1
Transfer the design supplied ontoa piece of lime wood with the grain running vertically through the design. Now cut it out and mount it
›
PHOT OGRAPHS BY ANDREW THOMAS WPP105 P53-56 CARVING TECHtfABJRSD.indd 53 WPP105 P53-56 CARVING TECHtfABJRSD.indd 53 25/02/2015 10:0525/02/2015 10:0554 WOODWORKING PLANS & PROJECTS ISSUE 72
54 WPP ISSUE 105www.woodworkersinstitute.com
www.woodworkersinstitute.comTECH
N
IQU
E
securely on your vice. The design has the carving directions marked onto the wood for you to follow. Mark all of these arrows onto your wood and also draw the little steps on the left and right.
2
Carve with the grain, meaningcut in the direction that the wood fibres are flowing, working down over the steps that you have drawn and creating a gentle curve over this edge. This is the correct approach to the grain, as there is nothing here that will cause any resistance to the gouge as it moves in this direction. Use your No.2, 20mm gouge to do this and feel how easily it slices through the grain.
3
The horizontal arrows that aremarked on both sides of the wood show the exact positions where you need to change cutting direction; if you do not change direction at these points, you will be cutting against the grain. This will result in the blade naturally trying to follow the line of the grain, which will eventually break out if you persist with the cut. In order to change direction, you need to start your cut just past the peak of the curved profile so that the grain will not lift. Experiment with cutting against the grain before the peak of the curve, feel the resistance in the cut and observe how your gouge naturally wants to follow the stripe of the grain. Break it out if you wish
– it’s only a test piece of wood and it is a good exercise to learn how it behaves in this situation.
4
Another way of testing to see if youare working against the grain is to look at the texture and colour of your gouge cuts. When you are following the grain correctly, you will notice that each gouge cut is smooth, shiny and the same colour as the wood. On the other hand, if you have cut against the grain, then the cut will have a rough, matte texture and be lighter in colour. When you have rounded this end over a little more, make a small
cut in the wrong direction to see how this appears and feels. You can now work on the right side of the wood, following the direction of the arrows and repeating the process to curve this edge as you did on the left side.
5
You should now have both theleft and right upper sides curved over from the edge and meeting in the middle at the top of the wood. Next, simply follow the grain in the direction of the arrow, up and over the end grain at the top, paring the wood away until it is even with both left and right edges.
1
2
3
4
5
WPP105 P53-56 CARVING TECHtfABJRSD.indd 54
‹
www.woodworkersinstitute.com
www.woodworkersinstitute.comISSUE 72 WOODWORKING PLANS & PROJECTS 55
ISSUE 105 WPP 55TECH
N
IQU
E
6
Working on the right-hand sideof the form now, you come to the area where the contour of the edge sweeps in towards the centre of the wood. This area requires you to follow the grain by cutting inwards into the curve from both directions.
7
As you can see in the photo, thewood in the centre of the curve will not naturally chip out and will need to be removed by cutting across the grain. Do this with your No.7, 14mm gouge, which is far more curved than the No.2 gouge that you have been using so far for the sides of the form and is therefore more appropriate for the tighter curvature of this area of the design.
8
Cuts being made across the grainat right angles are simple to do, as you are neither carving with nor
against the grain. Start your cut a short way back from the centre and work into the tight curve to remove the lifted wood on both sides as cleanly and evenly as you can. You can then carve horizontally across the opposite edge on the left side, but using the No.2, 20mm gouge again to curve it over in the position between the grain directions where the left horizontal arrow is drawn on the wood.
9
Now shape the lower edges onboth sides of the form, following the grain in the correct direction.
10
The complete surface can nowbe contoured and blended into the curved edges. Notice how the grain is flowing around the inner contour, almost guiding you in the direction of cut.
6
7
8
9
10
11
11
The wood has now beenshaped evenly over the complete surface of this side and the exercise is complete. But why not carve the other side as well and experiment by changing the outer profile to make your own first original design? This will give you some more valuable experience of how to approach the grain.
›
WPP105 P53-56 CARVING TECHtfABJRSD.indd 55