Sorry, the scrolls aren't touching the borders and there is a definite lack of single point shading on the leaves. :biggrin: :biggrin: Sorry, couldn't resist! Actually, it is looking great. Can't wait to see the finished project.
Dak,
Is that an Emmitsburg box? stock looks kinda Bucks county. Carving is nice, just enough. looks like a good piece of wood too. post pics of the engraving when it happens.:hammer:
A few suggestions, one the carving, I feel you need to blend the relieved area further into the uncarved areas of the stock. If you laid a bus. card across the carving to the same height wood will you see a steep drop to the relief? It should be a long gradual taper into the depth of the carving. The other thing that stands out to my eye is the molding, for lack of better term, the relieved transition from the cheek to the comb/wrist, this area is a bit thick. If you thinned that edge down for a smoother blend or transitions than it will have more grace. You're doing a fine job and these are things that many of us have done when we began to build.
I look forward to the engraving and the finished rifle. I might suggest that if you're going to engrave it in the wood, you might want to wait to stain the stock, especially with acid stains. A slip is easy to fix on unstained wood but things change with color. Just a thought anyway, enjoy!
Mark
DAK4442 is sent you a PM. You are coming along very well. One thing I did not mention in my PM is the use of scrapers. Scrapers can be very effective in leveling out background and in the sculpting process of the carving. I have pretty much gone totally to the use of scrapers and do not use sandpaper much anymore. Once you get the hang of shaping and sharpening scrapers to suit your needs you will find less need for sand paper.