Power Carving - can I use any "how to carve..." books???

[Paul Barbary]

Hi,

I bought some books on how to power carve. There are many more available that seem to cater to traditional carving. Some of the Lora Fish books advertised on this site look good - but they don't specifically mention whether they are for power or traditional carving.

Lets say I buy "Relief Carving Wood Spirits"..... The book doesnt say its for power carving so I assume its for hand tool / traditional carvers - but can a power carver still get enough out of the book to make it worth buying?

This is my first real post - and I am a complete newbie - so sorry if my terminology (eg "Traditional carving") is incorrect.

[susieq]

Hi Paul,
As a power carver who learned how to use gouges first, I can tell you that if you are just learning to carve, making the conversion of what tool to use from gouge & chisel, to power tools, what bits, etc... might take some figuring out.

Once you have the basics of carving, in general, it's a piece of cake. You can see immediately, what shape of bit you need to make what cut on the wood to accomplish what ever it is you're trying to do.... experience is your friend.

If you are starting as a power carver, learning your tools/bits and their uses, is key. I do recommend the DVD sets by Frank Russell.... Even if you are not interested in carving fish or birds, the videos teach you the basics of how to use your power carving tools. Books are ok but actually seeing someone do something is much better than reading about it. Really shortens the learning curve. I think that in the long run, this would get you where you want to go quicker than just jumping into projects out of a book geared toward gouge and chisel carving.

Locating other carvers in your area would also speed things up for you. If there is a group that gets together to carve, nearby or if you could meet another power carver and spend some time with them, you would get the grasp of it much faster than going the "trial and error" route.

[BobT]

susieq is right on. Frank Russel demonstrates which bit replaces what hand tool in the videos. I think he is the master power carver. It is really nice to see him using the different bits and explaining what they are capable of.
Once you master the instruction there, you could grab any book or pattern and be in full control.

[torpidhummer]

Ditto on Frank Russell's DVD,it set me in motion with power tools after I learned how to carve with edge tools,now I use both.
Oscar

[Mottles]

Yep, ditto on Frank Russell's DVD..I actually got the DVD when I bought my Foredon Powercarver. Once you work with your powercarver and tools for a while you will begin to know which tool works to get the job done.