I’ve been making good progress with the carving on my latest project.

Here I have roughed out the front of the body and one wing.

At this point the neck and head look strange–almost like the Lock Ness Monster. But after I get the rest of the eagle roughed out I will start refining the shape.

Turning to the back I marked out the rough shape of the back and tail.

Here the side view shows the space between the legs and tail laid out.

Using a large wood boring drill bit I removed as much material as possible.

After opening the space between the legs and tail I drilled between the two legs. I’ve started roughing out the right side wing. Notice all the tool marks.

Here you can see most of the tool marks are gone. I used a flatter gouge to remove the high spots. The smooth surface makes it easier to layout and carve the feathers later.

I’ll post some more photos in a few days.