[Woodcarver] Crucifix construction...

[Lynn Diel]

BillJust a note, the 15th (as well as the other 14) station are awesome!If you are going to stain the cross, you may want to use Animal Hide Glue, the glue lines are smaller and the glue will accept stain.  BlessingsLynn



--- On Wed, 10/21/09, Hans <hans at msdesigns.net> wrote:

From: Hans <hans at msdesigns.net>
Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] Crucifix construction...
To: "[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at carverscompanion.com>
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 3:50 PM

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Bill-

On my website, I have a pictures of the gluing process I used for a
Christ the King Crucifix. Since this one is dressed in the robes of
priest and king, the sleeves provide enough strength to allow the
grain in the arms to be vertical. The hands were added with the grain
following the primary direction of the fingers. You can see it here:

http://msdesigns.net/projects/kogf.html

Most traditional large scale crucifixes are glued up with body as one
piece and the arms separate so the grain can run the length of the
arms. If the grain in the arms does not match the direction of the
grain in the body, it is important to use dowels (or something
similar) in these joints.

Many large crucifixes are built with a cavity in the back. This can be
open in the back, but narrow enough to be hidden by the cross. This
would primarily be done to reduce the weight of the finished piece.
You will want to be sure you know where and how it will be mounted. A
cavity does need to be well planned to ensure you will not carve into
it. Building in a cavity may also mean more glue joints than you would
otherwise require. If this piece is going to be stained, you want to
try to reduce the number of edge glue joints as they will be more
visible that surface glue joints. This will be less of an issue if it
will be painted. If it was not necessary for weight, I do not think I
would build in a cavity.

When gluing up the layers, perhaps the most important part is making
sure each surface was smooth and matched the surface it would be glued
to. I find a piece of paper to test for gaps and a good hand plane
very helpful.

I hope some of this helps. If you have any additional questions,
please let me know.

Thanks!
--
Hans Schwalm
http://www.msdesigns.net


On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 2:55 PM, Bill Judt <bjudt at sasktel.net> wrote:

> Friends in Carving: Please support our List - visit

> carverscompanion.com/List/Support.html to donate.

>

>

> Gentle Carvers:

>

> Having received a commission for a six foot tall crucifix from a local

> Catholic Parish, here in Saskatoon, I am researching various methods for

> constructing the corpus efficiently.

>

> Ivan Whillock was ever so kind as to offer feedback in this regard, but I'd

> like to extend the call for information to the List community at large.

>

> Q. What methods are most effective for laminating the wood together for a

> large crucifix?

>

> Q. Is there a "coffin" type of construction for crucifixes similar to what

> is used for carving carousel horses?

>

> If any of you have information, especially links to websites containing

> diagrams/plans and photos of crucifix construction, I'd be most appreciative

> of your help.

>

> Blessings and Peace,

>

> Bill Judt

>

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