New Hobby - Learning To Carve Faces In Wood

YuccaFlatsRanch · #1 02/08/12, 06:02 PM

I recently got a book called "How To Carve a Woodspirit in a Walking Stick" by Skylar Johnson. In my part of Texas we have a type of cactus called Sotol, or the Walking Stick Cactus. The flower stalk is woody, but incredibly light and I am hoping will make excellent material to carve Woodspirit faces into. One of the problems with carving is all the terms for the tools that they use and as you would imagine US carvers use different terms that Asian and European carvers. Below is a list of the terms I have been able to find.

Term Definition
Gouge - Carving tool with a curved cutting edge. The most used category of carving tools.
Sweep - The curvature of the cutting edge of a carving gouge. A lower number (like #3) indicates a shallow, flat sweep while a high number (like #9) is used for a deeply curved gouge.
Veiner - A small deep gouge with a U shaped cutting edge. Usually #11 sweep.
Fluter - A larger #11 sweep gouge with a U shaped cutting edge.
Sloyd knife - A whittling knife having a strong, blade slightly shorter than the handle (around 5 inches), suitable for marking or carving.
Chisel - A carving tool with a straight cutting edge (usually termed #1 sweep) at right angles (or square to) the sides of the blade.
Skew Chisel - A chisel with the edge at a "skew" or angle relative the sides of the blade. Often termed #2 sweep in the Sheffield list or #1s in continental lists.
V-Tool - A carving tool with a V shaped cutting edge. Used for outlining and decorative cuts. Referred to as 'the carvers pencil' by old time professional carvers. Parting Tool
Long Bent - A gouge, chisel or V tool where the blade is curved along its entire length. Handy for deep work.
Short Bent - A gouge, chisel or V tool where the blade is straight with a curve at the end, like a spoon. Use for work in deep or inaccessible areas. Spoon gouges were often referred to as 'tracery tools' which indicates their use in the type of decorative carving found in churches
Spoon Fishtail - A gouge or chisel with a straight, narrow shank that flares out at the end to form a "fishtail" shaped tool. The narrow shaft of the tool allows for clearance in tight areas.
Back Bent - A spoon gouge with a reverse bent end. Used for undercuts and reeding work.
Palm Tools - Short (5"), stubby tools used with one hand while the work is held in the other. Great for detail and small carving.
Full-size Tools - 10" to 11" tools used with two hands or a mallet.
Tang - The tapered part of the blade that is driven into the handle.
Bolster - A flared section of the blade near the tang that keeps the blade from being driven further into the handle.
Ferrule - A metal collar on the handle that keeps the wood from splitting when the tool is used with a mallet. Some tools have an external, visible ferrule while others have an internal ferrule.Some old, small detail tools have neither bolster nor ferrule as their light use makes them unnecessary.
Rockwell Hardness - A scale that indicates the hardness of steel. A Rockwell range of 58 to 61 is considered optimum for fine woodworking edge tools.

GrannyG · #2 02/08/12, 06:23 PM

I found these wood bee skeps interesting...carved faces...
http://www.figurenbeute.de/index.php?id=274&L=1 you need to translate it.....

YuccaFlatsRanch · #3 02/08/12, 07:52 PM

OR maybe the eyes, nose and mouth that are all separate that you attach to trees. HMMMM!!!!

Just the Beginner tools (1 knife with five different blades, and 5 tools consisting of 3 gouges, one V-tool, and one skew in sizes of approx 1/8" to 1/4" plus the Flextool slip strop to sharpen them) cost right about $100.00. And they came off of Ebay and Amazon.com. They are the basic tools I need, but of very good quality. BEWARE, there are a lot of cheap junk tools available. I posted the terminology so people can interpret what they see on Ebay auctions. The problem is that the same tool can have more than one name - confusing to say the least without a mentor to teach me.

Shadow · #4 02/08/12, 07:58 PM

Me and the wife both are wood carvers, mostly Santas I do some cowboys, fish, animals. Don't know where you are in your carving life but the only advise we give to people just starting out is only buy a chisel or tool if you have a need for it. We use knives for 99 percent of our carving. I use two veiners for hair detail and one tiny gouge to carve fur detail on the santas. 12 years ago I was given some money at my retirement and bought a complete set of Flexcut chisels all sizes and shapes, great tools but most I have never used.

YuccaFlatsRanch · #5 02/08/12, 09:39 PM

I have the beginners set of 5 Flexcut tools and a good Warren knife with the 5 different blades. These few tools will be all I need for LONG TIME. I am just beginning carving via Skylar Johnson's book on Carving Woodspirits in a Walking Stick.

The Texas Woodcarvers Guild has a show in Kerrville once or twice a year and this year I will attend and take a couple of classes too. At least I will have some tools to work with, and maybe some successful experiences. I also want to learn how to carve Bolo and Neckerchief slides ala Bill Burch for our local scouts.

Shadow - since you carve, I should cut you some blanks from Sotol cactus sticks and let you try it for carving. Its really neat wood. PM me with an address and I'll send you some. The sticks of sotol vary from approx 3/4 inch in diameter all the way up to about 2 inches in diameter.

oth47 · #6 02/09/12, 07:53 AM

I've carved a lot of Santa figures,the market was booming back in the 90s..haven't done any in a while.I've done them from 2 inches to 4 feet,all folk art style.I don't care for realistic carving,I like the homemade,self-taught look.The biggest one was done in poplar,sold it to my family doctor for $250.Would have been cheap at twice the price.It weighed 135 lbs,give or take a pound or two.Did a few cigar store Indians,I still have one.I did an Indian a little less than an inch tall,working under a magnifying glass.That was a hoot,lemme tell you.Lost it someway,I think it fell off the shelf and got swept out with the chips.Carving is a wonderful stress reliever and mind candy,watching something coming out of a piece of wood.And doesn't take a big investment,either,a simple knife will work wonders.

happychick · #7 02/09/12, 06:19 PM

My dad carves faces in wood as a hobby sometimes...In fact he just got himself a new set of really good chiesels.

anette · #8 02/10/12, 08:06 AM

a very cool new hobby, do you have any pics to show us?

anette

JohnL751 · #9 02/10/12, 11:21 AM

GO FOR IT!!!

I am 60 yrs. old and am looking at maybe doing some wood working in retirment years.
In my mind, I can even see making (some) money at it.

YuccaFlatsRanch · #10 02/10/12, 04:29 PM

"....do you have any pics to show us?" Hopefully soon, once the tools all get here.