Learning to Carve Wood: Beginning Wood Carving
How to Carve Wood by Hand
There are four general styles for woodcarving with different styled, techniques and tools for each one. You must decide which you want to pursue so you can the correct techniques and tool that you will need. Learning how to carve wood by hand involves various techniques and tools to turn the original raw piece into a finished carved object. This involves traditional carving tools such as: chisels, knifes, gouges, hammers, along with sanding, painting, or other methods to finished your project. A wood carver will be able to adapt a number of basic wood carving techniques and skills to finish a project from beginning to end.
Woodworking Carving involves having the right tools, but also learning correct technique and have the right wood for any projects. Once proper technique is learned it takes time and practice to master them.
Always have sharp tools. They cut clean, even against the grain if you are careful. They are also safer to use than dull ones, because you exert more force and that is when things start to slip and slide and bite you. So, learn how to sharpen properly first. Use woods that are easy to carve so that you can learn the basic techniques of carving without having to fight the material, that would be Basswood. Get to know the mechanics of wood. Understand grain and how it can help you or fight you. Learn to do your own designs, i.e. learn to draw a bit. You will be the envy of everyone else if you can create your own original designs. This is also something you can sell if you wish.
Carving for New Wood Carvers: Chip Carving
There are many paths for wood carving for beginners to get started. Chip carving is the most popular technique to start wood carving for beginners because a newbie can create beautiful pieces of wooden art as it is fast, easy, and simple to learn, requiring only a few tools. This technique can be used to decorate boxes, chests, utensils, furniture, or anything wooden you would like to spruce up. The first step is to choose a pattern to start chip carving. The hardest part of chip carving is drawing the pattern onto the wood. A simple way to get a pattern is to find one online and tape it onto the wood to carve over. The pattern needs to be exact so you should take your time making sure everything is correct and do not rush it. A straight edge, compass, and pencil should be used to create your pattern.
First Skills for the New Wood Carver
Carving by hand is both a skill and an art. Why an individual carver decide how they are going to carve a piece explains why there is such variety in finished piece. Knowing what you want to accomplish in you carvings will help with the technique you use to get the work finished.
There are many types of damage and subsequent repair that occur on carvings. The few basic types of repairs I will address here deal with a carving in progress. The most important thing to remember about a repair is also the most challenging: the repair must be permanent and invisible. The best repair should never be seen. Poorly executed repairs can be a detriment to the appearance of a carving, so it's important to exercise as much care in their execution as you do in any other phase of woodworking carving.
After learning the basic, and trying out some simple project, anyone with advance skill can move on the wood carving for art's sake. Doing it right takes time, talent, technique, and the proper supplies.
Intermediate Wood Carving by hand
After the basic of wood carving are learned you can go on to various carving projects. Some can be made in a short amount of time, other more time consuming and intricate. Its important to find where your talents and interest fall so that you can concentrate in those areas, and build you basic wood carving techniques.
Many carvings need to be painted before they are finished. After putting in the time and effort to get your curving right it only make since to finish it correctly. Properly done finishing and painting will enhance the work you have done in the carving.
There are various ways to finished and protect your carving, or other workingwork projects. The right finish will help show off the carving and protect the wood for the long term.
