That is a nice flower.
Thank you so much for sharing this information.
That is a nice flower.
Thank you so much for sharing this information.
There's one more thing you can do with the flower, and that's to add some shape to the petals, as shown in the picture below. I used my V-tool to make a downward cut, then smoothed the curve with a #2/12 (if I remember correctly).
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Late or not I'm going to post this anyway. If Mike can put that much effort into a tutorial, least I can do is prove that I used it.
Actually, "using it" requires explanation. My internet connection is in my house and my workshop is almost a quarter mile away. I don't have internet connection there. It wouldn't print legibly (without more effort than I wanted to put into it). So I read the tutorial last night and tried to remember it today when I was at the shop. HA! Fat chance at my age. But it was a good opportunity to get familiar with my new knives.
This is carved in butternut. The wood seemed to work pretty good (as if I'd know), but certainly not easy to photograph.
Thanks Mike.
That's an excellent first effort, Chuck. I doubt if my first effort was as good. You'll find that as you go along and do more flowers, you'll develop your own style - your sense of what looks right and good. Just go with that and the carving steps will become automatic for you.
Congratulations!
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Here are my first two attempts at this. The one on the left was my first attempt, and I really didn't follow instructions...was just amusing myself with the novelty of carving. It was not a serious attempt. For the second one, on the right, I took a more methodical approach and am fairly pleased with the initial results. A few things I don't like:
- Edges of the petals are rough
- I had difficulty doming the center and didn't end up with an even result
- Grooves in the center are not clean/consistent
But still, fairly happy so far. I'm planning to carve several more before moving onto the fan. I would welcome some constructive criticism.
Not bad at all for first tries. For the center, if you have problems doming it with the carving tools, use some coarse sandpaper to dome it.
And if you have problems cutting the grooves on the dome, use a small nail set and make a bunch of holes in the dome. It actually looks more like a flower than the grooves, but the grooves are faster.
Congratulations!
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Mike,
I've read that one should never sand a carving until finished with the carving part as the sandpaper grit will lodge in the wood pores and dull the carving tools quickly. I do it anyway and just blow the piece off well with compressed air before resuming carving after sanding. I haven't really noticed any premature dulling of my tools but then, I'm not that much "in tune" with them yet.
What are your thoughts on the issue?
Cody
Logmaster LM-1 sawmill, 30 hp Kioti tractor w/ FEL, Stihl 290 chainsaw, 300 bf cap. Solar Kiln
Yeah, I've read the same thing. But when you think you've finished the carving - and maybe sanded a few parts - then decide you want to change the look, you just go ahead and carve. If the tools dull, you just sharpen them.
But I never noticed that my tools dulled really fast if I carved after sanding. I think it's more of a theoretical thing.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
It's amazing how simple you make it look. Obviously, simpler than I ever thought. I have some basswood that I got from an Amish sawmill about 5 years ago. I'm going out to the shop and try the flower. Thanks so much for the GREAT tutorial...
I'm new to this forum, and I've got to thank Mike for his tutorials. After going through them, I had to try the simple flower. Mike, you said,"Let's see your flower," so I'm posting my first attempt at the flower. I got the carving bug after I took a chip carving class, and it rapidly spread to relief carving. I really love doing this.
Oh, well, the photo - (I'm not real good at photos!)
Looks very good, Doug. You're a natural. Keep up the good work.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
After viewing your web site, your comments mean a lot to me. Thanks for your tutorials. It takes quite a bit of time to put them together. I'm anxious to see the next series.
Doug
This is a great thread.
I have just acquired a 2nd hand carving set of chisels and I'm going to try them out once I've sharpened them. These are Marples, so prolly not the best there is, but it's what I've got...
Thank you...
Awesome tutorial Mike. I have never carved wood but always wanted to. This is a great guide and I'll try it soon. Thanks