Like any sculptor, Ken Tynan chooses just the right tools to create intricate owls, pirates and lifesize superheroes from ordinary logs or blocks of wood.

He also relies on safety goggles and upper-body strength.

“Luckily I’ve been blessed with a strong back,” said Tynan, a chainsaw sculptor whose saw bars range from 10 inches to 6 feet long.

Using Butler as his home base, the 1978 Butler High School graduate makes his living as a carver, traveling the globe to appear at shows, fairs and competitions.

Tynan also is set to appear in “Saw Dogs,” a television series that will debut Saturday on Velocity, Discovery’s HD channel.

“They picked 10 of the best carvers in the states and Canada to do this show. They just happened to call me,” Tynan said.

The show is being produced by Buck Productions, based in Canada.

According to Buck’s head of television Jim Kiriakakis, the show is set at carver Steve Blanchard’s Saw Valley ranch, where the sculptors “battle tight deadlines, creative conflicts and big budgets as they carve out high-end commissions.”

“In short, I like to say it’s ‘American Chopper’ for wood chainsaw carvers,” Kiriakakis said.

According to Kiriakakis, 10 half-hour episodes are planned for the first season, hopefully with more to follow. Although the lineup could change, Tynan’s episode will likely air Jan. 21.

“Ken is a very talented carver with a speciality for human form and likeness carving,” Kiriakakis said.

“He’s from Pittsburgh and also a huge football fan. His episode involves carving the likeness of an NFL great from the Pittsburgh Steelers which made him the perfect choice.”

During his 12 years in the profession, Tynan estimates having done 1,000 carvings.

“Some are just quick carves,” he said. “When I do fairs, I’ll do four in a day; for a big commission, then I’ll call them sculptures.”

Equipped with a degree in art, Tynan worked for years as a billboard painter until computer-generated images rendered the job obsolete.

“I ran into a (carver) at the Iowa State Fair and asked ‘Can you make a living doing that?’ Tynan said.

“He told me how much he made per day. I said ‘Oh. I’m doing this.’ And I went to a pawn shop and bought a chainsaw and taught myself how to chainsaw carve.

“I might take some Sundays off to watch a Steelers game, but I pretty much carve six out of seven days a week.”

Tynan said the art form itself began with workers in the timber industry, who would carve crude items to pass the time.

“About 50 years ago, chainsaws became a little more manageable, and people started carving (more intricate things),” he said, explaining companies now cater to the craft by making special bars for sculpting.

The preferred woods are regional he said: In Pennsylvania, white pine is sought. Cedar and redwood are popular out West.

When Tynan and other carvers travel to shows and competitions, they often need a truck and trailer to haul equipment and supplies.

“But when we go overseas (for spectator events), everything’s provided for us over there. ... We just show up. They have people to help us, keep our chains sharpened, give us new saws. They treat us like rock stars,” he said.

Following his television debut this month, Tynan and about 200 others will convene in Ridgway, Elk County, for the 13th annual Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous — which Tynan said is the world’s largest event of its kind.

“Saw Dogs” will begin airing on Velocity at 9 p.m. Saturday.