The Quill and Lightning Bolt

A moment in time.

Our scene takes place sometime in the history of the U.S. Navy Security Group. The location is anywhere in the World or on the high seas. You're in the Communications Space of the U.S. Navy Security Group. It's the beginning of a watch. The "boot," Seaman Beaumont is entering the space for the first time. He notices his shipmate, Petty Officer Quinn is staring at the plaques on the wall and everyone is settling in for their watch. Petty Officer Vines is reviewing the prior watch's report. Force Master Chief Schick is welcoming the Seaman. Seaman Beaumont is unfamiliar with the unique protocol of his new duty station. The Master Chief says, "Nothing's wrong Seaman Beaumont. At the beginning of each watch, each of us pay our respects to our shipmates."

Marine SSgt "Rat" Riddle likes to "oversee" our spaces and for some reason enjoys climbing walls!

The story of the carving; "The Quill and Lightning Bolt"

After carving "The Ditty Chaser" (The carving prior to this piece) for my friend and fellow CT, Dean, I posted the photos on the Naval Security Group Facebook page. "The Ditty Chaser" was extremely popular and suggestions were offered to have one of my pieces submitted to the US Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association Cryptologic Command Display in Corry Station in Pensacola, Fl. I contacted Force Master Chief Bob Anderson, one of the volunteers of the CCD. After our first contact to see if the group would be interested in having a special carving in their spaces the Master Chief was interested in hearing more.  Our conversations were productive and the idea of having a uniquely different item added to the history of the Group was most welcomed.

 

Special Thanks to Force Master Chief Bob Anderson for his time and effort in making this carving a part of the proud heritage of the Naval Security Group that yours truly was a small part of. Master Chief Anderson donated the gold nameplate for "The Quill and Lightning Bolt." The Master Chief's efforts and assistance (not to mention keeping this project a secret until it is to be presented) is deeply appreciated.

"The Quill and Lightning Bolt" is the pinnacle of my carving work and the 83rd piece since 2009.

Early in the summer of 2018, all I could think about was; what would I do, it's theme, title, how big, how many objects, etc. Fortunately, we planned a few weeks away and I couldn't get to the carving bench but that gave me the time to really dig down into my imagination. I needed to develop something I'd love to carve that will be a lasting testament to the history of all Cryptologic Technicians. It would also become a "Legacy" piece for this carver.

The piece needed to be on an entirely different level from my usual "personalized, themed, single character carvings I've been doing since 2009. It had to incorporate items that would resonate with all CTs past and present. It had to be much more diverse than my time in the Navy of the late 60's, yet I wanted the nostalgia of the "old" communications spaces.

In late August the carving began in earnest. I was either at my carving bench, at work (part time), walking the dog or sleeping. I walked away from the finished piece on October 26 at 5:17p.m.

The work-up of "The Quill and Lightning Bolt."

The overall size of the piece is 30"W x 13"D x 11"H (with SSgt "Rat" Riddle hanging on the wall).

There are over 30 carved pieces. (The only piece not carved is the American flag and pole.)

All of the characters and most of the pieces are tupelo wood. There are some basswood pieces as well.

All of the pieces are carved using a rotary tool.

The rough-out stage of the four main characters: A Master Chief, 2- Petty Officers, 1-Seaman and 1-Marine. Force Master Chief Bob Anderson, Curator of the Cryptologic Command Display helped with names of the Chief and the two Petty Officers. They are well known to many of the Security Group personnel. The name of the Seaman (Beaumont) is from the movie "Hunt for Red October." The Marine's name, Ssgt "Rat" Riddle, is that of a young Marine I was in Basic classes with while stationed at Corry Station in 1968-69.

Note: The addition of a Marine came very late in the work-up of the project. To be honest,  a post from a fellow CT reminded me that Marines are a large part of the Security Group. The floor and major pieces were routed and set to the floor and once they were cemented in place I had to think "out of the box!" Since Marines do an outstanding job of "overseeing" the Navy's interests and they don't mind "climbing walls," I placed him "on the wall!"

 

Force Master Chief Bud Schick



 

 

(L to R) Seaman Beaumont, 1st Class P.O. Marie Vines, 1st Class P.O. Frank Quinn



 

 

I had intended to place a coffee cup in P.O. Vines right hand and a Mid-watch report in her left hand.

However, there wasn't enough bulk to do her right hand and

 cup any justice.

 

So, off with her hand!

 



Of course now she has a ridiculously large coffee cup!

Although, the funny part is I got a lot of comments from jealous fellow CTs saying, "dang, she's got a Chiefs cup!" 

(I later reduced it in size just a smidgen.)

 

And, SSgt "Rat" Riddle, on the wall!

The "Communications Space" is 3/4" sanded plywood. 

It seemed several weeks I was shifting/moving or fussing with the placement of the people and larger pieces.

I preferred to not have any character with their back to the front of the piece.

 

With the main characters ready for finishing, the rest of the pieces became a fun work-up.

 

Fitting and attaching the door/push bar/frame and floor to wall molding.

 

 

Carved into the center of the floor is the CT rating symbol, the Quill and Lightning Bolt.

 

Every working space in the Navy has to have a sink and coffee cabinet.

 

 

The "Memorial Wall" plaque with the six major events in our CT history.
Each plaque is the duty base, ship or plane of the event. I printed out the emblem, trimmed each one and mounted it on a piece of wood. The wood was trimmed and painted gold then mounted to the backboard.

 

 

Gotta have name tags!

A Radioman needs a receiver and typewriter. The typewriter will have a radio transcript in it.

 

 

Every Communications Center needs a bank of electronic equipment!

 

 

Every Chief needs a desk!

 



 Teletypewriters were the connection to the outside world for many years.

 

Every good veteran has to have a coffee cup!

 

 

… a waste basket and coffee pot is a must!

 

The emblems on the cups were done the same way the plaques were. The cup second from the left on the third peg is mine! It's a printed copy of the front of the actual cup with the logo of a "sleuth" character and my "nickname!" (Thankfully, you can't read it!)

 

The Chief's hat, a Burn Bag and a female cap.



 

A Marine's cap, stool and headphones.

 

 

  

The layout is finalized.

All the carvings. (not shown, the cup & hat racks, door/frame.)

 

All painted and ready for positioning.

 

Pieces were test fitted and walls put together numerous times as their permanent mounting was made ready. (For the major sized figures, I routed the wood left below their feet into the base/floor.  For smaller pieces I use 1/8" dowels.)

 

This scene (with the background covered) is explained in the first paragraph above.

"The Quill and Lightning Bolt!



 

 

The Ditty Chaser

Every now and then an idea for a carving takes on a life of its own. So it is with "The Ditty Chaser."
Recently, I reconnected with a Navy roommate from 1969. We were stationed in Iceland. In spite of all the years gone by, memories of the experience continue to be bright and like it was just yesterday. Thanks to a US Navy Facebook group, Dean, just happened to inquire if I was the guy he knew while stationed in Iceland.
A few posts and we were on the phone and catching up on a whole lot of living gone by. While conversing, I began to develop the idea for this carving. Dean and I shared a room but also months of great experiences while in Iceland as well as a week in London together.
Back then, my carving was referred to as "whittling." There was no flair to the pieces just a fun shape cut out of wood. My new main hobby at that time was photography. I drove Dean crazy taking black & white photos and slides. With a photo lab at our disposal on base, I spent many days and nights in the darkroom. I was the guy with the camera on his neck, the bag of gadgets on one shoulder and the tripod hanging on the other.
However, fifty years later sticking my camera in the faces of the guys paid off. I've shared a great many slides and Black & Whites on Facebook and my blogs. Together, Dean and I have opened the door to our pasts.
With the flood of memories and great stories fresh in our minds I'm sure this piece will be as special for Dean and it is for me to be able to create it and give it to him. Dean and I were Communications Technicians. Dean was a radioman and I a teletype operator. Interestingly, we never really knew exactly what the other actually did. In fact I just learned that Dean knew Morse code, and from what I understand, learning to take Morse code is no small task. Hence, "The Ditty Chaser!" These guys learned to take code at a rapid pace which meant they all had to learn to type as well. Dean was smart, he learned to type in high school. He was well ahead of the game.

Here's how "The Ditty Chaser" came to be....

 

The ideas for "The Ditty Chaser " came together over several days. But, the idea of having a guy sitting at a table typing something he was listening to just didn't seem all that unique at first. I added  a comical twist that brought the ideas to fruition. A radioman can take code and type at a high rate of speed, however, this sailor is "hunting and pecking with two fingers," hence the strained look on his face. Only a true "Ditty Chaser" would appreciate this sailors delima.

 

The 4"x3"x7" block of tupelo is outlined and ready for the band saw.

 

The radioman, radio, typewriter stool are ready for the roughout stage of the piece.

 

 

I started this piece out a little differently. I "warmed up" on the simple pieces before starting the radioman.

 

Back in the 60's we did have electric typewriters but we learned on manual typewriters. In this case I opted for the manual "mills" because of their look. The radio is also taken from the same era.



 

The table legs and base are the only things not hand carved for this piece.

 

With the accessories ready, the main character is roughed out.



Final piece reduction and fine sanding is the most fun stage of a piece. I manage to refine the details

and enhance the finish texture.

All the pieces required a fair amount of fitting and alignment. I needed to pay particular attention to just how high the table and his stool needed to be. His hands had to be just above the typewriter as if he's "hunting" for the right keys.

 

On figures I tend to inlay their feet into the base for a stronger mounting. No, they are not platform shoes!

 

I wanted the sailor to be wearing his white sailor's hat for this carving. That meant the sides had to curl due to the headphones.



 

At last, all the pieces have had their final smoothing and have been readied for dowels to be  make their gluing to the base stronger. Below, you can see the dowel holes and feet cut outs for the pieces to be positioned and glued in place.



 

At last, the "paint studio" is readied. I moved painting my pieces from the garage to inside the cooler house. The paints were thickening too quickly in the heat. It typically takes me a day or two to complete the painting of a piece.

 

Looking over his shoulder you can see his 3rd class petty officer's "crow." on his arm That was Dean's rate at the time.

 

Ah, the look of total frustration! Trying to listen to high speed Morse code can get the better of the best Radioman. It's been said that in "A" School some of the trainers said they could read code coming from the sound of a running fan! (Note: Back in the 60's A/C wasn't in all of our spaces!)

Yes, I just had to write something on the paper in the typewriter!

 

"The Ditty Chaser"

Here's to the very special group of men and women often referred to as "Spooks!"

 

Spook:

A species of carefully selected and highly trained

members of the US Navy and US Marine Corps

who do things they can never talk about for people

they do not know with little recognition from those they have served.

(Sorry, I'm not sure of the source of this comment.)

"Triple H's Soft Side"

"Triple H's Soft Side" is being gifted to a rather quiet Cast Member with a fun-loving

off-stage personality. Stephanie, thanks to info from her close friend Rod, we find out loves WWE, video games, Impressionist artists and craft beer.

 

Hearing the above suggestions, the ideas for the pieces of this carving came together quite easily.
 

Triple H is one of Stephanie's favorite WWE heroes. The photo selected made for an easy rough out.
So, the unique and subtle details will be the trick to get all the pieces to come together.
The photo is trimmed and traced onto the tupelo block.

The sketch is cut from the block and trimmed as a template. The piece is just over 1/8" thick. This template holds up better than the paper to give me the front outline.



 

The template is traced on the front, then the figure is coped out with the band saw.

 

Now for the profile. Once the side of the figure is reasonably established its back to the band saw.

 

The wooden template on the left will be utilized quite often for

overall figure sizing as the piece is reduced.

 

Next, the roughing with a course burr can begin. 

 

Depending on the intricacy of a piece, the roughing stage can be somewhat more frustrating as the piece is reduced in bulk. Leaving enough wood in the right places must be well thought out. It helps to work the entire piece down to size then comes the detail.

 

Once all the arm, leg bands, wrist tape and face are clearly showing, the fun begins...

finish shaping and smoothing.

 

As for the rest of the pieces, the craft beer bottle was simple. The actual WWE belt is extremely detailed. It was decided to "KISS" the belt! (Keep It Simple Stupid)

The WW emblem was easy enough. The side plates are simply the initials of the recipient.



 

Holes and studds to secure the belt will be added.

 

Below are the six pieces that make up "Triple H's Soft Side."

At the bottom left is a Villain from "The Legend of Zelda" video game.

The poor fellow with a broken sword is about to be "stepped on" by Triple H.

However, the simple looking painting easel and frame took over three hours one Sunday morning!

Three or four prior easels found their way to the trash bucket! 

 

Here are the finished pieces.

The bottle is stained and the label is from a photo printed on regular paper.

 

The Villain with a broken sword is "squished" beneath Triple H's foot.

 

Van Gogh in his place of honor.

 

"Triple H's Soft Side"

 

 

 

The piece measures 9 1/2"W X 8"H X 7"D.

Triple H is 7" tall.

 

(Note: Every carving this carver creates is a gift. The enjoyment of each project comes from selecting the  unsuspecting recipient and the well researched and personalized suggestions that goes into each carving.

"Triple H's Soft Side" is the 81st carving since 2009. Except for but a few special request carvings, each carving was a complete surprise to the recipients.

I'd like to take a moment to send out a special thank you to all my unofficial "Sleuths" who can keep a secret and who make all this so much fun and deeply rewarding.)