[Woodcarver] Crazzy amateur harpmaker

[Rochelle Summers]

On 31-Aug-07, Linehan718 at aol.com wrote:


> So lets go newbies, what are you working on, what do you need to   

> learn.


Well, I guess this is as good a prompt as any to introduce myself.   
Though I have never done any woodcarving past picking up a swiss army  
knockoff and a piece of driftwood, I have decided I am going to need  
to learn.

You see, I want to make a harp; a reproduction of the Brian Boru harp  
at Trinity College in Ireland (you'd recognize it if you saw it,  
practically everything that shows an irish harp, including beer  
labels, is based upon this one)  I am ordering the plans for its  
construction, and they include carving patterns.  Now, since I want  
to make it as close to the original as possible, I will hopefully be  
hollowing out a willow trunk to make the soundboard, and will be  
carving the proper patterns into both the willow soundboard and the  
oak arms.

There are a few snags I have to get past:

I need a chunk of willow trunk that would carve down to 27" high, 19"  
deep and 14" wide.  And I haven't the faintest clue where to look for  
that.  And if I want to finish the harp by next year, I have to get  
the willow soon because apparently those who have reconstructed this  
harp before had to let the willow 'season' for 6 months.

I also couldn't tell a good woodcarving set from a bad one, and  
haven't a clue or even a guess on how half of them are supposed to be  
used.

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