Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:46:47 -0500
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Sculpting Pine Wood?


Hi Mathieu,

I use pine for large items that need very little detail (shoulder  
blocks, hips, chest pieces) because it's very light and easy to  
carve, but I stay away from it for hands, legs and feet. It dents and  
splits easily. Another consideration is swelling in warm humid  
weather. The joints we make are very tight and pine will swell in the  
summer making them stick. As everyone else pointed out, Linden is the  
best carving wood. It's fairly light and strong with an even grain  
which is important for carving. It also resists swelling better than  
pine. Members of the Linden family include Bass and Poplar. Both are  
fantastic for puppets and you don't need to worry about fingers  
breaking either. We usually buy ours rough-sawn in 8-quarter  
thicknesses (in lumber terms a "quarter" is one quarter of an inch  
before planing thus 8-quarter would be two inches thick).

WARNING! Regular construction grade pine has a lot of pitch in it and  
will clog up your expensive and delicate rotary tool tips pretty  
quickly. Linden will not.

For carving, I usually make an actual size sketch of the the  
character I'm creating and then use that as a basis for making my  
patterns. To transfer, perforate the pattern and then "pounce" it  
onto the wood using charcoal dust. If I need to make more than one of  
the same figure or if the pattern will go into stock, I'll trace and  
make templates with carbon paper. You'll get better results if you  
use front and side patterns. Trace them onto the wood, cut one side  
out, hot glue the waste wood back into place and then cut out the  
other side.

A table-top band saw is really an indispensable piece of equipment  
and can be had for a reasonable price. I would highly recommend you  
seriously consider purchasing one. You'll find that there are a  
million and one uses for the thing and once you have one you'll  
wonder how you managed without it!

Cheers!

David


On Dec 21, 2008, at 5:55 PM, Mathieu René wrote:

> Hi all.
> I wonder if any on Puptcrit have sculpted regular construction wood  
> for
> making puppets?
>
> I'm thinking of using some leftover 2 x 3 pine wood pieces to make the
> torso-body of my next self-appointed puppet design.   My main  
> concern is
> splitting.
> Although I've worked with this cheaply prepared wood before (no  
> humidity
> control during drying process), and never had problems, I've never  
> had to
> build something so dear to me, and the wood remaining exposed  
> (might be
> slightly oil-stained, no varnish). Any advice to help prevent major
> splitting? I don't mind a little bit of it, it gives character.
>
> Another concern is the wood grain.
> In which direction should it be, to allow for durability?
> Specifically, is the 3 " section the right face to draw my disk on?
> Those disks will be made drafty on all sides, have either a wooden  
> bead in
> the middle, or a bump integrated. The bump or bead will have a  
> thread or
> elastic through it. Two extra holes, close to the bump or bead,  
> will also
> host elastics.
>
> Thanks for any advice!
>
> This might become one of my dreams: a puppet number fitting  
> entirely in a
> small suitcase!
>
> Background:
> The puppet shall be small, about a foot high. It will be built very  
> much
> like a marionette, but will be a tabletop rod puppet. My goal is to  
> make all
> the parts visible, and beautiful. No more hiding with clothing or  
> fur. I
> might even include some of the tool marks as part of the intended  
> texture.
> The head and hands will probably be paper mache, unless I live a  
> sudden
> burst of technical growth, allowing me to sculpt the face directly  
> in wood
> as well. This puppet needs very delicate feminine facial features  
> and very
> delicate fingers. I already have a head prototype in paper mache,  
> which I
> can fall back on.
>
> I want multiple sections in the torso, to provide graceful bending.  
> They
> will be modified disks, with or without balls in between, with two  
> elastics
> on both sides of the spine.
> Since there will be no legs, I am putting all my effort on the  
> torso for the
> best movements.
>
> This puppet was intended for my first self-made puppet short film.  
> It's
> still scheduled for it, but now, this film has turned into a stage  
> puppet
> short number (solo). I had to accept this development, as the more  
> I focused
> the movie in my head, the more the decisions made it into a stage  
> tabletop
> number.
> The rods will be visible, and so will I.
>
>
>
>
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