Modeler12
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Modeler12 got a reaction from cog in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Ok, final picture and some comments about grain direction.
I thought it would be 'cute' to carve this using a slice of a basswood branch.
Never again!!! (well not in the near future if I can help it).
Although my knives and gouges were very sharp and cut through wood like butter when the grain was 'right',
in this case the oval shape of the growth rings made it very difficult to go 'with the grain'.
For relief carving of ship decorations I will keep this in mind.
For carving solid figures, if I ever graduate there, it was a lesson learned.
BTW I will do a bit of sanding around the perimeter, give it a coat of sealer and call it 'Tulip #1'.
It's yours Carl.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from cog in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Sorry, I need to explain one more thing about grain direction
After I applied a coat of Tung oil to the tulip it really showed the problem I have had with this thing.
The center of the 'trunk' is clearly shown on the back of this piece,
and it translates to the front. Carving was difficult......and I simply could not get rid of the pimple.
That reminds me of my younger days
So, for relief carving stay away from this kind of wood.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from riverboat in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Sorry, I need to explain one more thing about grain direction
After I applied a coat of Tung oil to the tulip it really showed the problem I have had with this thing.
The center of the 'trunk' is clearly shown on the back of this piece,
and it translates to the front. Carving was difficult......and I simply could not get rid of the pimple.
That reminds me of my younger days
So, for relief carving stay away from this kind of wood.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from flying_dutchman2 in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Sorry, I need to explain one more thing about grain direction
After I applied a coat of Tung oil to the tulip it really showed the problem I have had with this thing.
The center of the 'trunk' is clearly shown on the back of this piece,
and it translates to the front. Carving was difficult......and I simply could not get rid of the pimple.
That reminds me of my younger days
So, for relief carving stay away from this kind of wood.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from mtaylor in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Sorry, I need to explain one more thing about grain direction
After I applied a coat of Tung oil to the tulip it really showed the problem I have had with this thing.
The center of the 'trunk' is clearly shown on the back of this piece,
and it translates to the front. Carving was difficult......and I simply could not get rid of the pimple.
That reminds me of my younger days
So, for relief carving stay away from this kind of wood.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from mtaylor in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Ok, final picture and some comments about grain direction.
I thought it would be 'cute' to carve this using a slice of a basswood branch.
Never again!!! (well not in the near future if I can help it).
Although my knives and gouges were very sharp and cut through wood like butter when the grain was 'right',
in this case the oval shape of the growth rings made it very difficult to go 'with the grain'.
For relief carving of ship decorations I will keep this in mind.
For carving solid figures, if I ever graduate there, it was a lesson learned.
BTW I will do a bit of sanding around the perimeter, give it a coat of sealer and call it 'Tulip #1'.
It's yours Carl.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from WackoWolf in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Sorry, I need to explain one more thing about grain direction
After I applied a coat of Tung oil to the tulip it really showed the problem I have had with this thing.
The center of the 'trunk' is clearly shown on the back of this piece,
and it translates to the front. Carving was difficult......and I simply could not get rid of the pimple.
That reminds me of my younger days
So, for relief carving stay away from this kind of wood.
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Modeler12 reacted to Jack12477 in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Very nicely done Jay. Came out really well.
Regarding grain - it's not just the circular grain you encountered in that branch piece. It can also occur in straight grained blocks. I've seen the grain change just as I carve deeper into a block when I am carving figures. I have to be constantly aware of which way it is going and adjust my carving accordingly. Also there is a big difference between air dried wood and kiln dried wood. Kiln dried tends to be harder to carver in my experience than air dried.
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Modeler12 reacted to druxey in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Well Modeler12, that's a very creditable early piece and I'm sure you gained a lot of experience doing it. Well done!
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Modeler12 reacted to Mike Y in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
It actually looks very nice with that grain! Feels like that "flower growing through asphalt" pictures. Rough wood - and a gentle flower emerging through it
With a proper backstory, this piece could be more interesting than something carved on a "proper" wood where grain is barely visible.
And the pimple is a nice touch, not a thing to get rid of!
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Modeler12 got a reaction from aviaamator in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Sorry, I need to explain one more thing about grain direction
After I applied a coat of Tung oil to the tulip it really showed the problem I have had with this thing.
The center of the 'trunk' is clearly shown on the back of this piece,
and it translates to the front. Carving was difficult......and I simply could not get rid of the pimple.
That reminds me of my younger days
So, for relief carving stay away from this kind of wood.
-
Modeler12 got a reaction from popash42 in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
One more thing about carving tools. Earlier I showed the set of knives and gouges that I bought from Flexcut. They work extremely well, hold an edge quite long and only need an occasional stropping. The only one I seldom use in the set is the curved knife.
However, for detailed work I needed some small chisels. I ordered a set of four Flexcuts ranging from 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide. Again they did a nice job of cutting away the background material for the tulip that I am playing around with. I am referring to the narrow channels between the leaves and flower. They still need some 'cleanup work'.
I am not trying to sell the brand, I know Flexcut tools are expensive. But now I have what I need when it comes to relief carving.
The 'practice board' has moved to a larger design as you can see. The actual tulip will be fun to bring out next.
btw. The grain direction has given me some hick-ups.
But after a while I got used to the idea of grain in this piece.
Notice that the center of the branch is in the bottom left corner of the tulip. It is a dark patch.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from cog in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
In just a week or two I have learned a lot about carving, including how to hold my work piece to the table.
At first I used a piece of plywood with two 'fences'. That was awkward and it kept on slipping on the table, while clamps were in the way.
A search through our linen closet yielded a rubber mat, the kind used in showers or bathtubs to prevent you from slipping. It has suction cups on the back side and the front is non-slip -- ideal for the glass top of my desk. The slight pressure from carving is enough to prevent the work piece from sliding. But yet, it allows me to rotate the work with no effort.
The piece you see is basswood but because it is a section of a branch, the grain runs all over the place making this a bit more of a challenge. The design is a tulip (in honor of Carl, of course).
Here is the practice board I showed earlier. That was a good lesson.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from popash42 in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Tools:
Perhaps I am going too deep into this discussion with the trial cutting.
But let me explain my situation about 'wood working' tools for carving>
I have collected a few chisels, bought some 'dogs', but settled on a few that I have used over the years.
Now comes Chuck and his promise to make us all into expert carvers of micro sculptures:
and what do I have to work with?
The two to the left are part of a series of wood-working chisels, not carving chisels (and there is a difference).
But I have used them for my carving attempts.
Then I decided to buy some 'micro carving tools'.
I know a better way is to buy individual tools as-needed, but for a novice I took the plunge.
Those are the ones I am now using for the 'practice board' mentioned above. I am slow, so bear with me.
The 1.5 inch squares in a piece of basswood could not be easier to cut you think.
Hold on. I stripped a couple of those borders very nicely and will ignore borders for now. There is also the issue of grain direction!!
The idea with part of the board is to carve concave and convex surfaces. The more I did this, the braver I got and went deeper. I am getting the hang of those gouges, not pretty but satisfying.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from reklein in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
So, I started to do the beginner's carving exercise.
I happen to have a piece of basswood that was close to what was called for.
It had a few squares missing but, in general, the ideas I had in mind were ok,
I started with a set of tools from Flexcut that include a couple of knives and some carving tools.
Here is my first attempt of carving some squares per the 'book'. I will eliminate a couple squares because of the duplication.
The first was taken with fluorescent light above and the second with an incandescent light from the left side.
Whow. What a difference
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Modeler12 got a reaction from AON in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Sorry, I need to explain one more thing about grain direction
After I applied a coat of Tung oil to the tulip it really showed the problem I have had with this thing.
The center of the 'trunk' is clearly shown on the back of this piece,
and it translates to the front. Carving was difficult......and I simply could not get rid of the pimple.
That reminds me of my younger days
So, for relief carving stay away from this kind of wood.
-
Modeler12 got a reaction from WackoWolf in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Ok, final picture and some comments about grain direction.
I thought it would be 'cute' to carve this using a slice of a basswood branch.
Never again!!! (well not in the near future if I can help it).
Although my knives and gouges were very sharp and cut through wood like butter when the grain was 'right',
in this case the oval shape of the growth rings made it very difficult to go 'with the grain'.
For relief carving of ship decorations I will keep this in mind.
For carving solid figures, if I ever graduate there, it was a lesson learned.
BTW I will do a bit of sanding around the perimeter, give it a coat of sealer and call it 'Tulip #1'.
It's yours Carl.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from Jack12477 in Dave Pete's carving log
Good start, Dave. Don't forget the 'stop cuts' where the branches leave the stalk. They add more depth.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from cog in Canute's Carving with hand tools
Sorry, it was not important. I was just curious how Ken was coming along with his carving.
I am also right handed and when I put my knife down on the table, the sharp edge of the blade is usually pointing to the left.
Ken's were facing the other direction.
Perhaps that is why Ken was having trouble with the #11 blade
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Modeler12 got a reaction from cog in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
One more thing about carving tools. Earlier I showed the set of knives and gouges that I bought from Flexcut. They work extremely well, hold an edge quite long and only need an occasional stropping. The only one I seldom use in the set is the curved knife.
However, for detailed work I needed some small chisels. I ordered a set of four Flexcuts ranging from 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide. Again they did a nice job of cutting away the background material for the tulip that I am playing around with. I am referring to the narrow channels between the leaves and flower. They still need some 'cleanup work'.
I am not trying to sell the brand, I know Flexcut tools are expensive. But now I have what I need when it comes to relief carving.
The 'practice board' has moved to a larger design as you can see. The actual tulip will be fun to bring out next.
btw. The grain direction has given me some hick-ups.
But after a while I got used to the idea of grain in this piece.
Notice that the center of the branch is in the bottom left corner of the tulip. It is a dark patch.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from mtaylor in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
Thank you Jack.
For the flat pieces of wood I am working with right now the bath mat works fine for me.
When (and if) I get into shapes that do not lend them to 'flat' carving, I will definitely consider other ways to hold the work piece.
Your 'bench hooks' are what I was referring to when I talked about a piece of plywood with fences. As you noted, the problem with that is still one of having this platform slide around. When the part involves 3D shapes the bench hook, or slanted tray, sitting on the bath mat should work fine.
I might also mention that the bath mat is large enough so the carving tools are not lying on the glass desk top. The two strops in the upper left corner were made from an old leather belt. One piece was wrapped and glued around a piece of 1/8 inch plywood and is used for the small gouges.
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Modeler12 got a reaction from Jack12477 in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
In just a week or two I have learned a lot about carving, including how to hold my work piece to the table.
At first I used a piece of plywood with two 'fences'. That was awkward and it kept on slipping on the table, while clamps were in the way.
A search through our linen closet yielded a rubber mat, the kind used in showers or bathtubs to prevent you from slipping. It has suction cups on the back side and the front is non-slip -- ideal for the glass top of my desk. The slight pressure from carving is enough to prevent the work piece from sliding. But yet, it allows me to rotate the work with no effort.
The piece you see is basswood but because it is a section of a branch, the grain runs all over the place making this a bit more of a challenge. The design is a tulip (in honor of Carl, of course).
Here is the practice board I showed earlier. That was a good lesson.
-
Modeler12 got a reaction from flying_dutchman2 in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
One more thing about carving tools. Earlier I showed the set of knives and gouges that I bought from Flexcut. They work extremely well, hold an edge quite long and only need an occasional stropping. The only one I seldom use in the set is the curved knife.
However, for detailed work I needed some small chisels. I ordered a set of four Flexcuts ranging from 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide. Again they did a nice job of cutting away the background material for the tulip that I am playing around with. I am referring to the narrow channels between the leaves and flower. They still need some 'cleanup work'.
I am not trying to sell the brand, I know Flexcut tools are expensive. But now I have what I need when it comes to relief carving.
The 'practice board' has moved to a larger design as you can see. The actual tulip will be fun to bring out next.
btw. The grain direction has given me some hick-ups.
But after a while I got used to the idea of grain in this piece.
Notice that the center of the branch is in the bottom left corner of the tulip. It is a dark patch.
-
Modeler12 got a reaction from Mike Y in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
One more thing about carving tools. Earlier I showed the set of knives and gouges that I bought from Flexcut. They work extremely well, hold an edge quite long and only need an occasional stropping. The only one I seldom use in the set is the curved knife.
However, for detailed work I needed some small chisels. I ordered a set of four Flexcuts ranging from 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide. Again they did a nice job of cutting away the background material for the tulip that I am playing around with. I am referring to the narrow channels between the leaves and flower. They still need some 'cleanup work'.
I am not trying to sell the brand, I know Flexcut tools are expensive. But now I have what I need when it comes to relief carving.
The 'practice board' has moved to a larger design as you can see. The actual tulip will be fun to bring out next.
btw. The grain direction has given me some hick-ups.
But after a while I got used to the idea of grain in this piece.
Notice that the center of the branch is in the bottom left corner of the tulip. It is a dark patch.
-
Modeler12 got a reaction from mtaylor in Modeler12 carving attempt - Me too; I am willing to try almost anything.
One more thing about carving tools. Earlier I showed the set of knives and gouges that I bought from Flexcut. They work extremely well, hold an edge quite long and only need an occasional stropping. The only one I seldom use in the set is the curved knife.
However, for detailed work I needed some small chisels. I ordered a set of four Flexcuts ranging from 1/16 to 1/4 inch wide. Again they did a nice job of cutting away the background material for the tulip that I am playing around with. I am referring to the narrow channels between the leaves and flower. They still need some 'cleanup work'.
I am not trying to sell the brand, I know Flexcut tools are expensive. But now I have what I need when it comes to relief carving.
The 'practice board' has moved to a larger design as you can see. The actual tulip will be fun to bring out next.
btw. The grain direction has given me some hick-ups.
But after a while I got used to the idea of grain in this piece.
Notice that the center of the branch is in the bottom left corner of the tulip. It is a dark patch.
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