[James A]

I have been wanting to begin work on a robin in one of the books I have. I don't know how to insert the image of the bird, but hopefully some of you will have the book and clear up the process. I have only been carving for 2 months, so I need help making it. The book is "The Beginner's Handbook of Woodcarving" by Charles Beiderman & William Johnston. The instructions begin on pg. 109 and the image is on pg. 121. I know to begin I must cut out a blank, but I haven't had much success doing that yet. The only saw I have is a hand coping saw.

[Just Carving]

James

The procedure is usually a matter of preference and availability of tools. You have a coping saw. That's good--I prefer to use the largest gouge or chisel that will take off the most wood. But first things first...

Make several copies of the pattern/image from the book at the size you want. If the pattern is full size than copy as is. If it is half size, then you need to copy at 200%. Take of those copies and mark in any color except black "ORIGINAL". This way, when you need more copies, you can copy at 100% and not need to lug the book to the copier. Take one of the copies and trim away the excess paper--within an 1" of the pattern's outline--so you only have the bare minimum of paper to deal with. If you have transfer paper, then lay the transfer paper on the block of wood, and then place the patter on top. A couple of push pins/thumbtacks placed in areas outside the pattern lines can help to keep the pattern in place while you trace off the pattern outline. If you don't have transfer paper, then take a soft leaded pencil--a #2 will do as well--and blacken the areas around the pattern lines on the opposite side so that when you trace over the lines on the pattern side, you'll transfer the graphite on the blackened areas to the wood. Now you should have a pattern drawn on the wood--check to make sure you have all of the linework transferred onto the block before removing the pattern. Now this is one side. Remove all the wood up to the pattern lines--within maybe a 1/16" to 1/8". When you're done you should have a profile of a robin. Now since you're doing a bird, it's a matter of removing the remaining wood so you have an approXimate 3D shape of a robin, i.e. round off the corners in the right places and begin to add the contours. If you were doing a something of depth--where it would be easier to cut off the wood rather than rounding off in places needed, then you'd repeat the above process for the opposite side. It's a little more difficult since you don't have a flat side to work with--you select the smoothest side, and do the best you can to transfer the pattern. I've had success with gluing the patterns to scrap cardboard (like from a cereal box or a tissue box) and cutting out the pattern and using is as a template to trace the outline onto the block of wood. On the second side, you hold the pattern onto the wood, and allow the pencil to follow the contour of the wood while following the outline of the pattern. Just remember, that the pencil line is now half the pencil width bigger then the pattern line, so you can remove a little more wood if you want.

Getting back to removing the wood, try using your coping saw. Just use the saw to take slices of wood off until you start getting close to the pattern line. It doesn't need to be pretty--just practical. If you try following the pattern line with the coping saw, you will stray and meander back and forth across the line. That's why I take off small pieces and concentrate on getting as close up to the line as I do so. It's the same with using a large chisel or gouge. If you have a large (1") carpenter's chisel, get that baby sharp, and you have a great roughing out tool. Just keep cutting the corners until you get up to the line--remember the have the flat side up so you don't bury the chisel into the wood. Having the bevel up will cause the chisel to dig deeper.

Like I've said, it's a matter of preference of method and tools that are available. Maybe you might be able to take the block of wood to school, and see if you or someone you know can cut it out on a bandsaw--or if you know someone with a bandsaw at home, ask him to cut it out for you. Then you can accomplish the job a little quicker. The only thing with a bandsaw, is once you cut off one side of the block--you will need to tape the piece(s) back on so you'll have a flat side to cut the other side--basically, you'll need to put the block back to together so you'll have a square and flat surface to cut the opposite side of the block. So, cutting off the side in one piece would be to your advantage when taping or gluing it back on.

I know this is a lot, but by reading it and asking questions--which you're good at LOL--you'll learn. I give you a lot of credit--you're taking a big interest in something and a lot of young people don't even take an interest in anything at all. Keep plugging away, and you'll be a wood carver yet. If you're interested in bird carving, there's a website you'll want to check out, and contact the young fellow. He hasn't been around in a while, but if you mention you learned about him from here, maybe he'll help you a bit--he started when he was 15.

Woodcarving Illustrated Message Board - View Profile: David_Aaron_Sercel

You can check out his posts here too--you'll probably learn a lot from his experiences. And he does great work too.

Bob L

[James A]

[quote=Just Carving]James



. . . I know this is a lot, but by reading it and asking questions--which you're good at LOL--you'll learn. . .

Its hard to learn any other way when you are trying to self-teach yourself something from books.

My grandfather and uncle are the only people I know who have any of the bigger table top saws. The only reason I haven't gone to them is because my uncle uses his band saws to cut metal at his shop and my grandfather's scrolling saw hasn't been used in who know how many years. All it does is sits in his garage and collects dust.

[whittling]

I like to use a forked branch . let it dry 3 days . I like birch or maple .
Now as for a pattern ; find a bird book and a illustration you like . Copy witha printer shrink or blow up to desired size . Then use tracing paper to copy design on to branch and carve