John Hein Woodcarver

08/31/2026

....and so the journey through the woodpile begins. I bought 87 board feet ( board foot = 144 cubic in) of 1 1/8" thick Basswood. Spent part of the morning cutting out 36 each of our large Cardinal and bodies of our Loon ornaments. It's carving time!

08/31/2026

And so the journey through the wood pile begins. I bought about 87 board feet (BOARD FOOT = 144 Cubic inches) of 1 1/8" thick Basswood . This morning I cut-out and shaped about 36 each of my large Cardinals and Loon ornament bodies. That took about 4 BF. I am going to be working on this pile for a while

08/29/2026

08/27/2026

Say Hon, I stopped by to pick up some Basswood and it was so pretty I knda' bought just a little too much.
Since it looks like it rain and the wood is so pretty, I had to put it in the back seat of the truck.
Don't worry, I know I promised to pick you and your sister up from the mall. I got it all figured out.
I used a some rachet straps and rope to secure a couple of lawn chairs in the truck bed and some bungee cords that you can use for seat belts on the ride home. Oh, and couple of umbtellas.
Is there any thing else you might need?

08/27/2026

Painting tip. My wife buys a stack of 6" paper dessert plates from Dollar General and cuts them into 4 pieces. They make great disposable paint trays.

08/27/2026

Is it still woodcarving if I only used a Vee tool to define a couple lines? Approx 5 1/2" × 16" , white and burnt umber acrylic, finished with Clear Shellac

08/19/2026

Here's a tip. We make a lot small Christmas ornaments for a European Christmas Market. When the top end of an ornament is thin, or a screw eye looks too large relative too the size of the ornament, we use a jewelery wire loop. Before painting, I cut the wire end at an angle so that I am forcing a blunt end into the wood. Then grip the loop with a pair of pliers close to the end and force it into the ornament, adjust the pliers and keep pushing until the wire is deeply inserted. You can make this a bit easier by dipping the end of the ornament first into water to soften the fibers. Note this ONLY works on the end grain where the wire can go between the fibers. These wire loops can be found at a craft store, such as Michael's or Amazon.

08/18/2026

...and so begins the day. A bucket full of cut-offs, a knife, a strop, and an audiobook. I found an empty ice-cream bucket, actually I will plead guilty to making it empty. The bottom of a cut-off plastic water-bottle sits amongst the pieces, stuffed with a paper towel and added water. This knife (KN14?) is well suited to both remove the large portions of wood and detail around the nose.

08/17/2026

If you can get hold of a piece of Birch Bark you can make a handy knife sheath, or two.
Ensure that you allow enough space such that the sharp edge of the blade does not cut the sheath whenever the blade is removed or inserted. It won't last forever but it is easy to make.