HOW TO MAKE QUALITY CARVINGS FOR MODEL SHIPS
by Clayton Johnson
clayton707@yahoo.com
http://claytonsships.blogspot.com/
http://clayton707.googlepages.com/

INDEX

1. TYPES OF CARVING TOOLS
2. SELECTING WOOD TYPE
3. MAKING TRACINGS
4 .DIMENSIONING WOOD & TRANSFERRING THE TRACING TO A BLANK
5. CUTTING OUT AND HOLDING DOWN YOUR CARVING BLANK
6. VISUALIZATION AND TYPES OF CUTS TO USE
7. VISUALIZATION AND TYPES OF CUTS TO USE CONTINUED
8. FINISHING
9. USING SOURCES OTHER THAN YOUR PLANS



INTRODUCTION

One of the main concerns that scratch model builders have when they are looking into building a vessel from the 17th or 18th century is all of the ornamentation attached to ships of these time periods. In fact, many model ship builders shy away from this period all together just because of the fact that they are intimidated by sculpture.
With the knowledge of a few basic concepts, however, you can be on your way to making excellent wooden carvings of any type and of any period. In fact, it will be possible to make carvings that are much nicer than mine and you will be able to add something to your models that everyone will gawk over!
The mission of this practicum is to introduce you to the process of making small carvings for model ships. I will go through the kinds of tools available, the process of selecting the type of wood you will use, keeping everything in proportion through tracing transfer, cutting out a carving blank, holding your carving down, visualization, the kinds of cuts you will make, finishing, using sources other than your model plans, and everything else required to make excellent carvings.
In order to move to the next part of the practicum, hit next at the bottom right. To skip to a previous or future section, see the index to the left. To go back to my main model ship site, hit the "MODEL SHIP CONSTRUCTION - HOME" link at the top or bottom of the page.