His hands were hard and calloused from the carvings that he had done, but the affect he has had on others, has only just begun.  He could see the finished product, as he carved the wood away, And he shaped the lives of others that he met along the way.  The measure of a man is what others think and say, Though gone he is remembered with every passing day. As life goes by around us, the things that make us whole, are the gifts we've received from the carvers hands that have shaped our hearts and souls.

    I started carving, off and on back in 1995, and started doing it seriously in 1999.  Although I worked a regular job, I did make the time to pursue my carving activities

    One of the things that really bothered me when I first started was the fact that most of the carving books I purchased seemed to be written for people with at least some carving experience. Perhaps it is because of the "money factor" involved in printing a book with lots of color photographs. It costs money to produce these books and the publishers have to produce them at an affordable price. Still, that does not help the person who needs more detailed explanations. I have found that many people, myself included, are "visual" learners. A detailed  illustration and a simple  explanation are the keys to success for these persons.

    Once I got to the point where people didn't have to look at my work and take a guess as to what it was, I figured I had developed some skills, and experience  that I could pass on to other "beginners". Why not write a detailed tutorial that filled in the empty spaces  in the books ?   My tutorial may be much too verbose for some (just skip steps if that is the case), but I have a particular audience in mind. (BEGINNERS with NO carving experience at all)

    Feel free to download my tutorial for your own use.  If you are teaching a carving course, you may make copies for your students or direct them to my Web page. If you make copies and distribute them, please give me credit for my work and don't sell them for a profit.

    Please feel free to e-mail my family regarding this tutorial.  They will try to answer all my mail, but it may take a few days to get back to you.

    Let us know what you think of this site.  Your input will help us determine how long to leave the site active.

    One more bit of advice.  Even if you have access to a local woodcarving club, get on several of the carvers lists that appear on the Internet.  My favorite is the Woodcarver's Porch (see link in sidebar). This is a great group of helpful people. Once you become a member of this group, you never stop learning. They are more than willing to offer good, sound advice and the pool of experienced carvers is unbelievable. 'Ol Jud, the moderator, does a good job of keeping everything under control.  Sometimes, we even talk about carving.  So, if you want a group with no "chat" this is not the place to go........... Consider yourself forewarned !!!!!!!!!

Good  luck,

Ron