my first attempt at relief style carving

[smuggles]

hi all just a few pics of my fist try with gouges only got them b4 xmass i hav done some chainsaw carving b4 but never used gouges! im happy enuff with as its my first try but sure it could be alot better any input on how i could hav made it better or any tips would be much appreciated ,i no the wood wasnt great the grain in parts was very loose so that didnt help nd also im sure my gouges could be sharper but im only starting out so havnt mastered the sharpining yet, anyay hope you like nd thanks for checking them out

[smuggles]

sorry having trouble uploading pics dont no y it aint working i will try again

[smuggles]

still not working sorry dont know what the problem is

[smuggles]

hi guys i was able to upload some pics in the gallery if u would like to check them out there in the chip nd relief cat under the title tribal woman , plse check it out nd feel free to leave any comments, thanks

[AlArchie]

Smuggles, I looked at yor carving and liked it a lot. You asked for comments so I left this on the photo. Hope you don't feel put out by constructive criticism. I really was impressed by your design, but the execution was a bit rough. Great first attempt, though.

One of the better relief carvers here could probably give a much better evaluation than mine and some good advice for improvement..

Al

"Very nice for a first attempt at relief. I think your design rates a lot higher than the rating I gave your overall carving. The carving looks a bit unfinished and has some ragged edges on the scrolling hair. Cleaned up, I'd give this one at least a "9".

Well done!"

Al

[Claude]

Originally Posted by smuggles

sorry having trouble uploading pics dont no y it aint working i will try again

The problem is probably that the photos are too large. There are no size limitations in the gallery, but the photos attached to posts in the forum have to be smaller than 580 pixels tall and less than 780 pixels wide.

Claude

[AlArchie]

Smuggles, I went back and looked at your pictures on the carvers' gallery and noticed something that I hadn't before. There are four holes in the corners with what appear to be a screw in each one. Were these to hold the piece down while carving or are they there to mount it to something?

If they are to hold it while carving, might I suggest you try making and using a simple bench hook? Here's a link to a good descrption and some pictures.
Bench hook - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I also use a sheet of that knobby rubber shelf liner...the non slip stuff....under both the hook and my carving. This allows the carving to be turned around as you carve to get better angles on those tricky curves. Using the hook and non slip stuff, the piece is secure without having to screw it down in one position..

You also said that the more you tried to clean it up, the worse it got. This is hard for a carver to do, but sometimes one just has to step back and leave well enough alone, consider this a learning experience (we have ALL had to do this at some time) and save the piece to look back at down the line to see how far we have progressed.

I still think it's a good carving and could be displayed very nicely!

PS I added this post to your image in the gallery in case you don't check back here.

Al

[Irish]

Good morning Smuggles!!!

Well, first and foremost ... if this is your first work with hand tools and with a gouge you have done excellently! Every new tool and every new carving style that any of us try does have a learning curve. With what I see I would expect that by the third or fourth relief you will be getting high praises.

I took the liberty of copying your photos from your gallery, re-sized them and posted them here. That way we can see what you are doing with having to page hop.

Susan

[Irish]

You have already diagnosed your problems, but let's take a quick look.

No matter how skilled any carver is or what their area or style of carving is ... if your tool is not pristine sharp your cuts will suffer. A dull blade will catch, drag, and tear at the wood instead of cut or slice the wood. So I am going to split off the forum in a few moments and dig up some sharpening photos.

Sharpening really is not hard but there are a few tricks of the trade that will insure a crisp, sharp edge.

As you noted you obviously had problems with the grain - you noted loose grain. As I don't have the wood in front of me I'm not sure what you mean by loose grain. I am wondering if that loose grain isn't an un-sharpened gouge catching and tearing during a low thin cutting stroke.

What I see in your two photos is that you chose to cut across the grain to lower your background areas. The gouge strokes run vertical where the grain lines run horizontal on your blank. So with each cut you are having to slice through multiple wood fibers. A cut made with the grain cuts just a few fibers and therefore comes out smoother in finish.

When you add these two facts together ... a dull tool that is catching or dragging with an against the grain line cut ... your work is going to be rough and ragged.

Now ... I see a tight round gouge next to the board that appears fairly thick in the metal at the cutting edge. And I see very wide deep gouge cuts in your rough out photo. So I am wondering if the cutting edge of your gouge is so thick that it is meant as a roughing out tool instead of a dressing out tool.

I have several different gouges in my kit ... some tight rounds and some wide sweeps ... some that are thick in metal at the cutting edge and some that are extremely thin. Thick edged tools are great for rouging but you want a thin edged tool when it comes time to shave the background or roll overs.

OK ... I'm going to add a couple of pictures here then be back.

Susan

[Irish]

Sharpening stones

OK ... try the thread above!

Before you go anywhere else or do anything else learn to sharpen your tools.

For a round gouge you use the same steps in sharpening that you would on a straight chisel or bench knife, and in the same order.

To work the rounded edge you simply pull the gouge backwards - dragging the cutting edge - while rolling the tool's cutting edge. Start the pull stroke with one corner of the gouge on the stone, roll as you pull, ending the roll at the other corner.

I like to alternate which edge I start so that I am reducing the edge in both directions. I will work the gouge over my coarse and fine stone for about one to two minutes .... more depending on how dull the edge is.

To release the tin edge that you develop inside of the cutting edge - the concave side - I will roll a piece of emery cloth (1000 grit or more) around a dowel rod that closely fits the inside profile. One or two pulls over the emery cloth will release the thin lip of metal that is created in sharpening.

To add the polish I drag the gouge over my strop with honing compound in the same pull-and-roll manner. For the inside concave edge I roll a few sheets of newspaper over my dowel rod, rub the paper with my honing compound, and then use the pull motion.

Quick note here ... if you don't have a dowel rod that fits your gouge in your work shop go check out the wooden spoons in your kitchen! I have a big collection of old wooden spoons each with a different diameter handle. A large knitting needle (sizes 14 and up) does great too.

While you are sharpening you also want to watch how steep the bevel is as it comes into the cutting edge. Very steep bevels are great when you are doing mallet work and when you want deep cuts. Low bevels work better for hand tool work, relief carvings, and for creating those very thin shaving cuts.

So ... first ... go practice sharpening ... then come back and let's see if that hasn't done the trick for cleaning up your background work.

Susan