Blog Archives

December 22, 2015

Happy Christmas and New Year

Happy Christmas and New Year to all of my clients. I’m now putting down my bench tools for the festive season and will be picking up the tools again early in the New Year.

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August 23, 2015

Low Relief Carving to commemorate those fallen in World War I

Can’t believe it was January the last time I blogged – clearly I’m not very good at keeping the blog updated but I have a few photos of some of the work that I have been doing over the last few months which I have added to the website. I finished this commission in May for a Church in Wales commemorating those fallen in World War I. The carved lettering on the solid Oak panels for this commission was unusual in that it was carved in low relief rather than the usual style of incised lettering. More photos can be viewed by visiting the Lettering page of my website.

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August 20, 2014

Wood carving Incised Lettering

Stuck for ideas for a wedding gift – why not have something hand carved and unique for the happy couple that will last them a lifetime. This Solid Mahogany plaque has been incised carved and the incised lettering oil gilded with Palladium Leaf and the mahogany surface was finished with a hard wax oil – stunning!  

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May 14, 2013

Masonic Centre Carved Lettering

Every year for the last 13 years I have been incise carving the new names and dates of the current masters to their appropriate lodge boards. Throughout this whole time I have been dealing with the steward Jack and his wife Claire. During my last visit in April Jack informed me that both of them are retiring. It has been an absolute pleasure working with Jack and his wife Claire and they have always been very accommodating with what I require to carry out the carving on site.   I hope they both have a fulfilled and happy retirement. Best wishes for the future Mark

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April 20, 2013

Cabinet making, Wood carving & Gilding

Just finished a commission for a private client who wanted a solid Mahogany folding table top for his boat. The timber I used was African Mahogany from sustainable forests. For stability the centre section of the top was made up from two pieces of timber using the biscuit joint method and all ends of the table top leaves were cross banded again for stability but also hides the end grain so it is aesthetically better. I  chose to use a PU adhesive in the joinery construction as it is impervious to salt water, chemicals and extreme temperature ranges. I then hand carved the name of the boat with incised lettering to the centre of the table top. After I had completed the carving I proceeded to oil gild the incised work with 23½ ct gold leaf. This has a stunning effect with the lustrous hue of the Mahogany and is complimentary to the solid brass hinges. The surface finish that I used is a tabletop hard wax oil and I applied a minimum of five coats all over. My clients were over the moon with the finished product which makes me extremely happy as I take great pride in my work.

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