Simple Shell Tutorial

[Robert Rozaieski]

Ok, well I was making good progress but split my hinge off trying to define the hinge area . Have to start over .

For anyone else attempting this, be careful in the hinge area, it's delicate and splits off easy .

[Mike Henderson]

Ok, well I was making good progress but split my hinge off trying to define the hinge area . Have to start over .

For anyone else attempting this, be careful in the hinge area, it's delicate and splits off easy .

Unless it broke really bad, just use some white glue and reattach it. It'll carve fine once the glue sets.

Mike

[Doug Mason]

Hey Robert--that is exactly why I have prepared three pieces--If I screw-up the first too badly, move on to the second and if worse comes to worse, I go on to the third!!! This is my weekend project.

I'll be posting my pictures on Sunday/Monday.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Ok, here's my second attempt. As mentooned earlier, the first one broke. For some reason my version seems wider than yours Mike. Could be because I had to trace an image from the computer screen rather than printing (no printer at home). This may have distorted the picture and made it proportionally wider. Wood is cherry, size is about 3" tall by about 3-5/8"wide. I had one oops at the end where the top of the center lobe split off so the end of the lobe got a little wider as a result. Other than that, I think it turned out ok.

The gouges I had workerd out ok. Rather than shape the lobe tips last, I backgrounded the piece first (like Mack Headley does in his shell carving video) using my 1/4" #7 to define the ends of the lobes. I used the 1/2" #3 to create the curved and sloped surface, a 1/2" #5 to define the outer wings of the hinge and the 1/4" #7 to define the "bump" at the bottom. Not having a 1/4" #3, I used 1/4" and 1/8" bench chisels bevel down to round over the lobes and finished with a little sanding with 220 grit.

Thanks again for putting this together Mike!

My Shell.jpg

[Phillip Bogle]

Looks great to me. I love the way the grain looks so much like the growth rays on a real shell.

I have been tied up with other business and haven't even started mine yet. Soon though.

Great job.

[Mike Henderson]

It looks very good, Robert. It does look a bit wide to me, also, but not so much that it would be "wrong". I especially like the way you finished the ends of the flutes - looks very realistic. And the grain of the wood looks like a real shell.

Very good job - congratulations.

Mike

[Zahid Naqvi]

ok, here is mine. I messed it up a lot. As usual I bit more than I could chew. I was trying to make the shell shown in the Mat Headley DVD. First of all I didn't draw it quite correctly, second I did the concaved first which made the shoulders too weak and some of them broke off.
I also felt the need for a #3 gouge, currently I have #2, #7, and #9 (3 widths in each). I could do this again but I think I am holding up the rest of the group, and I probably got all the learning I need to get out of this already so I'll probably call it done.

shell-smc.JPG

[Mike Henderson]

ok, here is mine. I messed it up a lot. As usual I bit more than I could chew. I was trying to make the shell shown in the Mat Headley DVD. First of all I didn't draw it quite correctly, second I did the concaved first which made the shoulders too weak and some of them broke off.
I also felt the need for a #3 gouge, currently I have #2, #7, and #9 (3 widths in each). I could do this again but I think I am holding up the rest of the group, and I probably got all the learning I need to get out of this already so I'll probably call it done.

shell-smc.JPG

Zahid - you did bite off a more complex project - that's not really a good "first shell" project. But considering that, you didn't do too bad.

My recommendation would be to do the simple shell first. It (and other projects) will give you experience in handling the tools and in making certain cuts. You can then build on that knowledge and experience to take on more complex projects.

In teaching carving, I (and I think other carving teachers) try to select projects which are within the capabilities of beginning carvers, and which will give them a foundation. It's tough to try to jump immediately to complex projects - and the difficulty can make people think they can't carve, when all they need is a bit more foundation work.

Carving is a manual skill that takes time to develop - there's no royal road to knowledge or skill. But if you keep at it (and moderate your projects) you'll soon be able to do shells like that without difficulty.

Mike

[Doug Mason]

ok - here is mine. My first attempt--I just kinda went at it without thinking about it too much. A few observations:

1) I used a #9 for roughing out - as I found the the wide #3 to be too slow--maybe it was my technique; nonetheless, after roughing out with the #9, I smothed it with the #3.
2) I used a back bent gouge to round over the flutes (not the #2/5) - and found this to be very effective and the results attractive. However, I needed a bigger size than I had to match the size of the flutes. So is this a correct application for this tool?
3) Like the Back bent gouges, I sense if I had a few more sizes of the V tool I could achieve better results. The flutes look really great in "high relief" (is the the right phrase?)--and so the deeper the V-cut here the better the result.
4) I used a #9 gouge to round-over the ends of the flutes. In hindsight, I was thinking I should have sized the ends of the flutes to match my #9.
5) I have mixed feeling on using sandpaper; whereas it does erase some of my mistakes--but it also does take a "little something" away as well.
6) In softwoods, I am finding the 25 degree bevel of the phiel chisels to be too much--as I have to elavate the chisel too high to take a shaving. Perhaps a 20 degree bevel would suit me better; but then again, I have only been carving in pine.
7) Practice makes perfect; with each project I am learning more about using the tools. A skill well-worth learning - and fun too.

Mike - thx again for your efforts here. Great tutorial. What's next?

[Mike Henderson]

Doug - please see my comments in your text and below.

ok - here is mine. My first attempt--I just kinda went at it without thinking about it too much. A few observations:

1) I used a #9 for roughing out - as I found the the wide #3 to be too slow--maybe it was my technique; nonetheless, after roughing out with the #9, I smothed it with the #3.
2) I used a back bent gouge to round over the flutes (not the #2/5) - and found this to be very effective and the results attractive. However, I needed a bigger size than I had to match the size of the flutes. So is this a correct application for this tool?
A back bent gouge will certainly work. The problem is that the width of the flutes change as you move from bottom to top so you have to use the gouge differently as you cut along the flute.
3) Like the Back bent gouges, I sense if I had a few more sizes of the V tool I could achieve better results. The flutes look really great in "high relief" (is the the right phrase?)--and so the deeper the V-cut here the better the result.
What I think you want is a V-tool that is made in a more acute angle. The standard V-tool is 60*. To go deeper, and not wider, you'd need maybe a 45* V-tool. I don't know if they make any with angles smaller than that.
4) I used a #9 gouge to round-over the ends of the flutes. In hindsight, I was thinking I should have sized the ends of the flutes to match my #9.
5) I have mixed feeling on using sandpaper; whereas it does erase some of my mistakes--but it also does take a "little something" away as well.
That's true but it makes life easier when you're just getting started. There's plenty of time to eschew sandpaper after you gain more experience.
6) In softwoods, I am finding the 25 degree bevel of the phiel chisels to be too much--as I have to elavate the chisel too high to take a shaving. Perhaps a 20 degree bevel would suit me better; but then again, I have only been carving in pine.
If you go too small with your bevel angle, you'll risk the edge bending on you. There's nothing wrong with holding the tool at a bit more of an angle - it's just something you need to get accustom to.
7) Practice makes perfect; with each project I am learning more about using the tools. A skill well-worth learning - and fun too.
Yep, you'll get better with each project you do.

Mike - thx again for your efforts here. Great tutorial. What's next?
I'll do a tutorial on the carved fan.

There's two things I'd recommend to you. The first is the shape of the shell. When you're looking at the rough blank, think of what a shell looks like and shape the blank to the shape that's in your mind. It's too late to try to shape it after you start laying in the flutes.

Also, it looks like you have the grain running vertically. There's nothing wrong with that except most applied carvings go on wood with the grain running horizontally. It would be good to get some experience carving with the grain running across - it changes your technique just a bit.

But all-in-all, a good effort. Congratulations.

Mike

[John Keeton]

Mike, although I am not actively participating in your "carve-alongs", I do want you to know that I am extremely appreciative of what you are doing. I know that you have invested a good deal of time and effort, and your photo assisted instructions are very well done.

I don't have the time at the present to begin my carving education, but have enjoyed viewing these tutorials, and they will make great reference material for me and for others as we undertake our beginnings at wood mutilation. Thanks again, and please continue with other projects. These are great fundamentals.

I also have appreciation for those that are participating and posting their efforts - including their "challenges." Sometimes, one learns more from those than from a successful attempt.