Brandon Carrasco

Mechanical Engineer/MBA - Mgmt. of Tech. #Solar Hobby Wood Carver (Cottonwood Carving), Director of Customer Solutions @Unirac

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@juliarherbst I’ve had great results from, “What would your current manager say about you today?” Then listen, wait and listen more as they reflect through this one.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@araskin Guess he took the fast offer instead of looking for a great offer

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@carverbobk I’m so glad I’m not here he only one who hates painting!
This is a piece of cottonwood bark. There was a downed tree that I was able to get numerous pieces from around Boulder Colorado. It has the most wonderful grain.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@carverbobk I’ve got a few pieces that need finishing (finishing isn’t fun for me…and painting is even more difficult for me to get started on) this is my latest.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

"When choosing a new habit... the trick is to ask, “What can I stick to even on my worst days?”

Start small. Master the art of showing up. Scale up when you have the time, energy, and interest."

–@JamesClear

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz @JasonForkings Those are really great! I love the elves.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz @JasonForkings That would be great! I would like to see them. I've been on a Santa kick lately. Carved a few santa heads in basswood recently, but I'm thinking that I'm going to make a few in bark this week.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz I set myself up an area to carve in my garage so I can carve at night. I've got 6 kids at home, so I've got precious little quite time :)
Otherwise, I've got a lap board that I made so I can carve out on the back porch when it's not to hot out.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz @JasonForkings I also watched a Kevin Coates video this morning and watched him using an upswept blade. I might have to put one too use more.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz @JasonForkings I've not spent time looking at Don Mertz's work. I just googled him and found his site https://t.co/gjUz3uaN2O Wow! What a lot of valuable information he's published on his blog. The more I look at Caricature Carver instruction, the more I see how it applies to my bark carving.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz @tbartlett89 I've even gone out and bought a heavy duty chisel to remove the tough exterior of the bark. Here in New Mexico and Southern CO, I've had some bark so hard that it chipped the fine blade on my gouges when roughing out! Once I get into the 'meat', it's so nice to carve!

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@tbartlett89 @BobKozakiewicz I started just about a year ago. I happen to live near cottonwoods. I found that the bark is really enjoyable to carve, unique every single time, and can become sellable pieces. Sold 7 so far on Etsy and made up all the $ I’ve spent on tools plus some 😁.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz Bull riding 🤠

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz That’s such a nice clean carving. I might try my hand at one or two this weekend for fun.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz thanks for sharing lots of good knowledge. I’ve never carved a morovian star, but I helped my son carve one for the first time a few weeks ago 😁

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz Switching from an old stainless steel bench knife to the OCC Tools knife made a night and day difference in my enjoyment of carving and the cleanliness of my cuts.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz As much as I would like to own a Helvie knife, I have found the OCC tools knives are wonderful. That 01 steel holds an edge great, and the grind seems just right. They are available and in the $25 range on Treeline’s website.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@JasonForkings @BobKozakiewicz I’ve been looking at adding a few new knives to my carving arsenal 😁. I have a really crummy upswept knife. I thought about upgrading to an upsweep knife with a good blade. When do you find the upsweep shape most useful?

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@BobKozakiewicz Agreed. I love that my kids take some interest in carving. Even the littles (4years old) wants to carve. I’ve done some soap carving with them to teach some skills in a soft medium.

[Brandon Carrasco @Brandon_C4]

@ToddLHendricks1 Wow, great picture.