Complete noob with a slew of ?'s

[stmfitr636]

Hi. This is copied and pasted from the other forum I joined.

I have a few questions about becoming a carver. I know the basics (or at least read the basics) about tool sharpening, safety gloves and thumb thingys, Ricks starter kits... that's about it.

What I don't know (basically everything else) is:

What or where is your inspiration? ... ie, I love looking at carved anything but am real hesitant to start too ambitious and be disappointed/discouraged. I have no idea what i want to carve. I do know what I don't want to carve (at least for my own use/enjoyment... and no offense to anyone, just my own tastes), that would be Santa's or caricatures. I do, however, like those rough carved, faceless characters they sell at Hallmark. But I prefer wildlife, leafy detail or ornate claw or sheep horned feet. I hope I don't offend anyone

I have signed up for a carving course at the local Woodcraft. We'll be doing beginners relief carving.

I will probably be using the Scary sharp system but that is specifically for flat blades.
How may I get a similar edge on gouges?

I recently ran into a bit of basswood... about 150 bdft, most 8/4"x 10+"x 8+' and I'm not sure what to do with it. I want to do some decoy work eventually and am presently working on a Windsor chair.

Should I keep the boards or saw down to more manageable pieces? That, in other facets of woodworking, would be a stupid question... IMO. But I'm quite out of my element here.

I hope to find some answers as I scour your forums here and elsewhere.
Thanks for your help and I welcome any and all advice.

Bruce

[AlArchie]

Here's a couple answers (not definitive)!

Inspiration? Hmmmmmm. I carve fish 'cuz I can't seem to catch 'em. That's a reverse inspiration. But it works. I was also inspired in this line by a carving I saw in Taos, New Mexico years ago. It was a coffee table with a glass top, carved from a hollowed out log about three feet in diameter. Near the bottom of the carved out part was a school of trout some rocks and a sunken log with branches on it, all carved from the log as it was being hollowed. WOW! I'll NEVER try something like that, but the fish were beautiful and got me thinking!

If you need a little prodding in the wildlife carving area, check out www.stillerpatterns.com They have hundreds of patterns for just about any wildlife you can think of. Pretty reasonable too.

To get my initial edge on gouges I just hand sharpen on a small diamond stone. Set the bevel on the stone with one corner down and roll the bevel across the stone as you rotate your wrist. Once the gouge is sharp, just strop it, either by hand or with a cloth or felt wheel charged with some (lots of favorites, here) honing compound. I made several diameter leather strops for inside radii from dowell stock with leather glued on. works just great.

I wouldn't cut that basswood down till you are ready to use it. You might just decide you want a really large piece for something.

Al

[stmfitr636]

Thanks for your reply, Al.

That's exactly how I came to my decision to carve. I was at Cabela's looking at a carved desk and they also had a coffee table like that of a stream bed. I was hooked on the idea.

And the more Spirit and caricatures I see... the more I see that I like.

I just hate having the feeling of needing someone to tell me what they want carved. Kinda like playing guitar... always requesting requests. I just like to play whatever I feel like playing.

Are there any practice motions or simple cuts that I could be working on some scrap whilst waiting for my muse?

[Ashbys]

Check Susans Irish site it might give you a few ideas.

www.carvingpatterns.com

or at least a starting point. As for the basswood , decide what you want to do , then cut what you need .

[heineda]

Bruce,

I am no expert by any means, but what I would suggest is to buy a book or two about the type of carving you want to do. Most of the books will have projects in them. I would suggest completing a couple of the projects in the book in order to practice your carving skills. Once you feel comfortable with that level, you can begin to work from pictures in a book, or from carving pattern books.

For sharpening, the scary sharp method works fine for gouges as well. As you draw the gouge across the surface, you have to roll it so the all surfaces come in equal contact with the abrasive. I have a grinder with one hard paper wheel that I piut chromium oxide paste on to hone my tools, and another floppy wheel that uses a "floppy compound" to polish the tool. I use these two all the time, and very rarely have to take my tools back to the stone. I bought mine from Larry "Big Dog" Yudis at:
http://thewoodcraftshop.com/DesktopM...ion=0&langId=0
This tool works very well.

I have found that attending carving shows and seminars is an excellent way to get inspiration, and to learn. There are
excellent carving events all over the US, usually in the summer.

Good Luck,
Dan Heine

[MelNM]

Bruce you should find lots of inspiriation on this website there are some great folks on here who are always willing to to give you help.

Your a lucky fellow to have all that basswood. I could find lots of things to do with it. Remember Christmas will be here before you know it, so may think of carving a few Christmas gifts, they always go over well.
Mel

[AlArchie]

Bruce, as far as practicing different cuts; there are only three primary types, and everyone has their own variations of those.

1. The STOP CUT. If you have a pattern drawn, hold your knife like a pencil (well, sort of) and trace your lines with the blade tip, cutting into the wood only a fraction of an inch. The stop cut lets you whittle or cut up to that cut without going past it. You will hear and feel a slight "click" when you reach the stop cut and a small chip from the working side of the cut will come out.

2. The PARING CUT. Maybe this is a bit too simplistic, but ya asked. Anyway hold the knife in your stong hand with the sharp part of the blade pointing at your thumb, and your fingers wrapped around the back of the handle. Now, (OK, wear a thumb guard) lever the blade into the wood held in your other hand with your strong thumb, pulling the blade toward you with just your fingers closing into a fist. This will be a very short cut and will remove only small chips or shavings. don't try to do too much at one time.

3. The PUSH CUT. This is just the opposite of the Paring Cut. Hold the knife in your fist with the sharp edge AWAY from you. Use your thumb to push the back of the blade into the wood in a levering motion. You can also use the thumb of the opposite hand to push or lever the back of the blade into the wood. This is NOT done with the whole arm, just lever the cut with your thumb. Again, don't try to take too big a bite. Practice taking small controlled ships and shavings, and you will develop the skill and hand strength you need to do all sorts of whittling and carving.

Kinda hard to describe verbally but that's the best I can do. After you've masterd that, there's all kinds of chisles and gouges. Better find a good book, or better yet a real live mentor!

I just remembered, Rick (bless his soul) has a good pictorial section on his site on how to hold and make those same three cuts, plus some gouge use tips. Check, here http://www.littleshavers.com/ToolUse.html

Al

[squbrigg]

Welcome aboard Bruce. You came to the right place for answers, there are some great, experienced, carvers here that can help.

Bob

[Doug Ridley]

If you want to carve decoys I would suggest the book "Decorative Decoys" by Bruce Burk. It is the absolute bible for decoy carvers.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Originally Posted by squbrigg

Welcome aboard Bruce. You came to the right place for answers, there are some great, experienced, carvers here that can help.

Bob

We just can't find'em, they're out blubing somewhere! lol