[Rain]

My original thought was cherry...has anyone carved in this before?

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

It's definitely hard enough!

I did one project in it, a sytlized blue heron about 12" high. Rough cut it on a bandsaw then took my knife to it. I lasted about 30 seconds and decided it was rasps, rifflers and sandpaper from there on out.

[Rain]

Ok, so do you think I could work in hardwood if I say invested in one good knife, then rasps and rifflers? What are advantages/disadvantages of working like this?

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Rasps, rifflers and sandpaper are slow going, but get the job done on really hard stuff. I've found a knife to be kind of on the dangerous side when working on really hard woods. You have to put a lot of pressure on it. One slip and you've aquired a major cut.

[AlArchie]

Might I suggest you invest in a quality set of palm gouges? for somewhere around 35 to 40 bucks U.S. you should be able to find a five or six piece set. By using these tools, you can secure your work to the bench and use both hands to control your cuts. I haven't done lockets but have done medalions and bolo's in cherry, maple and both on burls using the palm sets.

Here's an example from Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Tools, Gardening Tools, Hardware. A similar set (fully sharpened and honed) is available from Little Shavers Wood Carving Supply that includes a basic knife, glove, strop and compound.



Al

[Ashbys]

Hi Rain ,

Welcome to the forum. I have read through your post and the information you have given is good to give a understanding of where you want to go. Al gave good advice . But I am going to give you advise which you can take or leave.

If you want to learn woodcarving, there are all levels of carving as well as styles. But you have something very direct in mind. You want to make a travel locket. And your thinking of cherry . Cherry can be a great wood to work with or it can be a nightmare. But if you get a nice clear piece and wish to carve it, you will be using mallets.

You should consider chisels. Full size mallet tools. They have many advantages over palm tools and they will work in hard or soft woods. But they are used differently as well.

I am adding a post of a simple flower, done in cherry . I did it to estimate the time needed to complete it, for a friend who is doing a beginner class. It took 35 mins from drawing to where it is at . all done with chisel and mallet. Palm chisels do not generally have the control on hard woods a mallet gives. But they are more expensive.

If there is a carving club near you , I would suggest you ask to go to a meeting to watch . If you had said , I want to work in soft woods doing small work , I would say to start with a palm tool starter set , and a good knife. Because of the work you want to do , I think that chisels would be a better start. To see the difference in the materials , you can take a piece of pine and cut into the side with a knife , the a piece of oak or cherry and make the same cut. That difference is the reason that the tools are different.

Your learning curve is different , but learning safety , sharpening , woods and tools are all a part of the process.

To have a closure on you locket , you could of course use a simple flip latch made of wood attached to the locket which could be but into the design. Lots of options as to where to go.

[Dan S]

The problem with these woods it that they are just beastly hard. You need sharp tools and a lot of patience. Carbide burrs on a rotary tool will make short work of almost any wood. If you are going to powercarve this stuff, use protective equipment. The woods can cause alergic reactions and are an irritant at best.
If you are going to hand carve this wood using edged tools be careful. It is easy to slip and fingers slice much better than wood. A glove is a must but use a vise if you can. If this is going to be a very small locket with little detail you can easily shape this stuff with files. It is also easy to pollish. How big is this locket going to be when it's done? Also, what part of the world do you live in? I may have some scraps.

Dan

[bullshipper]

Hi Rain, I like your idea for a old world compass and I was thinking you could use olive wood it would look really nice. I think thats a good idea to get a beginners set from Rick's Little Shavers and start out with something like a little duck to get the feel of carving. One of these links has Rick Butz's book and it's a very good all around beginner's book and it has a pattern in there of a little duck.

Have Fun and Enjoy!!
Lonnie



Moore Designs - Over 500 quality rough-outs plus accessories for the woodcarver.
Bethlehem Olive Wood
Scroll Saw Hardware
Amazon.com: How to Carve Wood: A Book of Projects and Techniques (Fine Woodworking Book): Richard Butz: Books
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[Rain]

Thanks everyone,

I'm now leaning towards the idea of using rasps and rifflers. I'm not overly keen on sacrificing the hardwood and I have a lot of patience, but the idea of using mallets or even palm gouges on something this small and hard... That said, I will eventually be investing in a beginners set anyway because I want to take up wood carving more long term than this project. However, although cost isn't the priority I'm not sure I could afford to right now if I choose to use mostly files.

I have sketched out a rough design, I'll scan it through and post it up as soon as I can. I'd estimate the drawing is around 1 1/2 inches but that's just the way I happened to draw it, i'm pretty flexible with the size.

Dan, that's very kind of you! I live in England though, thinking most of you are in the US?

[Rain]

So here's my rough design, the quality of the scan is really bad though.

http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.co...1&d=1209296135

The top circle is the inside of the lid, the middle one is the outside of the lid, and the bottom one is the base with the compass inside. The strange drawing/thing on the left is supposed to be the side of the lid at eye level.

Here's my proposed measurements -

ok, so bear with me, I'm not used to working in inches:

• The diameter of the whole thing is 2 3/8"
• The diameter of the actual compass I want to use is 2 1/16"
• The rim, or thickness of the base is 1/2"
• The depth of the whole base is 1 1/16"
• The depth of the actual insert compass is 13/32"
• Not sure how thick the lid would need to be to get the design I want though, any rough suggestions?