Today, I carved the rotten wood at the back end of the scale. Above, you can see the basic carving with small carbide burs. The only direct engraving I’ve done at this point are the original cuts I made at the start, establishing an indelible pattern.
Above is the finished wood and knothole, both in the plain steel from the gravers and burs (top image) and after using my super-secret stainless steel patination process (Jax Silver Blackener, followed by Birchwood Casey Super Blue).
But, I’m not completely pleased with the rotting wood yet. In the top image above, I’ve circled the area that I don’t like. It just seems a little overworked, and the bottom edge looks more like a copy of the top edge. In the image below, I’ve gone back and fixed that! Much improved.
So
, that’s enough for today. Above, you can see where I got to, completing the right side of the beetle legs, and carving the rotten wood at the rear.
Thanks for looking!