• From Joyce on Starting to Carve - Beginner Lesson #2

    Do you have a lesson on which woods to choose? I want to carve some small flowers and glue them onto cherry, so I am looking for a white or light colored wood that would take crisp details but not be too hard for arthritic fingers to carve. I have a piece of "white maple" from the firewood dealer; he said it is not the same thing as sugar or hard maple, but it is not red maple either. It has been cut for a year, so if it carves well and easily, I thought I could bandsaw it into a flat ½" piece and dry it a little longer. I'd carve cherry, but I am afraid it may be too hard to carve.

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    2015/05/31 at 3:28 pm
    • From Mary May on Starting to Carve - Beginner Lesson #2

      Hi Joyce,
      I don't have a lesson yet on recommended types of wood, but I generally recommend basswood or butternut for a beginner and then move to walnut or mahogany. I am not familiar with the difference between white maple and hard maple. I do know that hard maple can be very hard to carve. My suggestion is to get a sample piece and carve something simple - and especially test it for the ability to make clean, crisp cuts and whether it tends to rip when cutting across the grain. Test how it works with a mallet and without. Some woods are so hard that you may need to use a mallet for most of the carving. Also, keep in mind that different people prefer different woods. This may turn out to be something that really works for you - and if it is readily available locally - all the better! Let me know how it goes.

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      2015/05/31 at 8:07 pm
  • From Joyce on Preparing to Carve - Beginner Lesson #1

    I have collected ideas on clamping- mostly for furniture- for years now, and finally put them all in a one inch binder that I titled "Holding The Work", and put it in my bookshelf. I find myself grabbing it frequently for ideas for clamping weird shapes. One idea I found, but have not used, is a clamped down backer board with home made "cam clamps" screwed onto the board. These are roughly circular shapes of scrap, thinner than the work and screwed off-center, so as you hand turn the roundish piece of scrap, it eventually contacts the edge of the wood you want to hold in place. Then it is tightened down. The scraps are a little thinner than the work, and the metal screw is far from the work, protecting the gouges. They used a minimum of four scrap pieces, but said more are better. It seems once you made the cam clamp scraps you could re-use them over and over, with different holes in the backer board. I don't know how well it works, however.

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    2015/05/31 at 3:19 pm
    • From Mary May on Preparing to Carve - Beginner Lesson #1

      Hi Joyce,
      Thanks! I can picture this working, but I have not tried it. I have carved into a screw before (my poor gouge) and am always reluctant to screw into the back of a carving - especially if I have not really figured out the shape or depth. I tend to like the freedom to carve in any area of the wood without concern or limitations of hidden screws. However, if you have a set design and depth, I think that process should work fine.

      Maybe you need to publish these "Holding The Work" writing.

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      2015/05/31 at 8:02 pm
  • From Jerry on All About Gouges - Beginner Lesson #3

    Mary, question, if you could only have 7 carving chisel which ones would you choose?

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    2015/05/30 at 4:00 pm
    • From Mary May on All About Gouges - Beginner Lesson #3

      I would start with the basic set of six - 6mm v-chisel, #3-6mm, #3-14mm, #5-14mm, #7-6mm and #7-14mm.
      Then the next one to choose would really depend on what direction the carving was going. If you are wanting to work on smaller, more details carvings, I would get a #3-3mm to get into tight areas. You could also go in the direction of a more curved gouge like a #8, 10mm if you are working on deeper carvings.

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      2015/05/31 at 7:57 pm
  • From John Schutz on Carving a Queen Anne Fan - Episode 2

    Please, keep the camera rolling. I've been fussing with carving for a long time, mostly stumbling, sometimes not. To see the techniques and tool use is tremendously beneficial. Your way of explanation is straight forward and is greatly appreciated.Thank you!!!

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    2015/05/30 at 12:07 am
  • From Jim Scheltens on Carving a Camellia Flower - Beginner Lesson #8 - Episode 1

    Thanks for the tip. I do find myself cringing when pushing into the raised section. The other thing I noticed today is anytime I start to get frustrated, it is a good sign that I probably should re-sharpen.

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    2015/05/29 at 4:52 pm