chip carving in Oak ?

[jeep4x4greg]

up till now, I've been doing some chip-carving in basswood only...

I wanted to try Oak for a few reasons, but big part is I want to build an entertainment center and do a carving on the front face.

I tried cutting a few chips on a piece of red oak from the big-box hardware store but couldn't get a good cut for the life of me.

now i know I need to hit the gym....but is there something else i'm missing?

I'm using a flexcut mini-chip knife

would a different blade angle work better....

chisels and mallet?


or do I just need to hit the gym?

i'm open for anything if it helps....

[jmischel]

I don't do chip carving, but I can tell you from experience that oak is much harder than basswood. On the Janka hardness scale, basswood will be between 450 and 500. Oak comes in at 1300 or 1400. You don't need to hit the gym. The stuff is hard.

For carving, the harder woods require a steeper bevel angle, and more frequent stropping. And shallower cuts. And it's a bit more work. I suspect chip carving will require similar adjustments.

[mark yundt]

If you increase the bevel angle on the chisel this necessitates a steeper angle of attack into the wood thereby making the carving much more difficult than it already is. Instead of a paring cut you're now trying to make a plunge cut.
If you think about it, you'll realize this makes things much more difficult in my estimation as I do carve quite a bit of Oak.

[minowevie]

Hi Jeep. I am a beginner chip carver, and have only been practicing on bass wood so far. I did try a stab at some walnut, and oak, but dang . so back to the bass wood. I commend you for wanting to put chip carving on your entertainment center. I would guess , you might need a stronger tool for sure. if the chips are big . maybe you could use a skew knife and mallet. I would practice on some scrap wood first for sure. I think where the is a will there is a way. folks have been doing this forever. I would also try wetting your oak first, to make it softer. with denatured alcohol and water. I have heard that works some. like I said I am a beginner, so don't listen to me. just trying to help out. this is what I would do.
PS. what is meant buy the hit the gym.?? is that to get stronger, or what. sorry just learning as well. Evie

[Ed Redwine]

I do chip carve and wouldn't do oak on a bet. But, Mark is right in my opinion. Paring cuts instead of plunge cuts might yield what you are after.

[woodcarverjim]

Hi all,

My experience with chip carving has also been to use dry basswood or butternut and the results were wonderful with a sharp chip carving knife.

However, I recently read Peter Follansbee's article in the June issue of Popular Woodworking and I'm wondering now about trying chip carving in green quarter sawn oak. Follansbee carved low relief designs resembling those on a 17th Century oak chest featured in the book The Artisan of Ipswich by Robert Tarule. Although Follansbee used chisels, it makes sense that chip carving in green QS oak might offer a satisfactory outcome.

Greg you might want to look over the article especially since you were thinking of making panels. The thing is that you'd have to dry the panels sufficiently or account for shrinkage in the construction.

Regards,
Jim

[minowevie]

I was thinking on this last night. and I was just wondering, maybe if you do you chip carving on some bass wood. then cut to size. couldn't you do a over lay. or inset that would look nice. there is many stains and dys out there. to make the color match. just a thought. Evie

[woodcarverjim]

Evie,

You are on the right track. What I was referring to is a carved panel that is surrounded by a frame with mortise and tenon joints. Often furniture workers refer to this as raised panels or if a door then as raised panel doors. Alternately, you could carve a section as you suggest and then attach it on the outside of a box if it looked right for what you were doing.

Take care,
Jim

[mark yundt]

I'd just carve directly into the Oak. It shears so nicely and chips just pop out without any fuzzies. I've done this as well as carved a bunch of egg and dart in Oak and it comes out cleaner than most other woods. Just don't go after tiny little cuts. Generally the Oak won't hold minute cuts, grain is too far apart generally and there are almost porous areas depending on the specific piece.

[CarverRog]

I have chip carved on oak,cherry, beech and others. When I chip carved the oak I was carving letters and I would use chisels and gouges to make the first cuts and then use my Wayne Barton style knife to shear the chip walls smooth. In Europe long ago they used only chisels to do chip carving. The book Odernistic Chip Carving by Victor J. Mankin explains how to chip carve with skew chisels. Good Luck!