My first carving (almost complete)

[Johnny-Five]

Hi all,

This is a celtic knot that I carved with my beginner's kit from Rick at Little Shavers (great tools by the way). It is done in basswood and is relatively small @ about 2" x 1". As you can see, it needs some sanding but I am not really sure what I should use to sand it... very small paper squares or some special tools?

Any suggestions?

[Thomp]

Good for a first effort,
sand paper cut in 1x12 strips will work fine , as it wears, tear off the worn paper, it gives you something to hold the paper with,

[Kenny_S]

Looks pretty good but a suggestion here. Instead of using sandpaper, Try rounding off the edges with your knife, then if need be, sand.

[Johnny-Five]

Thomp & Kenny,

Thanks for checking out my carving and giving some suggestions! I'll clean it up as much as I can and post the finished result.

[Mark N. Akers]

Johnny-Five:
Great job on your first attempt,believe me it gets easier the more you do,you have to just keep pushing the boundries and experimenting with new projects.

[susieq]

Great job on your first carving, Johnny.
For sanding in tight places there are some neat gadgets out there. One is a plastic thingie that is spring loaded and has a tapered end on it. It will hold a sanding belt (they sell them just for this little sanding stick) about 1/4 inch wide. You squeeze the stick to compress the spring and shorten it up just enough to slip on the belt of sand paper, then release the thing so it expands and hold the belt tight. You sand away with the tip, as that section of paper becomes used up, compress the spring again and slide the belt around til you have a fresh section of sandpaper at the tip, release it to tighten up again and keep sanding. The belts come in a wide array of grits. I know I have some that are 500 and 600 grit.

I think they just call this thingie a sanding stick but check around. They were about $5. each the last time I bought any....cheap enough to have several with different grit paper on each...
Susieq

[Joy]

Isn't carving fun? And on every new piece you will see the improvement. Great start. Keep it up.

[workinforwood]

I like the cloth backed sandpapers like you get at woodcraft. They cost alot more, like $2 - $5 per sheet depening on the grit, but they last super long and you can fold them without the grit falling off, and you can wash them too.
In corners you can use a file, or I prefer an emery stick. That's like a popsickly stick with fine sandpaper on it that you can get at any drug store for filing nails.

[Johnny-Five]

Originally Posted by Carolina Carver

Johnny-Five:
Great job on your first attempt,believe me it gets easier the more you do,you have to just keep pushing the boundries and experimenting with new projects.

Thanks, Carolina! I'm really excited to hammer out some new projects and find my groove.

Originally Posted by susieq

Great job on your first carving, Johnny.
For sanding in tight places there are some neat gadgets out there...
Susieq

Thanks, Susie! I've seen some of those sanding doohickies at Michael's and may have to buy some for the tighter places in my celtic knots... they seem like they are just what I need.

Originally Posted by Joy

Isn't carving fun? And on every new piece you will see the improvement. Great start. Keep it up.

I'm having a blast and am looking forward to that improvement Smile