Wood Carving?

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matmac

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Hay I'm a train-ie cabinet maker but my major passion is wood carving. I have been attempting it for about 2 yr's. I only use my small swiss army knife and what ever wood i can find. I am looking for any general advise, tips, trick or information on the subject. Really interested in traditinal carving at the moment such as chains or ball in cage etc.
So ya any information would really be appriciated. Last thing any pictures of people own carving projects would be really interesting and hopefully inspiring as well. thanks.
Matt
 
I've only attempted wood carving twice, and really should get my finger out and get on with some more.

First attempt.

seat1i.jpg


finishedseat.jpg


Second attempt.

totempole3.jpg


acutabovetherestphotoon.jpg
 
wow eddie thts really nice. specially if you only tried it twice. specially like the second one very crisp. and thank you blister :D
Matt
 
I think after the cressing temple carving marquee, the general concensus was just give it a try and see how you get on,
Get a couple of magazines or books and chip away.

I'm going to have a go myself
 
Hi mat, go on have a go, it's only wood. However if you need inspiration have a look for videos by Gene Messer. He uses what is sometimes called 'flat-plane' carving. Essentially this is knife carving, one knife after the roughing out stage! His enthusiasm is tremendous, and catching. A lot of useful information, including plans, is available via www.woodcarvinillustrated.com, american magazine I'm afraid but be prepared to lose time.
Have fun.
xy
 
matmac":3fqw3z3s said:
wow eddie that's really nice. specially if you only tried it twice. specially like the second one very crisp. and thank you blister :D
Matt

Thinking about it, I did do a trial run of the obelisk about three years ago.

play1gl2.jpg


And these are my weapons of choice.

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If you are interested and don't want to spend loads of money, Lidls have carving chisels on offer from Monday. If they are like the cheapo regular chisel sets that they sell, you shouldn't have any problems. I work with wood for a living and bought a set as a bit of joke to see how long that they would last. I spent approx half an hour putting an edge on them and have hardly had to touch them since. They are sharp enough to shave the hairs on your arm, and have actually been very good.

You would also think that using chisels etc everyday for a living that I would know better, but within a few seconds of picking up the first of my carving chisels, I did this. #-o

dscf9145.jpg



Finally with ref to the links. I can't really say that I was that struck. It seems to me that carving seems to attract a follow the heard pattern, and lacks imagination and originality. Don't fall into that trap, just do what comes into your head and be original.
 
ouch that looks painful!!!

Is lime usually used for carving? is it because it's soft or any other reason?
Any other wood that's good for carving?
 
Melinda_dd":1b7vbmpe said:
Is lime usually used for carving? is it because it's soft or any other reason?
Any other wood that's good for carving?

I am not a long established carver of any great expertise but this is what I feel.
The bit of wood in front of you is great for carving. However in common with many others I prefer Lime, for the following reasons. It is not too hard, it will take a crisp cut, the texture is even ( no significant difficulty cutting across anual rings),and will hold detail without crumbling. Just a few of the benefits. I think a lot has to do with scale, when carving small objects with lots of detail Oak would often be a poor choice as the grain is course and open and the detail might well be lost for example. Unfortunately I suffer mild irritation from Lime, I haven't tracked down what exactly but eyes and nose start itching after a little time. One other problem I have with Lime is keeping it clean, it seems to pick up every finger mark.
A really good bit of Cuban mahogany carves well but is harder, Box is apparently a very nice wood to carve, described to me as a 'hard cheese' texture, Basswood is I believe closely related to lime, Sycamore is reasonable but the growth rings can be tough. Red wood can be carved but the difference in hardness between summer and winter growth makes getting a decent flow cut difficult. Jelutong has been used for yonks by pattern makers so I would assume that it has many likeable carving properties, even texture, ability to hold detail etc..
Basically if you have an odd bit of something ... try it. What is there to lose?

xy


xy
 
I used Jelutong when I had my try at the rocking horse head

It does carve very well / easy but you need to proceed with caution as if you cut a deep piece it will tend to split past your stop point
 
Hi Matt

My passion as well though I haven't carved anything for years as I'm too busy :( I prefer in the round rather than traditional though I have had a go.

Very satisfying whatever your skill level and you never stop learning. I'm still a beginner but some of my earlier attempts are posted - carving-advice-needed-t41364.html?hilit= carving

I'd echo the other comments about choice of wood and my favourite is very definately lime for the reasons stated. I have carved basswood and it's ok but a bit softer and easy to mark and scratch (when the other half is polishing your finished object). It's also true that you can carve just about any wood if you really want to so if it looks possible give it a go.

My very first attempt (golfer) was a bit of old mahogany which was awful and stringy as hell but free so great practice and if you get tired / demotivated half way though just chuck it away and try something else.

Loads of advice and inspiration on line if you look and the woodcarving mag can be a good read.

cheers

Bob
 
IIRC Chris Pye did a decent series of books that taught carving, probably available from your local library.

These days there are probably carving videos on youtube - but watch out for the bullshitters, obsessives and charletans!

Edit; the man himself, more of an intro than a tutorial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06O3VGvRWWs

BugBear
 
thanks guys all really interesting stuff. tips on sharpening? seems to be that's what its all about. Thank you very much for all the response.
Matt
 
Melinda_dd":izjh4rqf said:
Is lime usually used for carving? is it because it's soft or any other reason?
Any other wood that's good for carving?
Lime is the ultimate, mainly because it cuts so cleanly in any direction. Look up Grinling Gibbons, 1648-1721, who exploited lime's qualities to take the craft to an entirely new level.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=grinli ... 67&bih=425
For different reasons, oak is lovely for carving. I like walnut and mahogany too, though there are many other good carving woods too.
 
Cool thanks. Think I'll start with lime
I've had my tools for over a week now and not touched a bit of wood!! work....college....neighbours ..... nightmare!!!
 
Melinda_dd":1pbmxhws said:
Cool thanks. Think I'll start with lime
I've had my tools for over a week now and not touched a bit of wood!! work....college....neighbours ..... nightmare!!!

I look forward to both projects

I look forward to both projects

:mrgreen:
 

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