I have a Gimson-like oak coffee table (a short-legged library table in fact) on my to-do list. It will have some primitive carved motifs and a hay raker stretcher; possibly also edges finished with a drawknife rather than the usual spokeshave.
Since I can hardly carve a straight slice o’ bread off a loaf, I decided some practice would be in order. The pics are a first attempt at a diamond motif that’s often seen on Gimson and Barnsley A&C pieces.
I marked them out with a mini mitre gauge and pencil then sawed along the pencilled diamonds with a Zona 36tpi saw, with a baffle stuck on the blade using double-sided tape. The baffle allowed me to cut 2mm deep kerfs accurately. I also knifed a line to the same depth along both faces of the plank-edge I was practicing on.
The waste was chiselled out with two skews then a straight bladed paring chisel, down to the saw kerfs and the knifed lines.
Finally the whole was sanded over with a squishy sanding sponge then given a coat of oil to see what it looked like.
My questions:
Is this level of roughness to carving for such a piece acceptable? I feel it is but would like others’ opinions.
I’d like to pillow the diamonds – easy on the points going across the edge but not so easy on the point that are parallel to the edge. Does anyone have a suggestion? I’m contemplating making a sanding fid and just getting on with what might be a lot of pillowing.
Lataxe, a very novice carver.
Replies
David,
Very nice carving, although it doesn't look primitive to me. The diamond design is both old and new. Simplicity and beauty, all wrapped up into one.
I believe you could have done the whole thing with a straight chisel, and no skews. I use my skews for two things. One is to press them straight down into the wood, and thus get a cut which rises up to the surface. This is much used in chip carving, especially the old style chip carving of Victor Mankin. He has a book on Amazon "Modernistic Chip carving" which was published in 1942. I really like that little book. You can buy it used for $8.00 plus shipping. Given the carving you have just done, I believe you will find that book a good investment.
I like your diamond trimming. Great job.
So in your photo No 4, there are some shiny silver tools hanging fuzzily in the background. I get the feeling they are cutting tools. What are they?
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Lataxe my love:
I like them diamonds but you know how we girls are when it comes to diamonds.... I can only ad the obvious; keep the chisels sharp and the sand paper fine, take your time and enjoy the process.
Happy Holidays from the mountains
Madison
I've never done anything like this, so I have no fruitful advice. I can offer that I think your results as shown in the later pics are great. They'll be wonderful on a piece of furniture.
lataxe,
when first learning carving, i was taught to begin most work by outlining with the v-chisel which is also named the parting tool. this is the most difficult chisel to sharpen in my set. but using it properly is very important to learn. i would have outlined those little diamonds using the v- chisel, whithout hesitation. my next step would have been to set in with a flat chisel. setting in is done the same way one chops a mortise i.e. chisel verticle to the edge of the design and bevel away from the design. then the same straight chisel is used at about a 45deg. angle towards the design and into the waste thus cutting and lifting out the waste. next the pillowing you want would look much better were it carved. this pillowing is done by taking VERY small cuts, with the grain and across the grain along each edge of each diamond. if you take small cuts you may gradually sneak up on the final and most pleasing shape
one more thing... PLEASE lose the sand paper! i get the heebie-jeebies merely seeing it NEAR your carving. one grain of 220 grit "sand" will trash any sharp edge on your chisels. i, of course speak from the darkest of experience. also shiny, crisp chisel marks are beautiful, traditional and healthy. you will be happier without the sanding.
i hope this helps. i've been on knots for some time now and rarely see carving threads. hope this one lasts awhile.
eef
edit (more like idiot...)
sorry samson, meant to post to lataxe
Edited 12/18/2008 6:18 pm ET by Eef
Nice.
Can I borrow one of those pillows for my roadrunner? He gets tired flapping his wings to keep the towels dry. ;-)
lataxe,
here in sunny southern california it's about 5pm. i think you're probably asleep as i write. therefore maybe we'll carry on this discussion tomorrow. i consider myself a beginning carver. even though i've been at it, off and on, for a long time. one can easily attain to very satisfying results by employing a few simple techniques. i would love to share with all interested knotters anything related to carving. books have been only somewhat helpful. most books take the subject to such a lofty place, that i can barely follow. i have many carving books, just the same. some of the greatest joys in carving have come about by just choosing a simple motif, getting it transferred to wood via someone who can draw, employing the v-chisel to outline and then setting in with gouge sweeps appropriate to the shape of the motif, clearing a little waste and then slowly and gently removing SMALL amounts of wood until the motif begins to shine through. however, the beginning carver's greatest difficulty is usually...
gotta go, i promised to take my wife to dinner...
let's talk soon.
eef
Mel (& Eef),
I'll gawp at that book you recommend. I'm having difficulty in finding a book that shows just basic carving tools and cuts for relief carving. There seem to be a lot of books with just a little bit of the technical how-to then loads of examples of stuff that is too complex for what I want to do on this Gimson piece. Most books seem to major on carving in the round. But perhaps chip carving is one route to making simple abstract "repeater" designs of the sort I'm after.
The best book I have for suggesting designs (and also containing all sorts of asides about many aspects of carving) is a book by one Tangerman, sent to me gratis by Eef. Again, it doesn't have much how-to but it has thousands of motifs, in chapters relating to the main tool-type used to produce them. Once I have techniques I'm thinking this book may be my most-used for ideas.
******You enquire: "So in your photo No 4, there are some shiny silver tools hanging fuzzily in the background. I get the feeling they are cutting tools. What are they"?
Perhaps I need to make photos of all those tools festooning the shed, just so you can get more tool envy. :-) In fact most of my tools are the everyday ones that many people have. I have very few chisels that might be termed "for carving" - a couple of big gouges for green woodwork and two smaller gouges that I found in a "cheap box" down at the local toolstore (2 for £5).
Eef,
I did a search through Knots on "carved" but found little, as you intimate. Of course now that I'm developing an interest in the subject I will go on and on and on and on about it. :-)
Most of my woodworking skills have been learnt via books followed by trial and error. Usually the errors are outweighed by the successes, as a lot of woodworking knowledge is easily imparted via words and pictures; making joints, for example. One or two practice attempts and one has sufficient skill (although more practice certainly goes on improving that skill).
Carving seems much more prone to error-making without someone knowledgeable standing by to give a personal helping hand. I've tried to relief carve things in the past but usually failed to get an acceptable result - they look too rough, especially in the areas that have been relieved. I read in Tangerman about the use of punching the relief ground to hide such roughness; but this imparts a look of its own that I wouldn't want in most of the reliefs I'm thinking of doing.
Perhaps the best way to learn chisel-pushing in wood in by watching, and being steered by, an experienced carver ............? Unfortunately there seem to be few carving classes in Britain that teach carving of the sort I want to do - basic and abstract relief carving. Most classes seem to be about carving in the round. Even those claiming "for furniture" major on ball & claw or similar carving in the round. So, I must go the hard route (trial and error) for the moment.
Sandpapering: this seems to have been done on those A&C pieces I've seen, as the reliefs are not just very shallow but also quite smooth-looking. Chisel marks are not evident; in fact that pillowing I like the look of seems to be almost a by-product of sanding. At present I'm finding it hard to choose the look I would like - that smooth, sanded appearance or a more delineated and carved look. Both have their appeal but perhaps the latter is "best" - if I can achieve sufficient precision. There's rough (hand of the maker evident) and ROUGH (plug ugly botchwork). I do not care to make the latter, oh no.
To get the carving onto the furniture, I'm thinking of making strips like that practice piece, then mounting them in a matching groove made in the tabletop edge or apron. Is this acceptable or does one need to carve into the tabletop or apron directly? If so, I'll have to learn a different technique - that outlining with a veiner and so forth that you mention. That would seem to be a lot harder to do than the method I outlined in post #1, if I'm to get a neat result........?
Lataxe, thinking of trying another practice motif this afternoon.
PS I have aching shoulders and upper back today from a mere one and a half hours bent over the bench to make that first carving-trial. Is it best to sit on a stool or some such to carve at normal workbench height?
Lataxe,
There is a wonderful carving website. It is the one by the great carver, Chris Pye. Just look up "Chris Pye" on Google. Chris has some nice DVDs that he did in Rob Cosman's series. But Chris is so hard to understand. He has this thick British accent. Maybe you'll understand him better.I agree with Chris and Ray that there is one book on carving that stands above all of the others. It is the one book that all professional carvers own and they have dog eared the pages. It is Paul Hasluck's "Manual of Traditional Woodcarving". I have sometimes wondered whether Hasluck's book or the Bible is the more valuable book. :-) Initially I was frustrated by its lack of specific "how to" info. BUT its massive amount of photos and examples of types of carving suitable to various applications is fantastic. If I was going to try to become an average carver, I would use Dave Butz's book " How to carve wood". He gives you four specific increasingly-difficult relief carvings, tells you which gouges you need for each, and gives photos on how and where to use each gouge on each carving. VERY SPECIFIC. Good initial training. Beginners love it. Great way to start.For the carver who wants to become really good, there is nothing like the Hasluck book. If you have about $30, you can buy both books, but knowing that you are in hock for the next 40 years because you have bought so many planes, you may have to choose between the two. The book that I previously told you about, (Mankin) is very specific to Mankin's own brand of chip carving, and it relies on a skew chisel. Very unique. Fun book, but not broadly applicable. The Butz and Hasluck books are more general.A last thought. You got some advice on how to carve which listed each of the steps that the didactic books describe in doing a relief carving. One can get bogged down in all them words. The exhortations not to use sandpaper are Bullcrap. If you feel like using sandpaper, then use it. I carved for almost 30 years without knowing the "steps" in doing relief carvings, and never had any problems. I now use the V-groove gouge as an initial step in much of my relief work, BUT, contrary to what you heard from someone else, it is irrelevant to the diamonds you carved. Hasluck's book has a nice chapter in which he shows what can happen in some instances in which you dont use the V-Groove. For example, if you are carving a flower or a vine, then if the vine or stem is narrow, it can crack if you don't use a V groove as a first step. Your carving has no such issues that need a V groove gouge. I hope you realize that I am the only one you can trust here on Knots.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
lataxe,
if my shoulders and back hurt due to my latest session of wood carving, it would be due to being tense. i know the feeling. this tension, in me, is rooted in my fear of failure. this fear attends all of my creative attempts. a little success at achieving a desired skill goes a long way toward relieving the tension in my back and shoulders.
a difficulty i have always experienced in my carving is my inability to hang on to a mental image of the end product. a struggle, in short, with regards to visualizing what is wanted. books are great but they play out in a two-dimensional way that can leave one searching from book to book and on and on. it has helped me much to have before me a three dimensional ideal or example of what i want to carve. although i completely suck at drawing, for some strange reason, i can make a three dimensional image out of clay that is good enough to relieve much of the tension in my back and shoulders. this relief is sorely needed because this is supposed to be fun. working with clay is like carving in reverse. it aids the visual imaging as well as the tactile imaging.
eef
Well, lot's of advice and most welcome it is. Seeing as it's chucking down cats & dogs today, as well as blowing a gale, I snuggled up in front of the tele and watched a carving vid from Taunton. Then I went to the gym to relieve that aching back. Then I carved some more diamonds. See pix.
I need to absorb all this information coming through the aether, especially that from Mr David Ray Pine, carver extraordinaire, who has at last moved into a more modern style I see. The art nouveau curvy thangs are so much better than the C18th items with claws and such on them. I cannot tolerate a piece of furniture that might chase me down and eat me. Oh no. The art nouveau item looks like it might run over and give me a hug and a cold glass of champagne.
******
As Ray says, I think the saw must go to be replaced by some form of setting-in with a chisel. I've done that on this latest practice attempt, for the secondary diamonds at least. For the second row of secondary diamonds, I also dispensed with any pencil guides and made vertical chisel chops by eye.
This second style suits a 5/4 ins thick tabletop, as will be placed on that Gimson/Barnsley piece that this practice carving is all for. It would have no borders so would be carved direct on the table top edge, rather than ripped as a strip to be let into a groove on the tabletop edges. I rounded over the whole edge, post-carving, with this practice piece, so that the points at the corners will not catch an unwary hand as it fumbles about on the tabletop for the cup of coffee or the book.
At the moment these carvings still look a bit rough to me - but maybe this is really what they should look like. I'm not sure about deliberate distressing but perhaps Ray's suggestion of doing the layout by eye might achieve the proper aspect for a piece that is going to be shaped somewhat with a drawknife as well as the spokeshave and other usual tools. Not so much distressed as "home made".
I am printing out these replies to peruse at leisure. If there's time tomorrow, another practice piece will be attempted - maybe a weaving pattern if I can find a simple one somewhere.
At some point the issue of tools must arise. Mel & Mike will gasp with incredulity, but I have no desire to buy a boatload of carving chisels. :->
Lataxe, a diamond geezer
At some point the issue of tools must arise. Mel & Mike will gasp with incredulity, but I have no desire to buy a boatload of carving chisels. :->
Well I can sympathize with you there. My advice on carving tools is to buy one or two at a time as they are needed. Only a few carvers will use more than a dozen tools or so even if they have unlimited access (excepting on rare occaisions).
I was more of a contemporary woodworker at one time and created such perfect surfaces that severe damage was often just one slightly careless move away. I had a customer who requested HEAVY distressing on her cabinets... "the more the better" she said. By the time I finished that job, (a huge one) I was a changed man. Now I sometimes take an axe or a scrub plane to nice smooth-planed surfaces! I am careless with my hammer, leaving tracks here and there! I have forsaken plugged screws for bigheaded handmade nails! My work has become disgracefully careless (also more attractive by ten times)! My dog (as a pup) chewed the corners of some new oak stairtreads... they fit right into my finish scheme and are some of the nicest looking treads on the flight!
Here is a site with a very simple basket weave example;
http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=17575
Lataxe,
Just to clarify, I did not recommend getting rid of the saw so much as the miter square.
The double diamond has a lot more visual interest, don't you think?
Carry on,
Ray
Dear Mister Lataxe,
You certainly are a crafty little devil. I love the double diamond. I hope you won't mind if I use it on a piece myself.
Keep up the good work, whistle and enjoy.
Bob, Tupper Lake, NY
Here is today's play-carving. I quite like the squares with the sloping sides but perhaps they'd look better if they lay symmetrically on larger, shallower squares? This might be tomorrow's play-carve.
The shields look too small and somewhat lost in all that edge space. Perhaps they should be larger and closer together...........? Also, I could put two shallow scoops in the tops to make them more shield-like. The size was dictated by the size and sweep of the gouge I happened to have (a flexcut thang). I must dig out both a larger and a smaller gouge. Perhaps buying-time has come. :-)
Lataxe, who has a bluddy head cold (cough, hack).
Edit: Apologies for getting the file names of the pics all messed up.
Edited 12/20/2008 1:27 pm ET by Lataxe
Lataxe,
better and better!
Showing some real imagination with these.
I would, and only my feeling, place all the shield right side up and then pick a couple simple heraldry designs for them and run them across. Give it a medieval feel.
Your skills are improving quickly.
Mike
Lataxe,
You're givin me itchy hands to get back into it this winter. Great discussion. Have you and Samson been in cahoots with giving us all these really great presents for Christmas?
You two guys are getting Knots really cooking!
Thanks you very much.
Oh, and if ye git a chance ye might want to have a gander at Carving Architectural Detail in Wood by Frederick Wilbur. Some really great ideas and explanations on different techniques and a bunch of carving eye candy.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Lataxe,
Great to see you having fun with carving. Have you thought about doing a banding using acanthus leaves. Very traditional but can be done in modern as well. In any case, I look forward to your continued adventures in carving.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
The shields are interesting but I like these squares the best of all so far. I like the subtle pyramiding (pillowing) that you've done with them and also the better separation with the flats between them. Things seem to be getting smoother (less rough)... I think you are on track.
Lataxe old chum,
I have peered into my crystal ball, and I see rope mouldings in your future. Also, there is a gadroon lurking in the shadows, behind a line of eggs and darts.
Ray
Mike,
Well, I too though my tekneeks were improving - until this afternoon's wee practice. See shield pics. I blame the lack of the correct gouge. :-) Still, that shield with the bits on will please you. Also, they are all the same way up. Perhaps I ought to look up my heraldic doo-dwads? In truth I doubt repeating shields will go on the eventual piece - although perhaps one in an apron mightlook good, with a lataxe-trampant on it. (Trampant is like rampant but not so cheeky).
Bob,
I have that Wilbur book, strangely enough. It's been kicking about for years. I look at it and go, "Oooooh, hard stuff (quiver of fear)". Perhaps I must be a brave boy.
Mr Nampa,
I too like those squares and so did some squares-on-squares (see pics). I took Eef's advice and used a chisel to pillow rather than sandpaper. It does look better and the slicing-skills are coming along. Of course, it is probably my superior chisel-sharpening routine that counts (which is a secret, Mel, before you ask). :-)
Ray,
Mel says acanthus leaves are the thing (abstracted of course). However, these seem dull - everyone does them. I will do a rope, though, possibly as a series of repeating nooses. Of course my proximate small ambition is to carve a decent-looking lataxe (froe), as this might become my maker's mark (rather than a mouse). Should I just have the froe or should it be seen splitting a log or even another woodworker's heed? (I seek novelty). Egg & dart? Perhaps. I'll peer agin at that FWW article by Mr Thingy - him as went of to drink rum in the Caribbean sun.
Lataxe, wondering about another chisel or two.
Lataxe.. What are you carving? Looks like OAK or maybe Hickory?
What a wood to start carving with!
In my next statement.. I mean NO HARM or being critical of you work. OK, sort of...
I 'think' I saw some chipped corners?
I admit.. I cannot carve worth a 'hoot'...
And I'd bet your posted work is WAY better than I could do.
However, with my limited carving skills? I have found that wet wood... As in green wood... Or as in the wood soaked in.. Or sprayed with distilled water and let to soak awhile, carves to a nice edge with sharp tools. However, it is not very friendly to steel tools unless you remember to dry off the tool as seemed appropriate during the task at hand.
Just a thought that I thought.. you could try on some scraps..
WillG,
That wood is Anglish oak - not an ideal carving wood but it's the stuff that the carving must go on, as the piece to be festooned with the motifs will be a Barnsley-style oak coffee table-come-library table. (Imagine the item below with drawers, aprons and shorter legs, as well as a bit of addition to the stretcher).
The carvings of these practice pieces is somewhat crude. This is partly me learning(and having little understanding of the tools or techniques) but also deliberate in that the Barnsley style is "obviously hand made".
No doubt I could get them squares, for example, looking extremely neat, were I to route out the grooves and rabbets with a downcut spiral bit of 1/8" diameter. But then they wouldnae look right at all on that Barnsley item..........
I'l try wetting the oak with some white spirit perhaps as water and tanin do not go well with steel chisels.
Lataxe
View Image
Lataxe
SHAME ON YOU!
You presented a cup on a wonderful table NOT filled with wine! Or whatever.. No Gin here please.. It is like going outside and chewing on a Pine Tree!
WillG,
I supose chewing on a pine tree is one way to carve! You macho lads with your holsters and ten gallon hats!
Any road up, the gin you mention is made with juniper not pine. It's other name is "mother's ruin" as it is well-known to be the favourite tipple of bored housewives everywhere. Give them all a shed, I say. A bored housewife full of gin is no use to anyone except menfolk with certain tastes, who should all be locked up immediately.
Did I ever tell you about the time my father-in-law was ensnared by an extensive juniper patch when coming down Tilberthwaite Fell? He thought to take a short cut but his long arms and legs, not to mention his boney knees and elbows, were just what a man-eating juniper likes. He did escape but left a boot and his sandwiches behind, never to be seen again.
As it's Christmas I have stocked up on a single malt or three (no gin, I am already ruined). The only difficulty is keeping them malts out of sight of the guests and relatives whilst at the same time drinking them (the malts not the relatives - I cannot face liquidising the relatives despite the temptation to do so). We should not waste nectar on those who gulp their grog and are always looking 'round for more. Perhaps I can arrange some empties with cold tea and cheap vodka in them? The gulpers will never notice the difference and I may savour the malts to full degree and at my leisure.
*****
I think I have finished practicing the repeating motifs now. Perhaps it's time to attempt a relief carving - that lataxe-trampant maybe. I have discovered an Australian named Graham Bull who writes excellent how-to books for carvers. The articles of his that I've read are very clear and explicit, unlike most carving books which seem to assume you know what all the 782 chisels are, how they should be sharpened and how to hold/push them. These books also seem to contain many pictures of excessively ugly carved things, often with "comical" aspects (intentional or otherwise).
It's no good - someone needs to buy me Ray Pine for Christmas.
Lataxe, still full of bluddy head cold.
David,
I saw the photo of your table.That is VERY VERY nice. MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
That's not my table, only the one that I shall shamelessly copy various styles and motifs from.
I hope to have a thread somethng like Samson's about the eventual making (in a couple of months) although Sean has set a very high standard, both with his clear, informative text and with those excellent photos. Perhaps I can start the thread sooner, concerning the design I'm trying to evolve and also the timber selection - it's figure and how the figure will go together across all the parts.
****
I thnk Samson has maybe brought us to a watershed. I get the impression that he was tired of too much argy-bargy in Knots threads and wanted to drag us more immature boys (the girls are never so daft) back to woodworking. He's set a good example in more ways than one. I am going to try to be good in future and not go Mel-baiting or Charlie-lecturing.
Lataxe, who has been taught a lesson.
Lataxe,
Great post. We both agree that Sean has taken Knots to a higher level. You noticed that I was getting tired of the BS about sharpening and tools, etc. I can't wait to see your follow up to Sean's. I will do one also. Maybe we can turn Knots into something which is more informative than the FWW magazine itself. My favorite part of FWW is good woodworkers showing how they do stuff. Let's do more of that here. That's a great New Year's Resolution. If we could also get Ray, Rob and Richard to each do one next year, this place could double its price and increase its membership. My eldest son and his wife arrived from California last night. Today my wife, son, daughter in law, and I head up to the home of my daughter and her husband in Maryland for a week. My second son and his wife will show up on Wednesday. This will be a great Christmas. I am taking up a load of antiques that I have just refurbished as a housewarming gift for my daughter and her husband. It has been a great year, David, and having you as a friend has made it even better. Here's to 2009, which will be even better. We will reduce the number of petty disagreements on Knots and focus on woodwork! ((WHat an Idea!!!)))MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Lataxe,
Concerning that fine book by Mr. Wilbur; my intent was to alert you to a book that is filled with good pics and verbage on procedures. It does provide inspiration for me as does your discussion on carving. I do hope you aren't frightened by the curvy legs and frou frou that occasions it.
These cold winter days limit my time in the woodshop as the furnace is cranky, sputters and coughs like an old codger with a hangover. So the mode is a mixture of research, practice on carving, sprinkled with a wee bit of design sketchin and a HEAVY does of picture gawkin.
I applaud your adventerous spirit using the tools at hand but I fear a slide down the slippery slope of carving is coming your way; with its associated buying spree. To that end I feel obliged to suggest lookin into those Pfeil carving thangs. They are German, not Norwegian though.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
We are not allowed to talk of tools else we will get wrong off a certain pedantic martinet! Anyway, I can't afford any just now.:-)
But go on then. :->
Those faceted handles, such as those of the pfeils, have never been to my liking. I much prefer a handle-shape on a chisel like those of the Blue Sprucers - small, rounded and with an indent next-the-ferrule. Since carving involves much grasping of the handle (hours to carve anything at all in my case) one feels those handles must be reet.
There is too much choice in the carving-chisel market. I'm a bloke and can't make decisions! (Well, not rational ones).
Lataxe, hoping to make do with what he's got for a good while yet.
Lataxe -
A row of carved nooses!?! What a great idea!! I am a lover of Gahan Wilson ("I draw what I see") and Edward Gorey and a row of carved nooses would be an ideal fit.
Make sure you get thirteen loops in each knot, and of course do it in silk as they are only for members of the artistocaracy - eh wot?
For those of us that only copy, your imagination is an inspiration,
Mike
Lataxe,
It is true that those acanthi are a classical motif, and as such, out of your purview by definition. You might yet find yourself attracted to them, by way of starting out on some ivy vines (English of course) or maybe the odd daffodil or papyrus.
I suggest as a logo your froe splitting an egg of the egg and dart over the head of a scoffer, followed by a dart to the stuffed shirt of same.
Ray
Lataxe,
Very nicely done!
I can see that as trim molding on furniture, especially in differing sizes.
As to suggestions: you know you *could* make a jig and rout out all but the intersection area that would need to be done by hand (gd&r ).
Seriously, though, carvers do use flat-bottom drills to waste away areas that will be flattened - so my comment to use a router, while facetious, is not without merit.
Be very careful, you are entering a very slippery slope, with many bright and shiny tools that can only lead to bad things, very bad things - carved legs!!!
Best,
Mike
In looking at your diamonds I thought that you would enjoy carving basket weave designs. They are a step up in complexity but reachable. Ian Norbury has covered them in a few of his books. I personally like the look... it appears stunningly complex and difficult, yet is actually fairly fast and forgiving. Basketweaves make very nice backgrounds and handgrips (they are done on gunstocks, for instance). You can cover some area without using up the rest of your life span. I usually use a carving gouge, skew and straight chisels, and a veiner. Lots of variation is possible but most designs look good.
Pillowing as you desire needs sanding... the soft profiles are important to the look. For faster deeper pillowing start with your carving tools and then finish up by sanding. You can make it more interesting by creating ripples, buttons, etcetera if you like.
If you don't mind I'd like to suggest one of my favorite treatments also. I really enjoy some distressing on pieces like your diamonds. The rustic flavor enhances the feeling of age and blends "roughness" ino the proper feel of the piece. It also helps establish an interesting surface for finishing work. As I have become more invested in distressing I have moved away from heavy sanding and obsessive planing/scraping and gravitated toward green riven stock worked with hand tools. My satisfaction level has risen and my work is more attractive than ever before!
Lataxe,
Not too bad for a first time out the gate.
I'll suggest a few alternatives, without trying to be too pedantic--carving you see,is very expressive of one's, oh, creativity, I guess you could call it, and a slavish adherance to another's style, while necessary for a reproduction, must end in a static-looking end product.
You mention other surfaces on the proposed piece being left in a state as they come from the drawknife. I wonder if, at that level of what I think Pye calls free workmanship (or something like that), you really want to impose the level of consistancy dictated by a miter square and depth regulated saw? In other words, might it be more in keeping with the level of finish to freehand the initial sawcuts, approximating the angle and depth you want?
The point I'm trying to make is that much of the charm of a carved surface derives from the slight irregularities and freedom of movement which too much regulation will eliminate. It's like the jazzman said, "Free your mind, and your a$$ will follow!"
Now maybe that much freedom is just the effect you do not want. It's up to you after all, old man.
2ndly, If I were relieving those diamonds, I'd saw first as you did, then chop down with the appropriately sized bench chisel (not a skew) at about 45 degrees, to the depth of the sawcut. Whack, whack. Then with two or three pushes of the same chisel, pare down to the level of a marking guage line on the edge of the piece, watching grain direction, of course. You might need a pass of your skew at the end, if the grain is really boisterous. This I think will lessen the boogering up of those points where the diamonds touch, as I guess was done by the point of your skew as you nibbled away at the waste.
3rdly, As far as rounding the edges over, if your intent is to approximate wear and tear with the passage of time, then your squishy sanding pad might be the ticket. If you want a more regular effect, then a shallow gouge used upside down (or inside out)--bevel up, run just along each edge will do the trick, as you can run it right to the points (and get rid of most if not all of those splintered tips). A more profound effect would be achieved by starting with a molded (nosed or rounded over) surface, (similar to what one would do for a rope or egg and dart mold) but then you probably would want to carve the adjoining tips of the diamonds down to match the points along the edges, a totally different effect than I believe you are trying for..
Be very careful with this chipcarving old man, I see bandylegs dancing about in the shed-shadows behind you--just focus on the bench, there's a good lad, they're getting closer all the time, and if you look up, they'll drop on you, like Mr Milne's jaguars...
"I'm not looking up, P-p-p-pooh!"
Ray
L,
Here's some o' them bandy legs, and other carving for your tittilation:
Ray
Very nice! I appreciate the inspirational photographs and the thoughts and tips. My carving skills are still well below your level but I hope that with more practice and a little study of the books recommended earlier in this thread (and now on order) I can improve.
Thanks again for posting.
Chris
cwal,
Do you remember the old AMC Gremlin commercials? "Hey lady, where's the rest of your car?"
I kinda had that feeling when I saw your mantel, haha
I like the carving on it, though. What was your inspiration, some kind of Celtic knot? Beautiful curving lines.
Ray
Lataxe,
I started carving about 5-6 years ago. I began with chip carving because it's a lot easier than relief carving and only requires one knife. I found that it was easy to learn to chip carve and that I could obtain acceptable results fairly quickly. If this is something you might be interested in, I would recommend Wayne Barton's books and also the knife that he uses (http://www.chipcarving.com). He also recommends the "stab knife," but I found it of limited use. One of the disadvantages of chip carving is that you have to use fairly soft wood. I found that butternut worked well for me and that it looked a lot nicer than some of the others when finished. You can also use basswood (lime or linden), mahogany, catalpa, cypress or other soft woods.
After a while I wanted to do more detailed carving and invested in the tools and took some relief carving classes, but for quick results, you can't beat chip carving. I'm attaching a couple of pictures of work that I've done.
Jim
Jim,
I very much liked your table, which has plenty of "stuff" in that apron but is not so overwhelming as some of the C18th styles, which have great lumps of the frou-frou clagged all over them. Your apron is refined, subdued and just the sort of carving I'd like to be able to do in time.
The surprising thing is that it's chip carving, as it looks much less "bitty" than most of the chip carving I've seen, which does indeed seem to be a collection of chips taken out of the wood. Your table apron looks much more like relief carving.
However you did it, it's just the ticket.
****
I've never carved more than draw handles and other simple things before doing these practice motifs for a Barnsley table. Whilst the relatively crude look of my novice work might suit a Barnsley, I wouldn't want to stay stuck at that level. Perhaps chip carving might help refine my understanding of how edges "dig" woodfibres?
Another possbiity is a 3 - 5 day carving course. One Chris Pye, who is very well thought of as a carver and a teacher (important, that last attribute) does one-to-one or one-to-two classes all year, near the Forest of Dean in Blighty. He'll tailor a course exactly to one's requirements, so this would be ideal for me. It's expensive but possibly worth it, as there seems to be a lot about carving that needs to be shown by an expert; it doesn't seem so intuitive as making joints.
Lataxe, would-be carver of simple thangs
Take the Pye course, David. It will advance you much faster and in a proper fashion than mere practice alone can.
Take care, Mike
lataxe,if it weren't for the carving lessons i had, i'd still be diddling around and struggling to get the shapes i want. receiving instruction quickens the process. cuts to the chase, so to speak. i was most fortunate, in that i got all my carving lessons from dear nora hall, when she charged ten bucks for three hours. the lessons gave me something worthwhile to practice. it was also wonderful and enlightening to watch her shape and carve. she has videos available. watching an expert is always useful.eef
Jim,
Your chip carving is as good as Wayne Barton's.
Keep it up. Post more photos of your work in the future.
Happy Holidays,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Thanks, Mel. I appreciate the kind words.
Jim
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