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Thread: Thinking of Hand Carving as a new hobby.

  1. #16
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    Good info John! Looks like I have an online mentor. Now how good is that!

    I just have to advise you that I'm a one-handed, two-finger typist/keyboarder, so it does take time for me to post my comments.

    Well, the Ruby Modified Knife is ordered & I expect it to arrive in 8-10 days. I was surprised the shipping cost was $10, but it is what it is.

    Prior to your last post I ordered the following books:
    The complete guide to chip carving
    by Barton, Wayne.
    Chip carving patterns
    by Barton, Wayne.
    The art of chip carving : award-winning designs
    by Barton, Wayne

    Now I have to see if there are local sources for basswood and/or balsa wood. I like to see/touch the wood I buy, but I'll get over that & the source will probably be an online source like that which you recommended.

    I also need to get some patterns & practice when the knife arrives. I do want to engrave the woods I use to make boxes, etc.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  2. #17
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    Hi Al & John. Hey thanks for that. John thats a great texture effect on your work. Especially love the claw like handles on that bowl too. Beautifully done.
    On the Snow man hat texture I used one of the small 1- 2 mm round ball diamond or ruby dust carvers 1/8’’ shaft that you get in those cheap assortment sets from China. They sure come in handy for a lot of things.


    Regards Richard

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Yates View Post
    ...Especially love the claw like handles on that bowl too. Beautifully done.
    Wow, a compliment from the world-renown carving expert is like a knighting by the queen.

    That bowl was fun to make but time consuming. That was my first try at one with handles and feet after watching a demo by turner John Lucas. My first idea was to carve eagle's claw feet and wings but then Sir Lucas said he was thinking about doing one with claw feet so that was out! So I decided to make something else a bit organic.

    This is the turning before I started carving on it and the end result. This is bradford pear.

    carved_bowl_process_IMG_201.jpg carved_bowl_IMG_4195.jpg

    I have some ideas for the next one - as soon as I get the time. Maybe after I retire. No, wait, I've been retired for 12 years...

    JKJ

  4. #19
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    My Ruby Chip Carving knife is due to arrive some time today. I'm looking forward to this hobby & believe it's off to a good start with a really good quality knife. I really appreciate the recommendation from John, as well as all the other information he has given me.

    So now I'm looking for alternative material sources. I've looked at (http://www.heineckewood.com/) as recommended by John, and they do offer quality materials, and I've also looked at https://mychipcarving.com/shop/ and https://blaiseba.dot5hosting.com/chi...g.com/catalog/ for EZboard, basswood, butternut, and other supplies.

    However, so far it appears that the cost of shipping can be significantly higher than the actual material I want to purchase, i.e. a $3 item costs $10 to ship which would force me to buy more material than I want to at this time. Frankly, I think the shipping cost is out of line, unless there is some kind of postal restriction/requirement for the shipment of knives & related materials.

    I'm very well aware of the old axiom "If you want to play, you have to pay", but if I can find less expensive materials for practicing with the knife until I get reasonable competent with it I'd like to go that route.

    Yesterday I was going to order an EZboard, but then realized I should probably try to see if there are alternative materials that I could use to practice with. Once I get reasonably competent with the knife I'll then start working on the basswood, butternut wood, walnut, etc.

    I was looking at Lowes for high density urethane or similar, what they have is basically insulation material, and would assume HD has the same.

    Can anyone suggest alternative sources for this or similar materials that would be decent for practicing chip carving.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  5. #20
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    My Ruby Chip Carving knife is due to arrive some time today. I'm looking forward to this hobby & believe it's off to a good start with a really good quality knife. I really appreciate the recommendation from John, as well as all the other information he has given me.

    So now I'm looking for alternative material sources. I've looked at (http://www.heineckewood.com/) as recommended by John, and they do offer quality materials, and I've also looked at https://mychipcarving.com/shop/ and https://blaiseba.dot5hosting.com/chi...g.com/catalog/ for EZboard, basswood, butternut, and other supplies.

    However, so far it appears that the cost of shipping can be significantly higher than the actual material I want to purchase, i.e. a $3 item costs $10 to ship which would force me to buy more material than I want to at this time. Frankly, I think the shipping cost is out of line, unless there is some kind of postal restriction/requirement for the shipment of knives & related materials.

    I'm very well aware of the old axiom "If you want to play, you have to pay", but if I can find less expensive materials for practicing with the knife until I get reasonable competent with it I'd like to go that route.

    Yesterday I was going to order an EZboard, but then realized I should probably try to see if there are alternative materials that I could use to practice with. Once I get reasonably competent with the knife I'll then start working on the basswood, butternut wood, walnut, etc.

    I was looking at Lowes for high density urethane or similar, what they have is basically insulation material, and would assume HD has the same.

    Can anyone suggest alternative sources for this or similar materials that would be decent for practicing chip carving.

    Also, is there a good way to apply a printed (ink jet) pattern onto wood other than using an iron? I've use the 3M spray adhesive for many applications & it works well, but I'm concerned that it might pull some material of the ships, or require enough sanding to remove the adhesive that the sharp edges on the ships would be removed.

    Any suggestions?
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Al Launier View Post
    . . . it appears that the cost of shipping can be significantly higher than the actual material I want to purchase . . .
    Did Heinecke give you a shipping quote that was high? I bought four 48" lengths of 8/4, 12/4, and 16/4 northern basswood 10 to 12" wide and they shipped by USP ground. I don't remember the cost of shipping but I remember thinking it was reasonable at the time. Maybe the shipping cost goes way down with quantities.

    MyChipCarving web site indicates they ship most orders for less than $9. A basswood practice board 3/8x5x12 is $2.80 so $9 for a stack of those doesn't sound too bad. After practice you could use them to build something to carve on. (They did send me a free piece of EZ Board along with an order but I never tried it.)

    Do you have a Woodcraft nearby? https://www.woodcraft.com/products/b...d-1-2-x-3-x-24

    Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...words=basswood

    I see a lot of listings on ebay for basswood with free shipping.

    Perhaps a local craft or hobby store would have inexpensive pieces of basswood good for practice. If you lived closer I'd say drop by and we'll cut some for you. Besides the planks I bought, a friend gave me some rough-cut basswood boards - I resawed some and ran it through the drum sander and it made great make practice boards.

    I think it would be good to start with wood. The subtleties of cutting with and across the grain seem useful to learn from the start.

    JKJ

  7. #22
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    Thanks for your comments John.

    My initial attempt at buying "supplies" was very limited as I'm still testing the water so to speak. The items in question were of low value with a $9.95 shipping cost & it just rubs me wrong to pay 2-3 times more for shipping than the item itself costs. I'm not ready to buy on a larger scale, plus my main interest in carving will be to carve/engrave person's name, etc. on hobbyist projects; jewelry boxes, cutting boards, etc. on other types of wood, i.e. walnut, maple, cherry, mahogany, poplar, etc. I've always felt that these gifts lacked a personal touch for the person. I burn stamp "Hand Crafted by Al Launier" at inconspicuous places, but that isn't what I'm looking for. Frankly I'll never reach the level you are at as I doubt if my patience would hold up, but if I can carve scroll lines, lettering, perhaps with some decorative chip work, I think that would satisfy me.

    I just found out that the local lumber mill where I get my "box" wood sells butternut wood, although I haven't seen it yet. I'll be looking into that along with white pine & poplar to develop my skills. As you mentioned, I think it would be helpful to learn on these woods as that may give me an earlier start once I gain some competence on these woods. I'm going to have to learn how to not only cut with the grain, but also to cut in an orientation that best presents the figuring of the wood. So, at this time anyway I'm more interested in sheet wood rather than square/rectangular carving blocks.

    Well, my Ruby Chip Carving knife just arrived. Time to fondle it & get it sharpened.
    Last edited by Al Launier; 05-31-2018 at 1:11 PM.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  8. #23
    Al, woodcarving show season should be ramping up. Keep you eyes out for local shows or ones withing driving distance. Most have vendors selling all sorts of related items including wood. It's a way to hand pick your wood and not pay shipping.

    For training and support, it's hard to beat Marty Leenhouts. I took a class from him and have purchased items over the years.

  9. #24
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    You can chip carve almost any wood. Basswood, butternut, eastern red cedar, buckeye, and some others are just easier, especially for starting. I've made chips in all those soft woods plus walnut, soft maple, bradford pear, and some others, just for fun. The soft woods like basswood is definitely easier. For harder woods, carving with a chisel might be good to enhance your projects. I like pushing a small v-gouge by hand even in quite hard wood for lettering and curves. I've carved several temporary grave markers this way to use until the stone marker was done. One was from hard maple which required putting mallet to chisel.

    Poplar can actually be quite hard, depending on the tree. White pine is a good choice although pine and other conifers sometimes have hard and soft grain which can be challenging. Good basswood is more homogeneous and the grain is predictable. BTW, carve on side grain. Carving on end grain can be very challenging. When I turned things for chip carving I made the grain run parallel to the rotational axis of the turning if I had the right piece of wood. For pieces where I glued basswood in the middle of the Beads of Courage boxes, the grain orientation had to be sideways giving two quarters of side grain and two of end grain. I carefully designed the layout to minimize cutting in end grain.

    Also, if the wood grain does not run parallel to the face of the board but at an angle (not sideways, but from the top to bottom face) it gets tricky too since it is easy to split along the grain instead of making a clean cut. (I discovered this when carving on turned globes of Christmas ornaments.)

    You can cut carving blocks up into thin pieces and sand them smooth to make practice boards for chip carving. I did that after I ran out of space on my first practice board.


    Quote Originally Posted by Al Launier View Post
    Thanks for your comments John.

    My initial attempt at buying "supplies" was very limited as I'm still testing the water so to speak. The items in question were of low value with a $9.95 shipping cost & it just rubs me wrong to pay 2-3 times more for shipping than the item itself costs. I'm not ready to buy on a larger scale, plus my main interest in carving will be to carve/engrave person's name, etc. on hobbyist projects; jewelry boxes, cutting boards, etc. on other types of wood, i.e. walnut, maple, cherry, mahogany, poplar, etc. I've always felt that these gifts lacked a personal touch for the person. I burn stamp "Hand Crafted by Al Launier" at inconspicuous places, but that isn't what I'm looking for. Frankly I'll never reach the level you are at as I doubt if my patience would hold up, but if I can carve scroll lines, lettering, perhaps with some decorative chip work, I think that would satisfy me.

    I just found out that the local lumber mill where I get my "box" wood sells butternut wood, although I haven't seen it yet. I'll be looking into that along with white pine & poplar to develop my skills. As you mentioned, I think it would be helpful to learn on these woods as that may give me an earlier start once I gain some competence on these woods. I'm going to have to learn how to not only cut with the grain, but also to cut in an orientation that best presents the figuring of the wood. So, at this time anyway I'm more interested in sheet wood rather than square/rectangular carving blocks.

    Well, my Ruby Chip Carving knife just arrived. Time to fondle it & get it sharpened.

  10. #25
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    Thanks for the heads up Warren. I'll be sure to keep an eye open. Hopefully NH will have them.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  11. #26
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    Thanks John for your tips. I'm going to copy/paste them as a reference document.

    As for making thin sheets out of thicker pieces i was planning of getting some 8/4 x 6 slabs, then jointing & planing them. I'm also thinking of adding to my knife collection & making the handles - seem like an easy thing to do.

    By the way, is there a good way to transfer a printed images from an ink jet printer to wood? I've read/seen topics on doing this with an iron or heat gun, but I wasn't too impressed with the results.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  12. #27
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    Transferring patterns

    Quote Originally Posted by Al Launier View Post
    By the way, is there a good way to transfer a printed images from an ink jet printer to wood? I've read/seen topics on doing this with an iron or heat gun, but I wasn't too impressed with the results.
    Check with the chip carving books and web sites. I think it works with some printers to print (or photocopy) a pattern (in reverse if needed) and use a hot iron to transfer. I wouldn't try a heat gun. Some sell a small iron just for this that looks like a soldering iron but with a flat round contact. I have one but never tried it since I haven't used a pattern. It might depend on the printer itself. For example, laser jet printers and photo copiers used to use a fine powder pressed into the paper with a hot roller. This worked well with heat transfer since the heat remelted the particles and some stuck to the wood. I don't know if today's ink jet printer ink will work the same way. I could try it sometime but I'm so far behind it would probable be a few weeks. Quicker to call MyChipCarving and ask Marty.

    I use a different method when I make my own layouts for letters and such. I draw the letters and words out out paper to get the spacing and positions right. I tape the strips of paper to the wood with strips of graphite paper underneath then trace over the drawing lightly with a tracing tool. This tool is a delicate stylus with a tiny polished ball on the end that glides nicely over the paper (usually sold in sets with different size tips, cheap). Use graphite paper, not carbon paper since you can later erase graphite marks to clean up. (I apply a thin coat of sander sealer to the wood first to make cleanup easier later.)

    JKJ

  13. #28
    Hey Al,

    I've been doing spoons and tool handles.
    For a few months, I thought that a lathe was the only way to go...then I drilled a hole in mahogany and started carving at it.
    The handle was ugly, but strangely comfy.

    For spoons and general whittling, I recommend a good sloyd knife.
    I like Del Stubb's one best, but a Mora laminated steel blade is excellent and cheap.

    If you want the spoon bowls, you can use a gouge or a bent knife.

    A good cheap way to start is to buy the blades, and add a handle.
    There's Thompson's knife works, Ragnar's Forge, and Lee Valley.
    You could easily get yourself a great knife for under $20

    I'm looking at the Ragnar webpage, and see some Lauri PT blades for $13 that should work fine.

  14. #29
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    Thanks Matt, appreciate your suggestions. I checked the sites & those are some interesting knives. At the present time I'm slightly overwhelmed with projects and I do want to find some time to develop some skills at chip carving and make handles for blades. I'm going to keep your recommended sites on file for future reference.

    John, researching Google I found a short tutorial on transferring ink jet printed images to wood using freezer paper that has a film on one side that can printed on & the rubbed onto the wood. I'm going to give that a shot. Hope that works - will know today.

    Also I determined that Word 2007 cannot mirror image text. Instead I have to copy the text to Paint, flip it, then copy that back to Word 2007. Cumbersome, but it works. Now I can work towards carving names onto my projects. Progress is slow, but steady.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Al Launier View Post
    Also I determined that Word 2007 cannot mirror image text. Instead I have to copy the text to Paint, flip it, then copy that back to Word 2007. Cumbersome, but it works. Now I can work towards carving names onto my projects.
    One of Wayne Barton's books has a number of fonts in the back. The nice thing about these is they are designed/adapted and proven for chip carving. Some fonts you find elsewhere may be challenging to carve and even then may not look good. The fonts in the book have photos of how they look carved. I liked one in particular and used it several times, modifying some letters to suit me. For carving in hard wood with chisels and mallet I usually just made of my own font.

    One advantage to the tracing method it needs no reversal.

    Regardless, it might be helpful to fill a practice board or two with triangular chips before starting on letters!

    JKJ

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