“SHELF SQUATTERS” is the name of Whittle-Carved character heads that sit on a shelf.  They were first created in 1996 as the WOOD BEE CARVER’S version of what was commonly called “shelf sitters.”

They originated as a way to utilize little end cuttings of  pieces of basswood and later became normalized in size from a one inch square by two inches tall basswood blank.  An angled saw kerf is cut in the back side of the blank about half way between the top and the bottom and cut about two thirds into the blank.  With the saw kerf angling up hill, the waste area (indicated by the X’s in photo) under the saw kerf is squared so that part can be whittled away to allow for the rest of the blank to sit on and over the front of a shelf. Studying the photo at the left will show the saw kerf, the waste area and the way the blank will squat  on and over the shelf edge. Read the rest of this entry »