what type of chisels and gouges to use?

[hoovie26]

Recently I became interested in carving, and as a first piece, I've taken a chunk of pine that used to be a stud, and turned it into a spoon(not quite finished yet). I purchased a palm handle spoon gouge for the bowl section, and was happy with the purchase.

My question, though, is related to the next project I want to try. I'd like to do some letters(First initial for each of my kids), which I will do in basswood. Can I get away with using the palm handled tools, or should I look at using the type used with a mallet? I know I'll have to buy a few more tools, since the only gouge is the aforementioned one, so I need to figure out what I need before I start throwing money around.

Thanks

[Mitchell]

Your best bet may be a chip carving knive IF it's a small project.

A V-tool could be useful for larger work in lettering. It could be a palm version or the mallet version if you are wanting to do something larger.

My (opinion) recommendation is to start with the palm size tool before trying to get into the mallet sized - this is based mostly on $. If you plan on carving larger sized projects then you may want to go ahead and get the mallet tools.

You may want to search the site using "lettering" or something similar as the key word.

I went to the next new post in this forum and it's along the same lines: Oh where to start

[hoovie26]

Thanks for the input. I think I will stick with the palm size tools for now, and graduate to the bigger stuff later.

I plan for the lettering I do to be relief work, rather than incised(I assume thats the terminology), but I will search the site some more to see what insight I can find in older posts.

[squbrigg]

Depending on the type of letters you plan on carving, the palm tools should do fine. A basic set of palm tools will handle most jobs you'd want to start on. Larger tools can make things easier, but get familiar with the plam tools first.

You can waste a lot of money shopping for the elusive "perfect" tool ..... I have learned the hard way! LOL I use a large array of sizes and makes of tools and still use palm tools on some pieces. Best advice I can offer, is when you need to buy more tools, find a way of trying them first. Failing that, advice from the members here will help, but remember, everyone will have their own favorites for many reasons, and may make things more confusing. But there are some great tool makers that everyone knows to be reliable.

Go with your palm set to start with and ask questions as they arise. We'll help you as best we can along the way.

Bob

[Claude]

Welcome to the forum!
About that pine spoon...if you're planning on using it to cook with, I don't recommend any "soft wood" such as pine, fir, spruce, redwood, cedar, etc. as they contain pitch and oils that can ooze out of the wood. Good woods for cooking spoons are maple, cherry, apple, pear, walnut, and even basswood. If it's for hanging on the wall, such as a Celtic love spoon, than any wood is ok.

For the initials, here's an idea for you: I carved this for my wife about 35 years ago using a broken screwdriver I converted to a chisel, and a small gouge made from a nail. The wood is oak from an old broken pallet I found.
Claude

[Dagwood]

well my thought as of late is use the biggest tool u can find to do as much rough out work as possiable... for me this is the most boreing part of carving so i like to remove it as fast as possiable...just my 3cent worth

[hoovie26]

well, for the one gouge that I own, its made by a swiss company named Pfiel (or at least I think that's how you spell it). I am very pleased with it, and will be buying more of them.

Second, Claude, that's pretty impressive, especially considering what you used to make it. Also, I'll be sure to pass on to my wife to not use that particular utensil for cooking. Luckily, she loves me a lot, and wants the spoon anyway, even though it's ugly as sin.

I'll keep that in mind, dag. Perhaps I'll find myself a basic set of wood chisels at a hardware store for roughing large areas.

[bigEd_H]

Hi again Hoovie, if you get a beginner set, make sure that you can and will use all or most of the tools in the set. The best way is to buy a couple gouges, v-tools or chisels at a time as you need them.

Keep the chips flying.

[Mitchell]

Pfiel is a VERY good tool - can't go wrong with more by that maker... and your terminology is correct. You're on the right track.

[pallin]

Yes, I agree, but the spelling is Pfeil.
Phil