How big is it before you start?

[sludgeguy]

Thought that would get your attention...
How big of block do you start with for your charcters? I've only done small, 3" or 3 1/2" cubes. I am going to try a bigger carving but what are the more common sizes to get some good detail to them?

Thanks
Doug

[Mitchell]

Not really sure what you mean.....

Do you start with a 3" cube; that's 3x3x3, or 1x1x3" or something along those lines?

I carve anywhere between 1/4x1/4x1" up to 3x3x12" for caricatures.

Realistically, you can get LOTS of detail in a piece 2x2x6", especially if you have worked on smaller carvings.

[mwilleson]

Well, this isn't much of an answer, but whenever I'm going to do a piece, I decide how big I want to make the subject.

I then select the wood that gives me about 1/2" all the way around as extra.

So if I'm making a six inch tall caricature that is 1 inch wide at the shoulders I may make him out of a chunk of wood 7" x 2".

As far as thickness, the same rules apply unless the subject requires some extra thickness to make a certain feature fit.

Confused? Hope that rambling gave you a bit of an idea what I do.

[BasketballJones]

Saw that post above Pyrography and got scared, thought my fever fried my brain.

Good question. Would that include gluing up for arms and additional items. I'm still trying to figure out the Jenga block article and how one carves on pencils & toothpicks.

[squbrigg]

I start with a stick one inch long, about 1/4" thick and 1/2" wide. Just the right size for what I'm doing!

Size is all a matter of perspective..... carve in what ever size or scale you are comfortable with, and experiment from there.

Just have fun carving!

Bob

[Thomp]

Im certinly not one to mirror as to good carving habits, but that question has haunted me many times, is there a standard size expected if you dont intend to take your projects to a show,,,

the answer i came down to is..
it would be difficult to carve a 1/8th inch wide nose with a 1/4th inch gouge, not impossible to do but quite difficult, so the answer i think i came up with is the tools might matter quite a bit if you wanted a real finished look.

recent purchase of 1.5x1.5 2x2 4x4 & 3x6 all 12" long basswood stock from henekel wood to carve.
im happy with purchase but the bigger blocks scare me to death, ive thought the most ive thought about them is the best way to cut them on the table saw to cut them down,
but left them for last in case i get the cahonies to distroy a big block of wood
in a sudden wood chip storm, up till now i been using hobby blocks 2x2x3 from crafts stores i think your limited to your virity of carving tool sizes somewhat...

[artolver]

Thomp,
I don't want to be rude, but I think you are making this carving biz all too complicated.
If you are somewhat of a newbee and your projects aren't really huge, I have a suggestion for you and all carvers. That is, "use a carving knife" on a small project and nothing else. It can done. I know a few of the ol boys of Caracture carvers who used nothing but a few knives.
Backlash accepted.
Art (the bark guy)

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

I have to agree with Art. I survived perfectly well for a whole lot of years with nothing but a pocket knife. Then, I got caught up in the tool thing, big time. I have boxes and boxes and shelves and shelves of tools. So many, I quit counting at 200. Just within the last couple of months, I've gone back to only the pocket knife and have been doing just fine. Only problem is, several years ago I got caught up in the knife thing, to the tune of a couple hundred. Life sure is tough, just full of traps.

[Thomp]

Artolver.

IMO

I agree all you got to have is a knife & something to keep it sharp.

carving is a skill we all learn differently even from the same teacher, tools provided and heed we commit to lessons, time and experiences,

no mechanic or body man only has one tool in their toolbox.
tools are for different things,

I am not an eclectic purest.. I don't want to be that limited any longer, nor do I see the need for spending hours making knee deep 'Jed clampit piles' of chips that provide no visual impact to the finished project.

So I make blanks, remove what bulk i can with a saw.,"what's the difference? you would have gotten to the same point hours later if you used just a knife, without all the honing! .

No I don't think there's genie in a tool out there that you can buy to make yourself an overnight success.
its good for the tool industry for some to think that, but practice & experienced makes carvers.

thanks for the info
no flack intended
thomp

[Lynn O. Doughty]

I find that 3" thick stock pretty well covers the field of the caricatures I carve or the ones being carved today from the books which most carvers rely on. A 2" thick piece would work with a figure out of one of the Enlow books. But that extra inch from 3" stock can really come in handy sometimes. If the stock is too thick just take a slab off and use it for other things. When buying wood I try to find it before it's run through the planer as that usually takes off an extra 1/4"-1/2" just to make it look pretty. I can put that to good use.

As far as length or width, the larger the piece the larger the waste due to knotholes or other imperfections. But sometimes bigger is better. The most annoying thing is planning out a carving only to find that the wood you have on hand doesn't measure up.
Head Bange