Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:48 am
#18686
I had a carving party over the weekend, and I'd like to recap my current thoughts on my process of carving.
Along the table, I placed cups full of carving tools. For transferring... I had transfer paper, pokers, pounce wheels, etc. For scooping... "Monster Scoops", "Super Scoopers" and "Pumpkin Gutters." For carving... PM saws, ZP Pro Carving Tools, battery operated Power Carvers. For lighting... tea light candles and LED Rainbow lights. I have my personal favorites, but I own at least one of every carving tool out there, because it's my duty to test them out.
It was interesting to see which tools people reached for. I didn't have a chance to demonstrate every tool (this was more a social gathering than a classroom lesson). And some of my guests had never carved with patterns before. But they each grabbed a tool that they thought would do the job, and jumped right in.
I had my drill on the table with the Pumpkin Gutter attached. Before I could explain what it was for, I heard the Gutter whirring inside somebody's pumpkin. It was a big hit this year (thanks to my new drill). I think everyone appreciated the speed at which they could get passed the "messy" step. And heck, it's just fun to use power tools. The Pumpkin Gutter is now an official part of every carving I do. I'm still on my first battery charge on the drill (and have a spare charged up).
The only time you might have to get your hands dirty while using the Pumpkin Gutter is when you remove it from the drill to slide off the strings that get wrapped around the shaft. But I tried to avoid having to do this by sliding a knife down the shaft and against the blades on the end... doing this a couple times cut all the strings off, and I could keep on gutting, without having to remove the Gutter or touch anything gooey.
I've used transfer paper before, but I guess I hadn't tried a really good brand previously. This time I had Saral brand transfer paper on hand (in the blue color). A few people were hesitant to venture away from the tried and true hole poking method. But once we saw the results of the transfer paper, we had a room full of converts. Again, it saved so much time (and hand cramping) to use the transfer paper, which pleased the people. I think the only time I'll be using the hole poking method from now on is when I run out of transfer paper.
You might feel silly wearing a head lamp, and looking like some old coal miner. But it can help you see what you're working on, especially if the room is set to "atmospheric mood lighting mode."
I know everyone has their preferred methods. It's all about what works for you, and make the process fun. But these are some methods that are working for me this year.
The aftermath:
Along the table, I placed cups full of carving tools. For transferring... I had transfer paper, pokers, pounce wheels, etc. For scooping... "Monster Scoops", "Super Scoopers" and "Pumpkin Gutters." For carving... PM saws, ZP Pro Carving Tools, battery operated Power Carvers. For lighting... tea light candles and LED Rainbow lights. I have my personal favorites, but I own at least one of every carving tool out there, because it's my duty to test them out.
It was interesting to see which tools people reached for. I didn't have a chance to demonstrate every tool (this was more a social gathering than a classroom lesson). And some of my guests had never carved with patterns before. But they each grabbed a tool that they thought would do the job, and jumped right in.
I had my drill on the table with the Pumpkin Gutter attached. Before I could explain what it was for, I heard the Gutter whirring inside somebody's pumpkin. It was a big hit this year (thanks to my new drill). I think everyone appreciated the speed at which they could get passed the "messy" step. And heck, it's just fun to use power tools. The Pumpkin Gutter is now an official part of every carving I do. I'm still on my first battery charge on the drill (and have a spare charged up).
The only time you might have to get your hands dirty while using the Pumpkin Gutter is when you remove it from the drill to slide off the strings that get wrapped around the shaft. But I tried to avoid having to do this by sliding a knife down the shaft and against the blades on the end... doing this a couple times cut all the strings off, and I could keep on gutting, without having to remove the Gutter or touch anything gooey.
I've used transfer paper before, but I guess I hadn't tried a really good brand previously. This time I had Saral brand transfer paper on hand (in the blue color). A few people were hesitant to venture away from the tried and true hole poking method. But once we saw the results of the transfer paper, we had a room full of converts. Again, it saved so much time (and hand cramping) to use the transfer paper, which pleased the people. I think the only time I'll be using the hole poking method from now on is when I run out of transfer paper.
You might feel silly wearing a head lamp, and looking like some old coal miner. But it can help you see what you're working on, especially if the room is set to "atmospheric mood lighting mode."
I know everyone has their preferred methods. It's all about what works for you, and make the process fun. But these are some methods that are working for me this year.
The aftermath:
Last edited by Zombie Pumpkins! on Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:02 am, edited 1 time in total.