"The Man With No Name"

In June of this past summer I closed up my carving bench so we could relocate. I've been dwelling on carving this classic Clint Eastwood character for months. The hiatus gave me plenty of time to work this piece out in my head. I prepped by downloading a few photos from the (so called) Spaghetti Westerns of the '60's. I can remember watching "A Fistful of Dollars" with a friend and we couldn't stop talking about it... until the next one, "For a Few Dollars More" debuted. Of course, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" topped them all off. Eastwood's wardrobe remained the same for all three of those great westerns. With more than a little trepidation, here is my first attempt at woodcarving an actual person in the iconic pose that made Clint Eastwood famous.

The wood is tupelo and is 4"X 4" X 12". The finished carving including the base is 11 1/4" tall.

The image is sketched on the front only.  

 

 Once the piece is trimmed on the band saw, sketches on the side were made to show me just how deep I can cut from the front or back.

 

The more I can outline and trim into the piece, the better I can begin to visualize the piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So far, all of the above photos kept me on my toes not to cut too much away. But once the "roughing" is complete, patience becomes more important. Although, that's when you can truly notice that all your work is now beginning to look like the image you have in your mind!

 

 

I purposely left the hat brim thick to prevent me from breaking it. There's a great deal of handling as you continue to fine tune the piece.

 

Power carving makes for some rough surfaces that will need extra care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The piece is "fine-tuned" and ready for sealing prior to the addition of any color.

 

The base is fitted to the piece.

 

 

 

The ever-present "stogy" in his mouth (actually a tricked out end of a toothpick) is attached.

 

 

 

The piece is sealed with Min-Wax Clear #209 wood stain.

The area under the feet is cut in a shape that I choose and the base is cut out with a router to fit the shape at the bottom of the piece. I prefer to inlay my carvings to the base for longevity. I typically add a screw from the bottom of the base into the piece for more support. The screw hole in the base is countersunk and plugged.

 

 

The paint is acrylic.

 

I hope you enjoy....

 

"The Man With No Name"