We have the good fortune to have as one of our participating carvers from Tennessee , “Shorty Menendez  a retired professional carver from the “high end” furniture trade.  I asked Shorty for some carving tips and I will try to paraphrase his responses.

Shorty has noticed that the novice carver does not always draw the eagle on his blank before carving.  The eagle should be drawn on and the important items located, eyes etc, and re-drawn when needed.  If the carver doesn’t have the drawing skill he should get help from a fellow carver or instructor.

The second mistake Shorty noticed is that many carvers will start on the detail - say the eye- before they have the blank shaped to the correct proportions.  Save detailing the eyes until next to last.  When finishing the eye carve it as round as possible then smooth it with a hardwood burnishing stick.  There are several methods used to shape and polish the eyes mentioned in other pub’s.

The best helper for the novice carver, Shorty says, is to have a plastic eagle head to look at while carving.