@ Lady Bay, SA
The disciple Kung-too said: All are equally men, but some are great men, and some are little men; how is this?
Mencius replied: Those who follow that part of themselves which is great are great men; those who follow that part which is little are little men….
I’m getting there. This is a practice run on a scrap of Huon Pine.
Once the pattern is cut, I will try my hand at relief carving. The lines must be carved under and over as in a woven fabric.
It is a tricky business. My confidence levels have gone up a little, which is something: a few months back the whole thing seemed impossible….
The larger scrap of wood is an offcut from the soundboard. I thought to try my hand at carving a complete Rose; you can see an experimental pattern in one corner.
From time to time I polish the knife blade on a small strop; the edge needs to be razor-sharp for this sort of delicate work – and I keep in mind, too, Dad’s oft-repeated caution: blunt chisels (and knives) are dangerous….
Red-capped Dotterels by the Estuary….
This little skiff is a replica of Dad’s Silver Mist of long ago. She is not as sturdy as Silver Mist – and, it must be said, not quite as heavy.
Dad felt that a bowsprit and fore-stay would be useful additions. Sam and I might install a miniature jib, cut from calico, when the time is right.
Kingfisher is back at Lady Bay, to help train the next generation of mariners….
Silver Gull, loitering.
Pacific Gull, on the lookout.
Grey Kangaroo, passing through….
Here is the Huon Pine soundboard. I will glue the two lengths edge to edge, cut the resulting board more or less to size – and then plane it down to about 1.6 mm.
Thereafter, a cabinet scraper comes into play: centuries of experience has established a formula for the thickness, which changes from edge to centre. The area reserved for the George Gerle rose will be about 1.2 mm thick.
You can see from the photo why my home-made gauge is made the way it is: I can use it to check and double-check each and every point on the soundboard. The various thicknesses are meant to enhance the quality of sound, or – we could say- the resonance.
Another finicky task – but worth doing properly….
