trips to the Uinta Mountains in a vehicle they call their “Army jeep car,” a Polaris ATV with a cab. While they explore, her camera is snapping photos of the landscapes and, if she’s lucky, the wildlife who call the mountain their home.

With an image in her mind, her fingers itch to sketch it out. Once it’s down on paper Lindsay searches the Internet for a photo of the object she wants. She uses the photo as a realistic cross reference.

When she gets her paper design just right, Lindsay carves the figures in clay. This ensures that she’ll be able to make it fit on the gunstock. It also tells her how many layers she’ll have to carve into the wood.

Once she’s satisfied with the clay carving she begins carving in wood, typically alder that she buys as a plank and cuts stock-sized lengths. Lindsay may practice a dozen or more times on a design before she actually sinks her tool into a gun stock. She does her work in a re-purposed shipping container complete with a wide window and steel door. Inside an air system removes sawdust while air conditioners keep the building cool as she works.

“I have to get the nerve up before I can cut into that nice high-gloss finish,” she admitted.

If her unique wildlife carvings don’t set her apart on their own, it’s the next step that makes it a Deb Lindsay design — she often oil paints the intricate image. The result is breathtaking.

It’s critical that a carver knows what type of wood they’re working, Lindsay said.

“Most gunstocks are walnut, which is a hardwood,” she said. “There are other woods out there in gunstocks, tiger wood. It’s an exotic. There are a lot of exotics. The harder the wood, the easier it is to carve.”

Her natural love for wood has also led Lindsay into gunstock restoration. She will completely sand old finishes and light scratches out of the stock. If there are deep scratches and marks, she works them into the design until they are no longer visible. Other restoration work, such as work on the barrel or mechanics, must be done by a gunsmith, she said.

Although carving gunstocks is her current passion, it follows a steady flow of artistic pursuits. Lindsay began with knitting and confessed, “it didn’t go fast enough.” Then she began crocheting and took on intricate projects until she was creating elaborate historical ball gowns for dolls. Then in the early ’80s she discovered tole painting and created piece after piece, most of which she’s given away. Then oil painting landscapes and wildlife and then her interest fell from the canvas to mural painting.

Lindsay said she found videos or instructors to help with each step in her artistic endeavors, even if it meant traveling great distances for training. She kept learning and challenging herself artistically and finally she tried her hand at a childhood fascination — the art of glass blowing.

She gathered equipment and bought training DVDs by a glass sculptor who worked for Walt Disney. When she learned the artist on the DVDs lived in Idaho, she called his studio and asked if he was still teaching. His wife told Lindsay that depended on how serious she was. Lindsay assured the woman that she was serious.

“It was one of the most marvelous experiences I could have ever had.” Lindsay said, adding that after a few classes her new instructor told her she was a natural.

“He said, ‘Now go home, practice, and do,’” Lindsay recalled.

Part of Lindsay’s shop is filled with glass rod, equipment and a kiln. She has completed numerous glass art projects which can be viewed on her website, deblindsaystudios.com, along with the Ostrich eggs she carved when she first learned to use the Paragrave carving tool. One of those egg carvings took first place at the Duchesne County Fair.

Each artistic endeavor has built Lindsay’s experience and her confidence. Her diligent work in each medium has pushed her on to the next. What is next? She smiled and her eyes lit up.

“I don’t know,” she said.

Thank you!!!

This last year has been a very special time for me. I have made many wonderful friends. For this reason, I would like to express my appreciation to all of you. You have helped me and inspiried me to step out of my comfort zone. First, I would like to thank YOU my clients for your support, kind words of encourgement, and for purchasing my art. It means a great deal to me to know my work is so highly appreciated. Secondly, I would like to thank all the teachers who have helped me understand how to use the Paragrave tool. Dr. Lew Jensen, Tamaree Littlefield, Keith Hone, Craig Hone, Darwin Dower, and Jeff Wolfe just to mention a few. All of you have given me encourgement and insight. Not to mention the knowledge of anatomy sculpting, wood carving, gunstock carving, leaf carving or answering stupid questions. The art I carve on the gunstocks and wood carvings would not be possible without your help. And last, my husband Allen, for your love and support, and for giving me the ultimate opportunity to express my creativity.

It is not easy to step out of your comfort zone and express your inner thoughts and desires. Or to carve the images you have floating around in your mind. Thus creating wonderful wood carving or sculpture. Normally, I would have made something I thought was nice. Then given it away as a gift. All the while hoping the recepient would enjoy it just a little. Today, I know my art is appreciated. By the over whelming response I received on a daily basis from you – my clients, friends, family, and teachers.

Thank you just doesn’t seem enough to express my deep appreciation. Still, that is all I can do for now.

THANK YOU! I am truly grateful! Deb

On a side note, this year is proving to be even more wonderful then the last. I am scheduled to go to a gun show in September. I will be at the South Town Expo Center on Sept. 25 & 26, 2010. Please come by and say hello. I would love meeting you in person!

Update March 7, 2010: I have had a hard time finishing this gun. The burs I use have been back ordered for the past three weeks.  Pictures will be put on here either Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for waiting so patiently!

 Today I have started another gun. It is a Ruger .243 Model M77. This Ruger gunstock carving has been inspired after finding a mount from a taxidermist. It is of a mountain lion attacking a mule deer. The image that formed in my mind helped me develop this custom carving on this gunstock. (Pictures will be forth coming). To bring some of the old west into this century has been a wonderful experience. This gun has been carved and painted to show the detail even more.

Just a little history of the M77 Ruger rifles. They where first produced in 1968.

Design details

From the beginning, the Ruger M77 was intended as a modernized Mauser 98, though numerous changes were made. Bill Ruger wanted to use investment casting in place of a forged receiver. The Sullivan-designed bolt dispensed with controlled-round feeding and instead used the simpler plunger style of ejector. A two-position tang safety and redesigned trigger system were also designed from scratch.

Perhaps the most novel feature of the M77 is the only one that has not been redesigned, the angled action screw. The front action screw of traditional bolt-action rifles draws the receiver directly down against the stock. The M77 uses an angled screw that draws the action down and to the rear, tightly bedding it against the stock.

Variants

The M77 has undergone one minor and two major redesigns. The first change involved incorporating a proprietary scope mount milled integral with the receiver. The first rifles had simple rounded-top receivers drilled and tapped for separate scope mounts.

M77 Mark II

The M77 was retooled almost entirely and reintroduced in 1991 as the Mark II. The safety, bolt, and trigger were completely redesigned. The claw extractor was retained, but the bolt face was opened up to allow controlled-round feeding. The plunger ejector was replaced with a Mauser style blade ejector. Finally, a three-position safety allowed the bolt to be operated while the gun was still on safe, making unloading of the rifle less hazardous. Ruger also eliminated the adjustable trigger that came stock on the original M77.

Hawkeye

In 2006, Ruger introduced new features and a new name for their rifle, the Hawkeye. Major changes were made to the trigger system and the stock was recontoured, but otherwise the rifle remained unchanged.^{[citation needed]} The LC6 trigger addressed complaints from consumers that the Mark II trigger, though safer than the earlier one, was poorly designed for accurate shooting.^{[citation needed]} The LC6 trigger is lighter and smoother. Despite the listed improvements of the LC-6 trigger there still seems to be nagging complaints about it

While attending one of the many gun shows my husband and I frequent each year. We found several guns that, in my opinion, needed help. We purchased this Winchester .308 model 88 rifle. I chose to put a gunstock carving on this Winchester 308 because the stock was in desperate need of being refinished. There are several deep nicks and scratches on the butt of the gun. Along with the fact, someone has applied several coats of varnish to the stock. I would venture to guess they where trying to cover up the large scratches in the stock. In doing this, they have filled in the original checkering on the grip and forend of the gun. Thus making the gun look like the checkering is almost warn off.

I have stripped the stock of the old varnish, carve mountain goats on the stock, carve the basket weave pattern on the grip and the forend of the stock. As well as painted the carved sceen to bring it to life even more.

The history or background of the gun I am carving has become a very intersting past time for me. Here is some of the history I have found of the Winchester rifle. I hope you enjoy reading about the gun as much as I have. (If the pictures do not load. Please right click on the picture and choose “show picture”).

History of the Winchester Rifle

The term Winchester Rifle is frequently used to describe any of the lever action rifles manufactured in the United States by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, although the name is usually more specifically used in reference to the Winchester Model 1873 or the Winchester Model 1894 rifles.

Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeating rifles, and as such the Winchester name has become synonymous with lever action firearms. The gun is colloquially known as “The Gun that Won the West”, though public perception of its role in the Western Expansion is exaggerated due to the Winchester’s prominence in 20th Century fictionalized accounts of that period.

Predecessors

The ancestor of the Winchester rifles was the Volcanic rifle and pistol of Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson.

 Volcanic Pistol .41 cal

It was originally manufactured by the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, which was later reorganized into the New Haven Arms Company, its largest stockholder being Oliver Winchester. The Volcanic rifle used a form of caseless ammunition and had only limited success. Wesson had also designed an early form of rimfire cartridge which was subsequently perfected by Benjamin Tyler Henry

 Henry 1860, Winchester Musket 1866

Henry also supervised the redesign of the rifle to use this new rimfire ammunition, retaining only the general form of the breech mechanism and the tubular magazine of the Volcanic. This became the Henry rifle of 1860, which was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company and was used in considerable numbers by certain Union Army units in the American Civil War.

Development

After the war, Oliver Winchester acquired majority control of the New Haven Arms Company, renaming it the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. This company modified and improved the basic design of the Henry rifle, creating the first Winchester rifle: the Model 1866. It retained the .44 Henry rimfire cartridge, was built on a brass frame, and had an improved magazine and a wooden forearm. In 1873 Winchester introduced the steel-framed Model 1873 chambering the more potent .44-40 centerfire cartridge. In 1876, in a bid to compete with the powerful single-shot rifles of the time, Winchester brought out the Model 1876.

 This is the Winchester 73 toggle link action.

While it chambered more powerful cartridges than the 1866 and 1873 models, the toggle link action was not strong enough for the popular high-powered rounds used in Sharps or Remington single-shot rifles.

From 1883, John Moses Browning worked in partnership with Winchester, designing a series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the lever-action Winchester Model 1886, Winchester Model 1892, Winchester Model 1894, and Winchester Model 1895 rifles, along with the lever-action Winchester Model 1887 shotgun and the pump-action Winchester Model 1893 and Winchester Model 1897 shotguns.

This history was found on the website www.wikipedia.org

This is a custom carved gunstock for a long time friend. It is carved on a Remington 22-250 cal. The sceen that inspired me to carve this for him came from one of the many rides my husband and I take every weekend.

If you ever get the chance to visit the Uintah mountains in the fall of the year. You will find a serenity of peace and harmony. My husband and I enjoy going for rides in the mountains. It is a time to see the changing of the leaves and hopefully see some wildlife. One of our favorite animals is the majestic bull elk. They are usually in the rut about this time of year. Just after the bull elk shed the velvet from his horns. He will begin bugling to entice the cow elk to come to him. This is called “the rut.” The rut can begin as early as mid August to early September and will last well into November. When two bull elk want the same herd of cows they will fight each other for the rights to breed with the cows. This keeps the herds strong and healthy.

If you ever have the chance to be in the mountains and hear the bulls elk bugling. You will never forget the sound. It is the call of the wild. Nature’s way of helping animals to reproduce thus carrying on the species. We look forward to this time of year. We love to be out in nature. Looking and listening not only the majestic bull elk, but for the deer and other wildlife as well.