Early attempts

[Frederick Skelly]

John Jordan suggested I post a few pics of how I'm coming along. Well, I'd say slow but sure. I've done probably 10 practice panels of 3 sided & 2 sided shapes. I've gotten to the point that I am experimenting with the angle of the knife - for small chips, 65* works well, but for wider ones I am still trying to find what works best for me.

This is a (poor) photo of the practice panel I copied from FWW 2 weeks ago.
420600

This is a very simple pattern I did later, to break up the monotony of the practice boards.
420601

[Frederick Skelly]

Another simple pattern that for some reason I really like:
420602

Finally, here's one I did at the end of the day today. As you can tell, I'm still trying to get the hang of it and still got a long way to go. EDIT: The cuts look very wavy in the picture. In person, they are (mostly) smooth as they should be. I think the waviness is an artifact of the way the wood grain photographed.

420603

Slow and steady. Practice and more practice. It is slowly improving.

Thanks for looking!
Fred

[Mel Fulks]

They are nice, will look forward to next examples.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks Mel!

[Frederick Skelly]

Here's one from today. I like the composition of it. Still learning as you can see.
Note to others, Superglue does not dry clear - that's the stain in the middle.
(This is supposed to be viewed horizontal, though the pic uploaded the image in vertical.)
420658

Fred

[Mark Hennebury]

Keep up the good work and keep posting your progress.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks Mark! I will.
Fred

[Mel Fulks]

The center rosette design would be useful on casings , mirror frames, even a chalk board. I can envision an Art Deco
building facade plaque using those "rays".

[Frederick Skelly]

Wow, you're right - it would!

[John K Jordan]

Here's one from today. I like the composition of it. Still learning as you can see.
Note to others, Superglue does not dry clear - that's the stain in the middle.
(This is supposed to be viewed horizontal, though the pic uploaded the image in vertical.)
420658

Fred

Wow, you are really makin' the chips! The samples look great. I like the straight line frames around each practice board - they are difficult to cut!

I've rotated the photo:

420661

Was the CA glue to fix long points that broke loose perhaps from cuts that were a wee bit too deep? If so, I came up with a way to fix those that has been invisible. I use a very thin pointed tool, kind of like an awl but thinner and polished, almost like a long needle with a handle. (Found them in an art supply store.) I put drop of white glue on something like a piece of waxed paper and dip the tool into the drop to get a very small amount of glue very near the point. Then lay the point "flat" in the bottom of the V groove and pull it back gently. This forces the tiniest bit of white glue into the void and presses the wood down at the same time, sealing the bottom. A couple of passes like this can make the bottom of a chip look perfect where otherwise it was obvious that my knife point was too deep. (Would be a lot easier to show than describe!) It should work to glue down the end of a long point that broke loose.


When you lay out the design do you draw each triangle with a pencil? I often put a single dot in the center of the triangle to help me visualize where the three cuts should come together. I sometimes even drew lines from the points, especially when carving on turnings to help me remember to think about the grain orientation there and to be careful about the order to make the cuts!

420674

JKJ

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks John!

I may have found an easier way to cut the straight lines for borders - I score the line with an Xacto knife before I make the cut. For cuts across the grain, I score just deeply enough to break the fibers. For cuts WITH the grain, I score more deeply. The scoring reduces the wandering of the carving knife tip.

Thanks for the idea on the glue - I have a dental pic that I can use as you describe. I'll try it.

Yes, I mark my triangles because it makes them more consistent. I dont use the dot any more because my eye guides me now, most of the time.

Take care. And thanks for your advice.
Fred