Last year I got the opportunity to repair three old carved eagles, all belonging to the same collector. Two of the eagles were genuine John Haley Bellamy eagles and one was an old copy. One of the genuine Bellamys was an example of his early work. It gave me a rare chance to study the originals up close, and take them apart. I’ve seen dozens of genuine Bellamy eagles up close, but this is the first time I got the chance to remove the head. It was interesting, and a great opportunity to closely examine the master’s work and techniques.

Following are photos of those eagles and their repairs.

Continue reading “Original Bellamy Eagle Repair / Restoration / Conservation”

Some of my favorite projects are designs created by a customer. It gives me a chance to do something a little different. This one of those instances. Though the design incorporates one of my often carved eagles–a copy of a Boston Carving Company eagle–it is only part of the project. Building the frame was easy. Simple woodworking that I’ve done many times. The real challenge was the stars, 18 of them. Each one was cut from 3/8″ pine. But then I had to carve each one. They are only 1.5″ so holding them while during the carving was tough. I ended up using double-sided tape to hold them to my bench. It was time consuming, tedious work. It wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t have to make another one.

Feel free to design come up with your own idea and let me create if for you.