As a beginner I have read a few books on how to carve. In a couple of them the author writes that you should not flick waste wood away with your chisel but to makes stop cuts and remove it. Apparently it blunts your chisels faster. What is your opinion on this?
Great to see and learn how to carve from watching your lessons.
David. (from Western Australia)
Well, this is a good lesson on "how to" flick the wood with a chisel. Some woods beg for it!
I also have heard that doing this dulls the chisels. I have not really noticed this, and have always found it a great technique to get that last little bit of wood out from the corners - if it is simply done lightly. One thing you really don't want to do is to use the gouge like a pry-bar to get those deep corners clean. Tips of tools can actually break this way.
Gentle "flicking" has never seemed to be a real problem, and it was a technique I developed early on in my carving career.
I like it,bottle of scotch is good for a sore throat does not cure it ,makes it easier to live with. I am envious of the way you switch hands , I used to be able to do that with tools but I have to find other ways. Bob
Thanks Robert! I actually had to stop filming this lesson and get back to is 2 weeks later after getting a pretty bad cold where I completely lost my voice. This episode was the "start" of the scratchy throat.
I remember you mentioning you only had use of one hand. You may want to consider rigging up a lazy-susan where you can lock it and easily swing it around again. The important thing is to be able to lock it solidly and easily release it to rotate it around again. I know you can purchase these metal rotation pieces from Lowes. Let me know!
May & Dan, Great video - can't wait to see the next ones! I do agree with Raja! - Zinzeer is a 2 lb cut. Love shellac! I always use the thinned 1lb cut on any wood I'm going to stain (more absorbent wood might need a second coat). If you want to satin at that point - try using gelstains - much easier to get a uniform color. To protect the final finish - another light coat of the thinned shellac and then a wipe-on poly... great finish. One caution on using shoe polish as a wax - In my experience the colors can be fugitive (not stable) and tend to fade over time...
One issue I hope you can address: getting the same value of color on a carved area (slicker/less absorbent) and a sanded area (more absorbent and tending to be darker)...
Thanks to your videos I have started using fishtail gouges and like them a lot. Ashley Iles has the #3/6 mm in a fishtail. Go to Tools for Working Wood. Check under Ashley Iles, London Pattern, Sweeps 3 & 4. I have the 3/6. Very nice tools but the edges of the shafts are not "eased" so they feel fairly sharp. Since these are "London" pattern they are made to withstand a mallet but still feel light in weight to me.
As for the #3/3mm, the only place I can find individual Two Cherries tools (Kirchen) is Chipping Away in Canada. They do not have a #3/3mm but they have a #3/4mm which is hardly much different. Two Cherries are very nice, with eased edges that are comfortable. I have a couple of their palm tools. Since they are German I assume the full size tools are somewhat lighter than their English brothers.
So glad there are people like you to help us old folks with are hobbies!
My #3, 3mm are all straight. It seems that quite often any gouges less than 6mm wide do not come in fishtail shape. I do not have many Two Cherries, but have heard good things about them. The only thing I have noticed is that they can be a little bulky feeling. Finding sources of good quality tools has been a difficult journey for me, and is an ongoing job.
Bob Eason, who helps with the technical side of the online school, has been very diligent in putting together an organized list of preferred tools, suppliers, and a list of common tool questions that come up quite often from students. I'm sifting through that and finalizing it this week. It should be available on the website soon.
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