[chuckt]

Hey Doris -

If I understood Pye correctly, when using a V tool you will ALWAYs have one side against the grain. (though - I still don't understand exactly why). I think he was saying that you need to learn to orient your cuts so that the clean part of the cut is next to the keeper part of the carving, and the "against the grain" part is in the waste area (the background that will be lowered).

I don't think you can ever get both sides to cut cleanly if Pye is correct (which I assume he is) so don't tilt at windmills!


ChuckT

[Ron T]

Hello Doris,

We have met before and as I said then, you do beautiful work.

[Claude]

Originally Posted by doris

...
claude, my fretsaw does not allow the blade put in another angle as 0 or 180 degree. the blade is flat where it is fixed, and the space where it is fixed is also flat, is kind of slot. ....

Doris - I apologize for some bad information. My coping saw is a relatively cheap one ($10US several years ago), but it does allow the blade to be set at any angle to the frame. I assumed the fret saw would also be that way, but I just now went back and looked at a close-up photo and see that the fret saw blade holder is much different than the coping saw. Again, my apologies for giving you some bad info.

Claude

[mark yundt]

Yes Chuck,,I believe you understood correctly. In this case the cut is pretty much going directly with the grain. Most times you don't have cuts going like this and here I believe is what Chris was talking about. In almost every cut,,not going directly with the grain,,using a V tool..one side will be with the grain and the other will be against it in every cut. Therefore one side will be clean ,,and the other possibly not so clean. And if you have a choice in direction,,then keep the clean side where it will do the most good and where it would be the most difficult to clean up if you didn't have the choice.Or as he put it,,,have the most damage done to the area easiest to clean up. Many times I'll make two passes with a V tool just to overcome this problem,,,just tip the chisel to your favor in each pass and you eliminate the problem altogether.
The other way to take care of this situation is as you said,,use chisels in vertical stop cuts then pare down to them. As you also mentioned there can be sections,,or if it isn't done correctly ,,you will see where the chisels overlapped each other making the stop cuts. There are ways around this though.Practice is one,,the chisel you choose is another, , and how you make the stops is another. Once I get past some nagging details I need to attend to ,,I'll post some pics on another post about this very topic.

[doris]

chuck, and mark, thanks...is always good to know its not me being too clumsy to make always clean v-cuts... mark, i do look forward to those pics, even on things i think i know how to do, i always find something interesting, and often enough this improves my way of carving :-)

hi ron, nice to see you being member here too :-) it sure is a great place for wood carving ...

claude, no need to apologize...actually in this case your information helped in a very indirect way...namely since i mentioned in my saw not works, pallin suggested to bend the blade...well, i did try this yesterday, and it works great, and i was able to remove some wood, where it would have benn very hard to do with chisels because of limited space...only blades break more easily after bending, but that is ok...see, you made me think about it, that was good ! :-) thanks :-)

[Toffeeliz]

Originally Posted by chuckt

I think the suggestion that Toffeeliz was making before did have merit though. It seems to me that she was suggestion to follow the outline of the ridge (i.e. the leaf vein) making connected vertical stop cuts to whatever depth you wanted (1 or 2 mm) along the length of the vein line

yeah, that was what I meant heh - I haven't got the lingo just yet
Doris, I have the greatest desire to run my hands all over this. I get the feeling that when it's been varnished it'll not feel as nice, but it has to be done to keep it nice and preserved. What wood is this?

[chpster90bu]

Doris, as you know, I'm not a relief carver, so can offer no technical advice. Just following along with everyone's post on this thread (and i learn from that), as you KNOW I'm a big fan of your work! I'm not on here much, but I always try to follow your threads because they are so interesting! This is going to be gorgeous when it's finished. I'll be lurking around till it's done. I have to say I love the way you post your WIP shots with the chips, etc....just hanging right out there....bare, bold and honest....whatever you want to show, the way you want to show it. Great work! Bonnie

[doris]

toffeeliz,ah there you are like me, always want touch all carvings...this brings me constantly in trouble, in museums, or churches..only recently when i touched the huge holy blood altar piece, a sign said "is alarm protected" ...yep, it was ;-) lol... big explanations necessary after security person arrived...lol.... and, i am not fan of varnish either, but i want make it combine with the shelf, and that is varnish protected...and the wood is pine, so it will in one summer or so, grow a beautiful orange golden color. no need to stain, just wait :-)

ah, bonnie, it never occured to me to wipe off the chips, or clean up before taking wip pics... lol... glad you enjoy the thread, and more glad you learn from it. that is reason why i like doing these... my way of giving back all good things i learned here just from reading on wci ... :-)

[Keoma]

Toffeeliz-you and I are in agreement! I love to touch the wood and run my fingers all along its surfaces and crevices...le sigh...A varnish will change that, but it will bring out a preserved glow.
Doris-what are your plans for this when it is done? Is it a keeper or will it find a new home with someone?

[doris]

keoma, i carve that for me, that is i want attach it on the side of a shelf i have. that shelf is freestanding in the room as a "room separator", and i think this decoration panel on its side will enhance its look greatly :-) ... and, since that shelf is made of pine and varnished, i chose the panel to be made of pine and will be finished varnish... yes, usually i try to keep the wood as much as it is as i can, too, i simply love that natural feel. but in this case, i want it match to existent furniture, so i try to get same finish... ha, good idea, i think i will take this with me on the next artshow, maybe i find some customer that way. kind of giving them an idea... :-)