Balls in a (chip carved) cage

I hadn't done any ''ball in a cage'' carving for a long time so I decided to do one. Then I ended with two balls in a cage and chip carved all the sides of it, I don't even know how long it took me from start to finish but it was quite some time:

 

To see the work in progress, click on Read More...

Chip carved puzzle box for Alana

The last few months have been quite hectic with long hours of carving, still I had to squeeze this extra piece into my time as it was a surprise birthday box for my girlfriend.

The blank for this 16-pieces basswood puzzle box was made for me by Gene from Wisconsin.

Whimsy in cedar

A traditional whimsy carved in a small chunk of PEI cedar, it stands 7''.

The ball is carved only in the dark part of the wood, which makes the carving to look more magical than if done (for example) in basswood:

A view from the top to show the darker grain in the cut:

Another Heart within

17.5'' cottonwood bark carving of ''Heart Within'',

all done in a single piece, heart finished with a touch of mahogany gel stain:

Heart Within

12'' cottonwood bark carving ''Heart Within''.

It is carved out of a single piece of bark, the heart is fully released inside, the same way as the traditional ball in a cage - so the heart can be moved with but cannot be taken out:

Ball in a cage

My third carving of 'a ball in a cage' out of a basswood egg.

I don't know who created this design, I've seen few variations on the Internet without able to track if it is a traditional carving puzzle or somebody's modern variation.

It is 4.5'' tall:

I decided to start deleting older posts with the same or similar carvings.

The pictures of the older ones will be always added to the latest post, when You click on 'read more'.

A ball in a cage, key chain thingie...

2'' tall 'ball in a cage', carved out of small piece of basswood:

October 2011 / This didn't go well...

A piece of bocote wood. 

I had no clue that it was way too hard for knife carving but the challenge was there.

I was going for two balls in separate cages connected with a chain:

August 2011 / Three balls in a cage

Another lesson of traditional carving puzzles in my self-teaching:

June 2011 / A ball in a cage

Time for a very traditional carving project: