Sorta glad to see that wood grain can be contrary and difficult to work regardless of the expertise of carver ... I have been salvaging cypress trees from the river bottom that cuts thru our 22 acres of Hill Country in Texas (we lost some 3 dozen mature - 60 to80 ft tall - bald cypress in a 100 yr flood in 2002 and are still trying to salvage as many as possible). The hard grain separated by extremely soft tissue tends to split very easily ... but the wood came free (with just a bit of work with chainsaws, winches, snatch blocks, and Hodson sawmill, etc.) and I'm trying to learn how to work with contrariness in all types of wood. Thanks for showing us how to adjust and continue with all new design opportunities. Ralph
Mary,
Very interesting video. I'm a beginner woodcarver and use palm gouges but am looking into purchasing some full or mid length gouges. I am curious as to as to why you switch directions when you carve the inside of the donut? It seems like you would carve the same way, since the grain runs the same direction. I'm still learning and your videos have brought a better understanding of tooling wood and using my tools more efficiently.
Thank you for your web site, Kevin
Hi Kevin, this is such a difficult thing to explain in words. But I will try. It is similar to carving the outside of the donut, only in reverse direction. On the outside of the donut you start from the top and carve down the curve in each direction so that the tool does not catch the grain by cutting into or against the grain. Carving the inside of the donut has similar limitations, only in the opposite direction. Basswood will probably let you get away with carving whatever direction you want, as long as you have sharp tools. However, if you start to carve in harder, more brittle woods, this will seem more obvious, as the grain will begin to fight you. Sometimes the best way to answer a question like this is to put the tools into wood, and see what happens when you carve. I could explain it much better with tool in hand 🙂
Hello Valerie,
The wood is basswood. You can print out the template (available under the video) and transfer the design onto the wood with carbon paper. Look at the lesson on "Transferring Designs to Wood" to see various other methods of getting your design onto your wood. Hope this helps.
Excellent work Mary. I was very happy to see this project. I attempted to carve this drawer pull. I returned the original to the owner. He communicated with me last week about your work. I photographed the original from several views. I hope to carve this one after doing many more lessons. Thanks for the posting
Hi Steve. There were some real challenges with this project. At first glance, it looks a lot easier than it actually is. Sometimes they can be deceiving! Let me know how the carving goes.
From Ralph M. Hausman, Ph.D. on Carving a Pineapple - Episode 2
Go to comment2015/10/28 at 11:38 pm
From Mary May on Carving a Pineapple - Episode 2
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Go to comment2015/10/28 at 8:28 pm
From Mary May on Carving a Donut - Beginner Lesson #6
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Go to comment2015/10/24 at 12:08 pm
From Mary May on Carving a Camellia Flower - Beginner Lesson #8 - Episode 2
Go to comment2015/10/26 at 3:40 pm
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From Bob Easton on Site update - October 2015
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From Steve Stutts on Carving a Drawer Pull - Antique Reproduction
Go to comment2015/10/14 at 10:09 pm
From Mary May on Carving a Drawer Pull - Antique Reproduction
Go to comment2015/10/19 at 11:11 am