Couple of carved early American fans

[Mike Henderson]

Eric - for a first attempt at carving, you did well. You have to make mistakes to learn, and to learn how to fix mistakes you make.

Let me see if I can answer your questions, which I'll do in your text.

Hi Mike, here is a picture of my first attempt. And by first, I really mean it, got my gouges friday, have never tried carving before this.
A couple of things I know I did wrong. First was, while roughing out the waste, the gouge slipped and took out a piece of the center circle.
Don't worry about that - this is just a school piece. The secret is sharp tools - it'll give you more control.

Next and probably my biggest error was when roughing out the waste, I wasn't consistent enough and went too deep in spots, mainly closer to the outer edge. The picture doesn't show it very well but there are hollows and my fans don't have a domed shape everywhere along their length.
Yep, I see them. Next one you do, you'll do better. Try to make the roughing cut smooth from the outside to the center circle - just practice.

I used the bent gouge shown in the photo to do most of the rounding over. Any suggestions on what gouge to use for that? I was pretty happy with it but not having any experience, don't know if something else would have handled it better.
I probably would not have chosen that particular gouge for rounding the flutes over but if it works well for you, use it. I just use a regular gouge, fairly flat and cut (mostly) from the outside to the inside. I say "mostly" because you have to make some of the cuts on both sides from the inside to the outside to keep from splitting the wood.
As for the v gouge, I had some trouble keeping it cutting straight lines. Any tips on that?
I don't have any tips on cutting straight except to suggest that your first cut be a light one. And practice, practice, practice.

It also seemed to want to remove more stock on the right side of the blade. I am sure that is my technique but once again, not sure how to correct it.
Yep, that's definitely technique. When you see your V-tool cutting too much on one side, turn it slightly to the other side. In fact, that's how I straighten out a line I cut a bit crooked. I can "steer" the V-tool by turning it slightly. Try it on some scrap.

I was using a 90 degree v, seems a 45 might be better? Cut deeper but not as wide?
I would recommend a 60* V-tool. That's sort of the general purpose V-tool. The others are more special purpose (wider or narrower).

One last thing, should I be using a mallet for all my cuts? Since I am using basswood, I used hand pressure without the mallet for a lot of shaping. Is this a bad habit to fall into? I do want to carve mahogany and other harder woods.
In general, you should be able to do this with hand pressure. You can tap the tool with the palm of your hand, if need be. When you use a mallet, you don't rap the tool but just use it to save your hand. Honduras mahogany is not a hard wood. It carves a lot like basswood. Some other woods are harder (oak, for example).

I really want to thank you for the inspiration to try this, never would have if I didn't come across your excellent tutorials.
You're welcome. Turn your blank over and do another now that you have some experience. The only way to get better is to do it.

[Mike Henderson]

If people are interested, I'll re-do this tutorial as a separate thread - as long as we can get three people who'll carve it.

Mike

[Eric Leitner]

Mike, count me in for a redo of the tutorial. I am gonna keep carving it til I get it right. On that note, here is my second attempt.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike, count me in for a redo of the tutorial. I am gonna keep carving it til I get it right. On that note, here is my second attempt.

Looks much better - congratulations! I'll offer the fan as the next tutorial - as soon as the people who signed up to do the shell post their results.

Mike

[Charlie Schultz]

When the time comes, I'm up for this one too (and thanks for doing these).

[Charlie Schultz]

Well, here's my first cut (har har) at a fan. 4" radius in mahogany. Had some trouble with tearout- it's difficult to go "uphill" when rounding over the edges of the blades. The three lighter blades are the result of some sanding.