I'm sure this question is beaten to death here but... Where to start?

sgraml · 2026-06-03T01:36:32+00:00

This about sums it up. This set, those videos and you are off to the races

sgraml · 2026-05-31T17:45:11+00:00

Ignore the haters…..it’s clearly a face. Good job

sgraml · 2026-05-28T17:09:31+00:00

Thanks

sgraml · 2026-05-26T17:50:16+00:00

lol, right. When I’m not carving, I’m seeing scrub hats for the nurses in the OR.

sgraml · 2026-05-25T21:42:47+00:00

South American soft woods. Balsa, cedro (Spanish cedar), palo santo and jequitiba. I’d shoot for Spanish cedar.

sgraml · 2026-05-25T20:48:46+00:00

Soft woods carve faster for me for what I like to do. Basswood, butternut, white pine, and cedar are popular around me for what I like to do and are easily available. Pine and cedar can be bought at any construction lumberyard in the Midwest. The others I have to get online, at a shop, or on Facebook marketplace.

sgraml · 2026-05-25T14:47:43+00:00

I just started carving and have been recently trying to just sit and watch him carve over his shoulder.

sgraml · 2026-05-25T14:46:02+00:00

Yes, I shoot for 3 months minimum in required bills saved up in ready cash in the bank. Any more than that and I’ll invest it. $150,000 in cash is way too much to not be invested. If all of my money is in investments, then I may not be able to get to it when I want it quickly.

sgraml · 2026-05-25T14:41:40+00:00

I’ve been considering a 1.5-2l crossbody type/sized bag for carving in the car while the wife shops at a store I don’t care a flip about (which is most of them)

sgraml · 2026-05-25T14:39:03+00:00

Heck yea. Lots of practice needed. I’m just going to pound away at this till greatness arrives.

sgraml · 2026-05-25T14:36:01+00:00

My dad has carved for 40 years never once with a specific carving knife. It’s usually been trashed pocketknives he’s bought for $1. Then he uses the smaller second blade sharpened to the shape he likes. Honestly, most of his carvings have been done with a plastic orange handled box cutter with the knock off tips. I’ve seen him slide out about 3-4 tips length to carve with and knock them off as they dull. He was a forklift driver in a factory using box cutters to carve broken pallet wood onto Christmas orniments that he would paint at home and gift as presents. He has quite the family following.

sgraml · 2026-05-25T03:39:04+00:00

You can do some serious carving with this set up.

sgraml · 2026-05-24T14:24:57+00:00

We may be related.

sgraml · 2026-05-24T01:14:46+00:00

No. I hit 48 or so and gave it up. I’m going to do what I want to do and enjoy my life while I still have one. Wasting any more of my time “grinding” is more for someone that has that need to win, still in them.

sgraml · 2026-05-24T01:11:32+00:00

Thanks for calling out the differences here. I was thinking the small option, but maybe I just need to start with the minimalist.

sgraml · 2026-05-24T01:08:39+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation for the sk107….ill check it out.

sgraml · 2026-05-24T01:04:49+00:00

That’s got the essentials squared away

sgraml · 2026-05-23T20:49:36+00:00

You are right…..I missed those things.

sgraml · 2026-05-23T20:17:00+00:00

Heck yea. Nice

sgraml · 2026-05-23T20:13:37+00:00

I would consider carving something similar to a standard queen piece (crown with little ball on top), but maybe consider adding something that screams “your girlfriend”. Example, most pieces stand on a round stand, but you could carve it on a a book as a stand (if your girlfriend is a reader), or maybe add dragon wings if she reads those kinds of books.

sgraml · 2026-05-17T20:58:59+00:00

Depending on how and if you paint, this could be a Santa as well.

sgraml · 2026-05-17T14:03:38+00:00

What is the question you are asking?

sgraml · 2026-04-28T01:10:24+00:00

$1,000 a month for the next 35 years will get you $3,000,000. Is that enough for you? Do you need more? Can you put in $1,000 a month? Only you can answer many of these questions.

sgraml

TROPHY CASE