Undercutting techniques

[-JBergs-]

Hi,

I'm attempting to undercut a relief carving for the first time and I'd love to hear about how I "should be" doing it since I'm running into some technical issues... The carving is a foliage design and the leaves are somewhat wavy so I'd like to undercut them in certain areas...I started with what was basically a flat plane in a basswood plaque and relieved the perimeter of the design and now I have the model, which I set in and shaped...as said I'd really like to undercut some of the leaves now but it's been awkward getting my tools to do what I want them to. I'm sure I have the tools I need; can anyone offer some advice on how they do it?

My tool collection is limited although I do have a decent spread - bought a 12 pc. set of two cherries a few years back...

MY TWO CHERRIES CHISELS:
STRAIGHT CHISEL Sweep #1 14MM
SKEW CHISEL Sweep #2 6MM
STRAIGHT GOUGE Sweep #5 14MM
STRAIGHT GOUGE Sweep #5 16MM
STRAIGHT GOUGE Sweep #6 3MM
STRAIGHT GOUGE Sweep #6 10MM
STRAIGHT GOUGE Sweep #7 6MM
STRAIGHT GOUGE Sweep #8 14MM
STRAIGHT GOUGE Sweep #11 2MM
LONG CURVED GOUGE Sweep #14 6MM
SPOON BENT CHISEL Sweep #21 3MM
STRAIGHT V-CHISEL Sweep #39 6MM

By the way, I'm hoping to buy a few Pfeil chisels very soon; maybe I should include something specifically made for undercutting?

[pallin]

For undercutting reliefs I start with a knife, cutting along the edge to be undercut, angling the blade in the direction of the undercut. Then I use a fairly flat gouge (#2 or #3) to shave the wood toward the stop cut made with the knife. The width of the gouge may be determined by the space you have between the leaves. Some relief carvers even have to resort to dog-leg gouges to get into tight spaces. You may have to work cross-grain, so your gouges should be very sharp.

[Ron T]

I'm carving a Rain Forest stick that has some curved leaves on it. I undercut the curves using a gouge that closest fit the curves.

[Robson Valley]

I have both left and right Mora hook knives. No double edge because I like to push with my thumbs. If, and only if, you are prepared for some Zen time sharpening and honing, the hooked end works better than I expected. . . like a scorp 1/4" across. These are common in stores that sell farrier's supplies. . . . anybody carving horse hooves?