Can't get any newer...

[funkyrib]

Hi everyone. I stumbled upon this site and I'm glad I did because it looks like there is a lot of information here.

I had an idea to carve a dragon Christmas ornament which suddenly morphed into "Hey! I could carve a dragon bowl!" So, here I am, attempting to gather enough information to learn to carve a...dragon bowl. I already have an idea of how I want it to look; the dragon will be wrapped around/clutching the bowl. I know I want to to be made of a darker, rich wood. I like the look of cocobolo. While I've never carved anything from wood, I am artistic so I think I'll be able to make what I see in my head.

I've been reading through and it seems as though Rick is the person from whom to obtain one's first set of tools. There are a lot of things I don't know, however, so I'm hoping I can get some answers.
First, where is a good place to carve? I've read that sanding some woods can affect people because of the dust, so I don't want to do this in the middle of the house. Can it be done in a basement or outside? Does it have to be a dry day, humidity-wise? How would I be sure that my piece is going to be balanced when finished (i.e. proper weight distribution)? Once I know the dimensions of the finished piece, how much bigger a piece of wood should I get? Also, first creating an image in clay seems to be a good idea; what type of clay is typically used? I would want something low-maintenance since I'll be working on it off-and-on.

I'm sure I'm in way over my head on this, seeing as how an engineering curriculum leaves little in the way of free time, but I'm excited to actually make something with my own hands!

Thanks in advance for all your help! Oh, and feel free to answer other questions I may have unknowingly omitted, but need to know.

[Callynne]

Hi funkyrib, Welcome! Yes, you stumbled onto just the right place, lots of help here from lots of very talented people!

I love the idea you have for your first piece, sounds great! As to your questions, I can answer a couple of them.

Rick Ferry is definately a great guy to work with. He didn't have a beginners kit available when I first turned to him for help. He advised me what I did and just as importantly, didn't need, to start out with. He can be completely trusted to give you the best of advice on tool selection!

I carve entirely in my house....wood chips and dust prove it! My carving room is right off our livingroom, I carve in the daytime in there, in the evening I carve in the livingroom. I have a portable carving table that rests on the arms of my recliner, works perfectly for me. If you want to carve in your basement, I can see no reason you can't set up a shop down there.

Dust can be a real danger, you need to wear a dust mask and if you are rotary carving or doing large amounts of sanding you will need a dust collector too.

As to the size wood, once you have your design you will have the answer to the size wood you need, just a bit bigger than your sketches. Don't be afraid to do a glue up, if necessary, to get the size you need. When I started carving I thought that was a bad thing to do, but it is pretty much a necessity lots of time, maybe not with 'exotic' woods, but plain ol' basswood, which I carve in, is hard to find in the sizes I need.

I haven't worked in clay, I know I should do pieces in clay first, but I'm too impatient, I want to be working on the finished piece right from the beginning! Lots of others here will be able to give you great advice on that.

Be careful, take the proper safety precautions right from the start. Wear a carving glove, thumb guard and also safety eye and ear protection when needed....and have fun! Good luck! Deborah



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[William]

funkyrib,

I have carved cocobolo before and it really is a beautiful wood but it is hard as rock and not easy to carve with hand tools and it's an oily wood. If you are thinking of a dark wood that is easy to carve you may want to check out redwood, it can be brittle in spots so a really sharp knife will be helpful and you may want to avoid thin or pointed detail. I have bought "Bowl Blanks" (3"x6"x6") in purple heart, cocobolo, maple and redwood and found the redwood to be the easiest to work with and won't break the bank.


Once I know the dimensions of the finished piece, how much bigger a piece of wood should I get?
I would go just slightly larger than the finished carving

Also, first creating an image in clay seems to be a good idea; what type of clay is typically used?
I use Plastiline (sp?) clay and some basic clay working tools

I'm like Deborah and do all my carving in the house including power carving (except for the work that really makes a lot of dust), a good dust collector will take care of most dust from a small power carver.

Best of luck with your project

Bill
^v^

[Claude]

Funkyrib:
Generally speaking, the darker and richer looking woods are also the hardest to carve. You might consider butternut - it has a nice grain and most people say it is relatively easy to carve. If you decide to go with power carving, such as a Dremel, Foredom, Wecheer, etc., consider getting the Monster carbide slicing burrs instead of the carbide Kutzall style...lot's less dust. Also, to avoid having to buy an expensive dust control system, wearing a face mask and safety goggles and holding the hose of your shopvac between your knees will keep most of the dust out of your lungs and eyes. I also recommend wearing a leather glove on the hand used to hold the piece of wood, as it'll protect your skin fairly well when the cutter gets away from you. Don't use a canvas or Kevlar safety glove with the power equipment.

Claude

[Dan S]

Hey there,
Cocobolo is one nasty wood. I love to work with it but i've developed a rather nasty alergy to it. The more you work with it the worse the reactions become. If you want to try the exotics, buy a respirator, cover your arms and do not carve this wood in the house. Your family will also be inhaling the dust from this wood. Some of the exotics have been proven to be carcinogenic. There are sites on line that can provide information on wood toxicity. On another note this wood is rather hard to finnish due to the natural oils in the wood. Teak oil works well but will affect the flavor of anything you put in the bowl.
Good luck
Dan

[Ashbys]

Welcome Sounds like a nice project .

I would stay away from exotics until you get a bit of experience. you have gotten a lot of great suggestions so far. Now I will give you one a little different. Consider using basswood for your project. It is a wood that hold good detail, an excellent carving wood and will help you learn without some of the issues that will come from using some of the harder woods. Butternut would also be a good choice but is sometime hard to get. You can always do a second piece but the first time experience can really make a difference in the learning curve.

For woods like cocobolo, purpleheart. kona, I would consider power before chisels, the wood is harder than oak almost a hickory level , you can carve it but chipping , chisels , dulling tools is very common. A more normal carving wood would bring you a greater first time carving experience.

In my opinion.
Ash

[mark yundt]

a dark wood ,,easy to carve,,,check out some walnut

[funkyrib]

Thank you all for your replies! I think I'm going to first make a clay model of what I want to carve. I looked up Plasteline clay and there are soft, medium, and hard varieties. Which do you think would work best? I'll probably do a lot of detail with the clay so I can play around with the design.
I certainly don't want to deal with any (more) allergies, so maybe I'll stay away from the cocobolo! Do basswood and butternut take stain or paint well? I definitely want a darker-colored finished product.