Power Carving Vs. "Traditional"

[pallin]

Most of these carvers have said (in effect), "It's not an either/or matter." They use power or hand tools as appropriate to their project. I would add, you will need to experience the feel of the wood under your tools to become a carver, the tool choices are secondary.

[Dicky]

Well said Phil.

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by Callynne

When I started carving Myork, I was adamant, no power for me, only hand carving.....did that last....no it didn't!!!! I still love hand carving the best, but for roughing out, I couldn't be without power, both reciprocating (that's like a power chisel!) and rotary (big burrs!) that remove the waste wood.

Then I switch to handcarving and almost finish the piece. From there, it's back to microcarving to get the last, final detail in. For me, and the way I choose to carve, both hand and power are necessary.

Good advice was given and I feel too, that you should start out with handcarving, you will quickly realize if it will be enough for the the style you choose, if not, then it's time to add power tools.....and you'll have a wealth of knowledge waiting here to help you choose what you need!! Deborah

Boy this one is dead on, the way I felt when I started....I've got over $800.00 worth of hand tools sitting on my carving bench, that I very rarely ever use.

Then I found out how much faster it was to use power to rough out a carving, and soo much easier on the hands to boot.....as far as I'm concerned, power carving is just as traditional as using the knives.

[Kevin Morin]

Just to bump an older thread, one thing not mentioned to the original poster, well I didn't see it in my read-through, was that power carving can provide shapes not easily done by hand.

Suppose the form is in the round of a delicate leaf or reed upright along the grain? That would be hard to cut with a hand held edge tool! but with a high speed power tool, and a well chosen bit or pad I find I can leave more delicate forms intact than I can with edge tools relying on hand force to cut.

The extreme speeds allow a low impact to the thin wooden form not easily replicated in hand held edge tools and that can allow a compositional element more dramatic than would be normal with edge tools.

If the piece is pierced relief these same observations seem to apply in my experience, hand held tools with their cutting edges moving at hand speeds limit composition.

I thought that was worth noting in a comparison of traditional versus power carving tools?

Cheers,
Kevin Morin

[marle]

I have a set of micro Two Cherries chisels given as a gift. I've done reliefs of old buildings. When visiting New Orleans we came across a gallery that did small relief pictures like I was doing but on a grander scale. Welcome to Street Scenes Since I'm retired an have arthritis in my user hand it's been power tools. I love my Foredom 2252 LX chisel carving kit best of all. It was well worth the save and wait to get it. The nice thing about it is that the Flexcut RG gouges will fit. So you can carve big or very small. Already had the Foredom 5400 TX woodcarving kit. It has the power I want for gourd carving. It isn't hard switching from one to the other. You practice till you feel comfortable with it. Sometimes I'll take my Two Cherries chisel and carve my name and date. LOL

[marle]

Hi Yah, myork1967

There is a very informative article on this site called Angel And Santa. And it it is Powerful Issues which describes the pros and cons of Power Carving Vs.Traditional. The author is Jack Kochan. A very fine read.

[woodshed]

After 20 years plus, I have went through a bunch of reciprocating power tools, still have the first Foredom still hanging there in near mint condition. (I personally just can't stand the dust they generate, although it will make wood disappear) Use hand tools mostly for detail work. I think whatever you get confortable with will serve you well. I am not a carving snob (have met some, though not on the forum) I think it is the end result that matters, not so much how you got there. Just my 2 cents worth. John