John Hein Woodcarver

John Hein Woodcarver All work carved by knife and hand-painted. I an temporarily shutting down www.johnheinwoodcarver .com and will sell on Facebook, Instagram and Etsy.

Putting a Vee cut into this mitten without my bench hook would mean holding the mitten in my hand. Since I have 150 of t...
10/16/2025

Putting a Vee cut into this mitten without my bench hook would mean holding the mitten in my hand. Since I have 150 of these to do today chances are I'd put a Vee cut into my hand. 3 pieces of scrap wood to make it. Put scrap carpet on bottom surface to protect table top.

We will return for our 3rd year. Stop by to see our family made hand-carved/painted German/Scandinavian/ Minnesota infl...
10/11/2025

We will return for our 3rd year. Stop by to see our family made hand-carved/painted German/Scandinavian/ Minnesota influenced Christmas ornaments. We made A LOT more of our popular Loon ornaments that no Minnesota/Wisconsin tree should be without.

Finishing up on a couple of bears on their way to Octoberfest. The boys are wearing their Lederhosen while the young lad...
10/10/2025

Finishing up on a couple of bears on their way to Octoberfest. The boys are wearing their Lederhosen while the young lady is waiting for me to finish her Drindl.

One of the regrets I have, at being a vendor at the Market, is missing out on the entertainment offered there. Nothing l...
10/09/2025

One of the regrets I have, at being a vendor at the Market, is missing out on the entertainment offered there. Nothing like drinking a beer, or gluwein, while enjoying Christmas music and European dance and choral groups

What is a "table hook"?Carvers, you might find this device handy. I am making up 10 of these for a class I am teaching t...
10/08/2025

What is a "table hook"?
Carvers, you might find this device handy. I am making up 10 of these for a class I am teaching tonight. It functions as a small work surface meant to be placed on a table. The surface size and material are whatever you feel you need and whatever scraps you may have on hand. These are 8 1/2" by 6 1/2" x 3/8" MDF.
I have glued to 3/4" scrap pieces to the 81/2" ends. At one end a piece is glued to the top and the other glued to the bottom of the opposite end.

Her : "Some Friday night. I hear you down there in the basement carving, sipping on a bit of Bourbon and listening to yo...
10/04/2025

Her : "Some Friday night. I hear you down there in the basement carving, sipping on a bit of Bourbon and listening to your precious Linda Ronstadt. And speaking of Boubon, why don't you get rid of the empty bottles on the back porch? Those "dead soldiers" as you call them. What possible attachment could you have to those things?
Me: I was with them when they died.

Time to call it a night. Getting close to meeting the goal of having 100 of these small santas done. Then I am off to la...
10/01/2025

Time to call it a night. Getting close to meeting the goal of having 100 of these small santas done. Then I am off to larger size.

How did you begin woodcarving? A long time ago, about 40 yrs or so, I came across a TV program on a Saturday morning and...
09/19/2025

How did you begin woodcarving? A long time ago, about 40 yrs or so, I came across a TV program on a Saturday morning and thus began my venture into this hobby. I have only kept a few pieces of my work. This Loon, dated 1988, is my favorite. I think I spent more time woodburing than carving.
OMG! You have 40yrs of carving experience?
Nope, more like one year's experience repeated 40 times.

It has been a little over a year since Harley Refsal, a legend in the woodcarving world, passed away. He was true gentl...
09/17/2025

It has been a little over a year since Harley Refsal, a legend in the woodcarving world, passed away. He was true gentleman and patient teacher. He did much to popularize the craft.

09/06/2025

A 5 min whittle of a small Cardinal from one of my basswood cut-outs. I carve 4 different sizes that I use in Christmas ornaments. They are all carved in the same manner.

Picked up some Basswood for Chridtmas tree/Cardinal ornaments today 3/8"x 5" x 285' and 3/8" x 4" x 65'. This will ke...
09/04/2025

Picked up some Basswood for Chridtmas tree/Cardinal ornaments today 3/8"x 5" x 285' and 3/8" x 4" x 65'. This will keep me busy on the bandsaw for a while. Not for carving as it is deemed too hard. The "CEO" wants 300 of them for the Christmas market.

The woodcarver's dilemma... Oh oh, it looks like I didn't bring enough Basswood cut-outs for the weekend. Hello! There'...
08/29/2025

The woodcarver's dilemma... Oh oh, it looks like I didn't bring enough Basswood cut-outs for the weekend. Hello! There's about 4 acres of mixed hardwoods around you - Basswood, Birch, and Maple. In fact there's a stack of Basswood logs you cut-up last year. Yeah, but that tree came down in April following the snow melt and 3 1/2" of rain during a storm. There's so much water content in the wood that it turns "p***y" and usable.
I think I'll hunt for some Birch.

Address

3233 Xenwood Avenue
Saint Louis Park, MN
55416

Telephone

+16124192159

Website

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