Lee Valley 12 Piece Carving Set

[Jack Ferrell]

Do you think these would be ok for a beginner?

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,130,43332,43334,55601&p=55601

I have a HF cheapo set that is heavily rusted and wonder how these will hold up. Don't know how much I'll use a set, so don't want to spend alot.


Thanks

[Jim Becker]

I just noticed this in the November mailing and am considering buying it just for utility. Rob mentions it in his column on page 2. I think that someone focusing on a lot of hand-tool work and carving would likely be happier with higher end tools, but for many of it, it's an affordable option from a vendor that generally provides good value. And in that I have little doubt that it is much better quality than the HFT set you currently have.

[Robert Rozaieski]

I'm not a very frequent carver myself so take this with a grain of salt, but looking at that set I noticed a few things.

The blades look awful thick. My understanding is that the thinner the steel the better for carving tools. Helps with control and ease of cutting (i.e. less force required to cleanly slice the wood).
There are not many gouges in that set. If you are doing furniture carvings, you won't use most of the tools in that set. You need different sweeps of gouges, not straight chisels, which this set seems to have a lot of (chisels are cheaper to manufacture than gouges).
The gouges that are there are really big (1", 3/4"). You would want some smaller sizes for furniture and even small figure carving. I would suggest sizes in the 1/4" - 5/8" range from my very limited experience.It looks to me like this set is more geared toward rough sculpting, not fine carving. I would advise to skip the set and just get a few, better quality tools suited and sized to the type of carving you will be doing. You can always add on if you need more but even at the price of the LV set, if you don't use most of the tools, it's money wasted.

[Mike Henderson]

I have a number of carving tools, mostly Pfeil (Swiss made), but a few other brands, also. The tools I use the most are the narrow relatively flat gouges. I can easily tell which ones I use the most because those handles are worn, while the others are still shiny and new.

The problem is that when you need a wide gouge (for example), that's what you need and it's tough to make the cut with something else - so you wind up with a lot of tools, most of which don't get a lot of use.

It depends a lot on what kind of carving you're going to do. Good carving tools run $25 each and up. If you think those tools will do the kind of carving you plan to do, the risk isn't that bad at that price.

The storage box is a waste unless you never plan to buy more carving tools. I keep mine in a tool roll (actually several tool rolls) and keep them in order by size so I can find what I'm looking for. Lee Valley sells a very nice canvas carving tool roll (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=30007&cat=1,41504,41613) that is great for carving tools. Just remember that you put the tools in the pockets handle first and not cutting end in.

But enough rambling.

Mike

[added note] For tool rolls, you always want a roll that has pockets on both sides. If the roll only has pockets on one side it won't roll up well and it'll be hard to handle. You also want a roll with a flap at the end, like the LV roll, because if it doesn't have a flap, the tools at the end will stick out and you'll cut yourself when you handle the rolled up tool roll. The LV carving tool roll is really a well designed roll. If you want to save money, buy one and then go to the cloth store, buy some canvas and sew your own. It's easy to do - I made a couple of them myself.

[Mike Wenzloff]

I'm with Robert--and Mike. Robert mentions sculpting. That's the category I would place the "weight" or thickness of these so-called carving tools, just not the overall size.

Though it is about 3 times as much, the Sayers' Carving tool selection would be more useful to an occassional user:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=31119&cat=1,130,43332,43334&ap=1

I don't know how you feel about palm carving tools, but a reasonable set of Henry Taylors are only a couple bucks more than the set you pointed to:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=31121&cat=1,130,43332,43334&ap=1

Take care, Mike

[Zahid Naqvi]

Here's the list of what they have in the set.
3/8" and 1/2" parting tools; 1/4" and 1/2" straight chisels; a 1/2" skew chisel; a 3/4" spoon chisel; 1/4", 3/8", 5/8", and 1" #7 gouges; a 1/2" #7 bent gouge; and a 3/4" #7 spoon gouge

Looks like they have atleast 6 gouges with five under 3/4". I am not much of a carver myself but this is one of the things I am interested in and want to learn. I noticed this set in the Nov flyer and was thinking about this too.

[Louis Bois]

Though the price is tremendously tempting, I tend to agree with Robert, Mike and Mike.:p If you have a rough idea of what you're needs might be in the short term, it may be best to pick up just a few decent tools and try them out.

Some of the earlier Millers Falls sets were actually quite well made and are relatively cheap on the used market. They show up on Ix-Nay quite often at very reasonable prices.

If you have the luxury of going to see some of these carving tools in person, I would highly recommend that approach as you may find one handle type more comfortable than another in practice.

In the end, it will boil down to the type of carving you're interested in as well as your budgetary restrictions. Good luck!

[Jack Ferrell]

Thanks for all the info, seems I have some more thinking to do. I may go with these and add to them or as suggested, piece together a set, or just get a different set. Dunno yet. I will definitely get the carving tool roll. Thanks again.

[Chuck Nickerson]

I recently took a one-week carving class with David Calvo, and one of the students brought a very similar set. The tool blades are quite thick, in part to compensate for the steel. If you buy the set, also buy a good tool in the near future for comparison. This entire set sells for the cost of two good tools, so the main risk is that you'll abandon carving due to poor tools.

[Larry Gelder]

Chuck - Tell us about the Calvo class. I've read his articles in PW and am interested in how he sharpens both sides of the gouge. Could you describe it?

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Jack,

If you can get your hands on the Oct, Nov & Dec. Popular Woodworking there is a really good series on beginning carving.

Larry, I would also like to hear more about the class.