I am so happy I found you're site. I have been carving with the best at Silver Dollar City, I will say you have got to be the best teacher format I have been around. You have the talent to teach and explain and I am really enjoying every video. Thanks for have the site.
What an excellent lesson!! I have been putting this off for too long now, Im going to finally learn to carve this elusive beast once and for all.
THANK YOU!!!! This is exactly what I needed, you have put together such a clear and easy to follow lesson I really think I can do this now!
Hi Mary,
In the letter M the four straight lines vary in width, but they have to meet. Does that mean that you aim at a common depth for all, which leads to different angles?
I like that the letters appear sometimes to stick out.
Thanks,
Uri
Hello Uri,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I have been in Europe.
The narrower ones are about half the depth and all angles should be close to the same. So the narrower sections intersect the wider ones with "v" of the narrow sides joining about half-way up the walls of the wider sections. Very difficult to explain, but maybe the "A" or "R" shows it better. Hope this helps.
Being more of a technician than an artist, I can carve something when I have something to copy. That's why I love your videos.
I've had no problem carving the ball and claw foot and acanthus leaf (other than destroying my back hunching over a too-low bench for hours at a time--but I digress), but I'm having trouble visualizing the design on the knee block in three dimensions (an unfortunate hazard of an over-developed left brain and an atrophied right brain, I think--but I digress again).
Do you have photos of the whole completed leg, complete with knee block and volute, hopefully from different angles? That would certainly help my pea-sized right brain grasp the fundamentals.
Thanks for all you do. Between your web site and Chris Pye's, I spend so much time watching videos that I have little time for carving. That's not an entirely bad thing; I don't have to spend all my money on those pesky, expensive tools, and I've never cut myself while watching a video.
Hi Jim,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I have been in Europe and have just returned.
I will see what I can find for photos of a completed leg. So often I either just focus on the acanthus leaf or just focus on the ball and claw. I will email you photos when I can locate them.
I love the wide angle shots! Always interesting to see other folk's bench management... Yours is very similar to mine - don't get hung too up on tool position (facing you) but you always know where the tool is and you put it back in the same location. Organized mayhem!
Yes, in that "perfect" carving world, it is best to keep the tools organized and in a nice, clean row. I am always jealous of those who do that. I get so caught up in the carving part that I do tend to get a little sloppy with where the tools are. But rarely do I carve with more than 8 or 10 tools on the bench at a time, so I don't lose track of tools very often 🙂
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