Wood Carving Power Tools Benefits

This post comes about after reading a forum  question, after answering the forum I thought it would also be beneficial to post it on our website, because I’m sure more than one person has this same question.

Q: I’m just getting started in woodcarving small sculptures and I’d like to get a power tool to help out. I see that there are some that cost $300-800 (like the “Mastercarvers Micro Pro”) and then there is the Dremel tool and flexishaft accessory for less than $100. I don’t mind spending the extra money if it’s better product–I plan on using it a long time. Does anyone know the benefits of the more expensive products? What’s the difference?

I have been a professional wood worker for the past 29 years. It has always been my practice to buy the best tool for the job that I can afford. Having said that, I started power  wood carving about 2- 2 1/2 years ago. I was using gouges and chisels when I first started, then an employee brought in a small shaft driven electric dremel type tool. They both had their advantages and different uses and looks. One day, shortly after I had started using the power carver I was at a trade show and was introduced to a new air driven tool. Wow. I will never go back to the shaft type dremel again. A dremel runs at approx. 3400 rpms. These new air driven carving tools run at approx 35,000 – 500,000 rpms at about 45 lbs of air pressure. Depending on the brand you choose. It is amazing the detail that can be achieved with these carving tools.

Personally, I prefer the Hurricane that runs at 35,000 rpms. It has a little more torque and the noise level is not so high pitched. However, the one that runs 500,000 rpms needs no maintenance other than a couple of drops of oil every hour or so and is lifetime warranted. The Hurricane hand piece is available at profitable hobbies http://www.profitablehobbies.com. They also sell all the bits, patterns, and training that you would need to get started. They also have small quiet compressors to run your tools if needed and service all that they sell. The power pen that runs at 500,000 rpms is available at paragrave, http://www.paragrave.us.
Good luck and happy carving.

Check out the gallery page to see the kind of detail that I’m getting with my power tools. Goat pedestal Gun stocks

Custom Built Cedar Chest

Creating custom cedar chest heirlooms to be passed down to future generations and admired by all.

A cedar chest can be a great gift for many occasions such as weddings, Christmas, graduation, birthdays, or even anniversaries.  It’s been a long time tradition for an unmarried daughter to receive a cedar chest or hope chest to prepare for their wedding.   The cedar chest is to collect items such as clothing (especially a special dress), table linens, towels, bed linens, quilts and dishware, in preparation for their life with their significant other.

I say anniversaries as well, because there are many women who have never receive one for themselves for one reason or another.  The furniture look in and of itself is nice, but having the storage for memory keep sakes, movies, quilt or old photos is a benefit as well.

However, I have found that some men appreciate the value of a cedar chest also.  This particular cedar chest was custom built for a gentleman who wanted to store extra quilts in his cabin.  But more importantly to pass down through the generations.  On the back there is a personal letter engraved in his hand writing to his posterity.  Can you imagine generations later getting the cedar chest that has a letter to you from your ancestor?

This cedar chest is made out of tiger’s eye maple (which give’s it a ripple look), it is constructed entirely of solid hardwood except for the lid which is veneered mdf for stability.  The lid is edged with 2″ wide solid hardwood.  The interior is lined with maple except for the back and bottom which is Cedar wood.   It has a sliding drawer as seen in the pictures.  The lid has a soft closing mechanism to prevent slamming shut.

Cedar chests can be made in all kinds of sizes and wood species.  If you are looking into purchasing a cedar chest for someone special or yourself contact us for a free quote with the specifics of your project.

Here is a link to other specialty items we have done in the past for our clients, including a more simple cedar chest with a personalized name plate.  http://stevebartholomewstudio.com/blog/gallery/specialty-items/

Custom Quality Folding picnic table

We are excited to be connected with LeBar Cabinets in making available this custom quality folding picnic table. The table is sturdy and  fairly light weight (It weighs approx 35 lbs.)  The table is made out of solid wood,  has a slim design for easy storage and a handle for easy carry.  The table can be used for as many things as the imagination can come up with, where more surface space is needed. 

Some of the ways we like to use it are:  when camping, canning, scrap booking, when extra company comes over for dinner, doing crafts, and many more.  Check out the video to see how easy it is to set up, take down and transport.

Can also be viewed in the Specialty Gallery

I know there are rules and regulations with everything. The internet just amazes me and there doesn’t seem to be any so called “rules”. But there are suggestions, guideline, and common morals and consideration toward others. Here is something I found on some do’s and don’ts with social networking. http://snipurl.com/s6vfo.
This is all new to me and I’m grateful to be able to access information like this and want to pass it on to the next guy just getting started.
Though this article I also found that there are ways to shorten a URL. This is also helpful information for the new “twitterer” or “facebooker”.  I know I was clueless for a while.  I thought  there just wasn’t enough characters to say everything I wanted to say and still add the link.  So I’m glad there are such internet tools to find and learn new things from.    I did a search for URL shorteners and found this site http://snipurl.com/site/index to be rather easy to use.
Good luck out there.

I received an e-mail today regarding Social Media Networking.  Because this is all new to me and I’m sure there are people out there like me, I thought I would pass it along to help the next person looking for this kind of information. http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe6c16717764067a7511&m=fef51675776d0c&ls=fdef12737c640c7c7d15737c&l=fe8915737d63017573&s=fdef157274670675731d787d&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe2e16747667037e7d1473.  Quite the URL code I know, but it’s got some great information for getting connected and where.  If anyone has any other information that could be helpful to those just starting out on the social media networking path I would be open tothe information.

I came across a website resource center that is very impressive and thought I would pass on the information.  http://www.taxidermy.net.  I also have taxidermy.net as a link on this page if you’d like to go visit them.  This website has a slew of information or in their words “your gateway to the fascinating world of taxidermy”.  This website is for the hunter looking for a taxidermist or the taxidermist looking for supplies or associations to join and when the annual conventions are for each.  There are Forums, lists of Taxidermists, associations to join, where to find conventions, learning how to do taxidermy yourself, list of suppliers, publications, workshops and many more.   Definitely a place to look at if your interested in this kind of stuff.  We have been fortunate to be added to their supplier list for bases and mounts.  Thank you.

Carving called “Home away from home”

In Dedication to My Father, John P. Bartholomew

As a child growing up in the small, rural farming community of Fayette, Utah, I learned the trades of farming and livestock from my father, John P. Bartholomew.  I developed a great love of the animals when I was very young.  I personally didn’t care much for the farming part.  The alfalfa crop was beginning new growth and needed to be irrigated.  The bailed hay had to be out of the fields and put up as rapidly as possible to get ready for the next crop.  I am grateful to have had that experience but spending my summers from before daylight until well after dark hauling hay with my Dad and brothers was not my favorite thing to do.  It wasn’t until after I left home that Dad finally bought an automatic bail wagon.

Working with the sheep is what I enjoyed the most.  During the winter Dad would lease other farmers’ fields of various crops.  He would put the sheep in those fields, as well as in his own, so they could feed on the left-over beet tops, hay, corn or grain from the harvested fields.  During the winter, the sheep would be moved from field to field cleaning up each crop.  Eventually, the sheep would be moved to the low sagebrush covered hills west of town.  Then in the early spring the sheep would be moved into the lambing yards south of Fayette.

This is the time of the year that was most special to me.  The sheep were sheered and lambs were born.  Hundreds of them.  I loved watching the miracle of birth.  I loved watching the new born lamb get up on its wobbly legs and begin bouncing and playing around the corral.

However, the sheep were not all fun and play.  They were hard work, too.  Feeding, watering and taking care of so many sheep was full time work, but for some reason it was enjoyable to me.  Dad would always let my brothers and I bring the “bummer” lambs home to care for.  (These were the lambs that didn’t have a mother for some reason or another.)  We would raise them from a bottle until they were old and strong enough to be on their own and join the herd.

Shortly after the lambing season, the snow would begin to melt around the base of the mountains.  We would then trail the herd from the lambing yards to the spring range.  Dad and the herders hated this area.  There was never enough feed or water.  Dad would have to haul water to the sheep every day.  As the days became warmer and the feed scarcer, the sheep became restless.  The herders were constantly fighting the sheep because they wanted to move to the upper summer range where there was plenty of green grass and cool water.  Mom said that when I was really young I had referred to the trip to Cedar Mountain as, “the road to no return.”

The way I remember it, on July 1^st, we would turn the sheep loose and the herd would head for the upper mountain, called Clear Creek.  We would begin the two day trail following along behind the herd, pushing the young lambs through the thick oak brush.  We would trail the sheep up across the rugged mountain while Dad pulled the sheep camp around the mountain and back up the rough old, dirt…or usually this time of year, muddy road.  Depending on how many times Dad became stuck and depending on how long it took to get himself unstuck, would determine how far we would beat him to the camp spot on this last leg of the sheep drive.

In the old days, before my time, the sheep men would put a tent and other belongings on a pack horse.  They would then be able to follow along with the sheep.  They would stop every night to reset their camp, cook their meals and roll out their bedding.  When sheep camps where invented, they were much more convenient, but they also had their drawbacks.

I have had many fond memories connected to Clear Creek camp.  As an adventurous young boy, after we arrived with the sheep to the clearing, I didn’t want to sleep while waiting for Dad so I would either walk or would ride my horse up to the cabin that was about ½ mile east of the camp site.  The cabin was never locked, back then, and was stocked with all kinds of fun things that young active boys like.  If I was hungry, and at that age I usually was, I would take a can of peaches or something similar, and a fishing pole and head for the beaver pond that wasn’t too far away.  I would eat my peaches and fish for a couple of hours until Dad arrived with the sheep camp.  He would set up the camp, carefully leveling it, and then would prepare dinner which usually consisted of sour dough, mutton and fried potatoes.  YUM YUM, the best!

The Clear Creek Camp is depicted in this representation.  This art work is carved on a piece of wood that was cut from timber of a fallen tree which used to be a prominent land mark a half mile north of Fayette when I was growing up.  Even though it has some cracks and imperfections, it has special meaning to me.  This is the same wood used to carve a depiction of the Manti Temple which hangs in the Bartholomew Fayette home.  (Which Dad really likes.)

The sheep camp carving is of a crisp, early morning at the Clear Creek Camp.  The sun would come up over the top of Molly’s Nipple and would glisten through the new green leaves on the quaky trees beginning to warm the surroundings.  The depicted cabin is a real cabin, privately owned.  It cannot be seen from this particular camp spot, and in reality is turned facing the opposite direction.  It is a major land mark to the local folks.

The sheep camp was a safe, dry place to call home when you were away from home.  I have many fond memories of times spent with my Dad in the mountains at the sheep camp.  The moments on the mountain when I could go with my Dad made the long, hot summer days in the hay fields worth it.

Thanks Dad, for teaching me how to work.  Thanks for the sweet memories.  Thanks for your love of the animals and mountains that you have inherited to me.

Carving of:

MY LITTLE TOWN

In June 2008 I was approached by the Mayor of Fayette, Scott Bartholomew, to see what the possibilities were of doing a carving to hang in the new town hall.  We discussed many different possibilities to carve, He handed me some old photographs from the town’s archives.  We started taking pictures around town and this is what we came up with.  The original piece is 10′ wide by 4′ tall and hangs in the town hall in the City of Fayette, UT.  To view the full piece click on the picture to the right.

The story is as follows:

Oxen Exchange

In the spring of 1861 my great, great grandfather Joseph Bartholomew and James Mellor were asked by Brigham Young to move their families to the warm creek area of Sanpete co, later called Fayette.  Upon arrival, they found that the Indians claimed ownership of the spring, which was to be the life line of the valley.  They soon made peace with Chief Arropene and Joseph Bartholomew traded 2 fat oxen for the spring.  Later the meadows below the spring were bought for 2 calves.

Bartholomew Home

When the Bartholomew’s and Mellor’s first arrived at the spring, their homes were earthen dug outs with hardened dirt floors.  In 1870 Joseph Bartholomew started construction of his new home.  This home was made of red sandstone, quarried in the hills just southeast of town.  The walls of the home were 18” thick.  The original home has been remolded several times but is still standing.  My Father John P. Bartholomew and Kathleen Day Bartholomew are living in that 138 year old home today.

My great grand Father, John Bartholomew served as the ward Bishop from 1874 to 1914.  It was customary for the traveling Brethren of the church to stay with the Bishops along the way.  On one occasion, Wilford Woodruff, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was staying at the Bartholomew home.  He was in the upstairs bedroom for the evening when a rider from Salt Lake caught up with him to inform him of John Taylor’s death.  I have a hand written page from Wilford Woodruff’s journal explaining the anguish he felt as he felt the mantel of the Prophet fall up on him that night in Bishop Bartholomew’s home.

School House

The old school house, even though modern for the times, had no running water or bathroom facilities.  For a period of time, Philo T Farnsworth (the inventor of the Television) was living with my Grand Parents and teaching school in this old school house.   At the time Mr. Farnsworth was living with the family, my father was born in this old home.  Grandma and Grandpa were so impressed with Mr. Farnsworth that they named my dad, John Philo, after Mr. Farnsworth.

When the towns’ children began being transported to the neighboring town, Gunnison to attend school, the old school became a meeting house for the church.  This is where I attended church as a youth.

The old school bell would ring for special occasions.  It could be rung from a rope pulled inside the building.  On really special occasions the boys and girls from town would climb up the tree to get on top of the roof and ring the bell, especially, very early in the morning of the 4^th and 24^th of July, (waking up the whole town).  Even though the old school house has been torn down now, the old school bell has a new home sitting on top a monument in front of the new church.

When the footings were being dug for the new town hall, the footings of the old school house were found again.

The horizon of this carving depicts the actual mountain scene as it is today, the prominent rugged rock ledges of Mellor’s Canyon, to the north east, the Caterpillar Mountain Range directly east of town and the Molly’s Nipple peeking through the lower hills capping off the skyline to the south.

Around the parameter, bordering the carving, is a replica of each of the brands that have been registered to the residents of Fayette.

Geese

Today as you visit my little town of Fayette you will see the fields of corn and hay that are being watered by the warm spring.  Down below town is the Northern end of the Sevier River as it empties in the Yuba Reservoir, and if you watch you may see some cattle in the fields.  If you are really lucky you may even see some deer coming up into the fields to feed from the tamarack covered river bottoms.  The music that you will hear is not the hustle and bustle of a city life, but the honking of the resident geese.  There are quite a few geese that call Fayette home year round, but during the fall the skies and fields are full of the sights and sounds of the geese.  When asked where home is, I have to refer to my little town.

Steve’s roots run deep when it comes to wildlife and the great outdoors. His love and admiration for all types of wildlife developed at a very early age. It wasn’t often enough that he was able to sneak away from the hard work demanded by farm life, but when the chance did arise, Steve found himself in the nearby forest. He would study the animals, often seeing just how close he could get to them.

Soon after graduating from SUSC, Steve started his own cabinet shop where he has enjoyed working with his hands building custom, high end cabinets and furniture for the last 30 years.

By combining his passion for the great outdoors, with his superb ability to make people’s dreams come to life in wood – Steve now produces unique, one-of-a-kind original works of art in wood. Some of his recent projects include custom gun stocks, wooden stands for taxidermy mounts, wall murals and custom electrical plate covers.

“The good Lord has blessed me with the ability to take people’s ideas and develop them into works of art. Sometimes it’s a piece of furniture, maybe just a wall hanging, or even a full kitchen.”

“It is my dedication to building cabinets the old fashion way, with modern technology, that I have coined the phrase “Artist in Wood”.