Helpful Hints:
• When working with wood that is either too hard or too soft, to achieve good detail, I apply a 50/50 mix of rubbing alcohol and water to the area. Once the mixture is absorbed into the wood, I find that it cuts much more easily.
• Wearing a carving glove when holding a piece being worked on is a good idea; such as with whittling. Place the glove on the hand holding the piece itself. It could save you from a needless injury.
• I hone my tools approximately once each hour of use. Doing so keeps a fine razor edge on the tool.
• I don't try to catch a dropped knife or chisel. It is easier to sharpen a dropped tool than it is to repair a finger or toe.
• A small sliver can often be removed by placing a piece of tape over it and pulling it gently off.
• Good carving comes from practice and experience. And a lot of that comes from bad judgment along the way.
• It's never too late to start carving. Many artists have taken up carving after retirement.
• Albeit, I do not believe in sanding, careful tooling and clean cuts save you hours of sanding.
• Clean cuts provide a highly finished professional look. When I use hand tools (versus mallet work) on the cross grain, I use a slicing cut for much greater ease.
• I find that clamping my work so both hands are free is always worth the effort - not to mention the added safety.
Using a Template!
Using a template can offer many advantages in applying your carving project on wood. A template can be:
1. moved around on your wood ensuring a good fit
2. enlarged or reduced on a copy machine to better fit your wood
3. used over and over again in cases where you are doing multiple pieces
4. can help you identify waste wood allowing you to a band saw or chisel it off prior to getting into the meat of things.
Remember to make a top and side view template that can be aligned with each other on the wood. Use carbon paper or a pattern makers wheel to transfer your work to the wood if you cannot use a pencil around the edges of your pattern;
When doing lettering and fine line detail, I use a hooked, razor sharp knife. Doing so helps prevent my knife from coming loose from my cut and slipping or streaking across the wood. If you have not experienced a hooked knife, I suggest you do. The advantages are endless.
When using palm gouges, it is easy to bang the knuckles or fingers of the pushing hand on the piece being carved. Once you have banged yourself a few times, wrap the banged spot in vet wrap or elastic bandage material to soften future banging. Banging yourself a few times will make it abundantly clear where to apply the vet wrap
Carving Tips
KEEPING YOUR KNIVES SHARP:
Make sure you keep all of the bevels in contact with the strop when stropping. Generally speaking, the bevel goes the whole width of a carving knife. Just lay the blade flat on the strop and exert a small amount of pressure on the knife so that you maintain the correct contact on the strop. When you reach the end of the strop be sure you turn the blade so that the sharp edge comes up and away from the strop. I do not recommend picking the knife up. Just turn it over so that it is flat again and strop. Be sure to use a small amount of strop abrasive. Do not re-sharpen any carving tool unless you nick, chip, break or have to re-shape the cutting edge.
CARVING EYES:
IMPORTANT! Eyes are not holes! They are mounds and the eye socket is quite large. Take a look at a human skull to see what I mean. Lots of carvers do not get the area of the eye nearest the nose deep enough. Try carving eyes on a flat piece of wood first until you get the technique down. The eye is the same width as the nose. The center of the eye always lines up with the corner of the mouth. Carve a hundred eyes and then carve 100 more and you might be ready to carve an eye in your carving.
POWER CARVING HINTS:
Always wear a mask along with eye and ear protection.
Keep thumb of the hand holding handpiece on the wood while grinding. This allows for maximum control and may prevent grinding your other hand or clothes.
SAFETY!
One trip to the emergency room will pay for a lot of gloves. Wear one on you noncarving hand. Remember, always pretend any safety device is not there. Don't depend on the glove. Do not carve toward your other hand even though you have a glove on that hand.
Keep your tools razor sharp to avoid miscues. A dull tool will 'jump' off the wood easier than a sharp tool.
Don't scratch your face with a tool in your hand.
Don't place your carving project on your leg when you carve. The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh. If you should slip and cut that artery the probability of you surviving is slim.