About wood carving.

Sometimes advice is just advice. Don't take it as is! I want to get into wood carving. The satisfaction can be huge as long as you use the right tools that are sharpened properly.

I did make the mistake of listening to the advice of some wood worker who posted his opinion, that getting into wood carving is not for everyone. "don't be like all Americans and buy the best tools from the get go". That's what he said. I learned the hard way that he is wrong. This advice may work for other topics in wood working but will not work for wood carving. If you don't have the right size tools that are sharpened properly you will be unsafe, the results will be bad and you may think that carving is not something you like.

There are wood carving sets from $30 to $400. I bought the $30 one. What a disappointment. Poorly made in China. The chisels were not sharp. One of them had a loose blade that I had to glue with epoxy. The handles were too short to work safely. $30 thrown out because I was trying to start with modest tools.

My advice don't do that. Watch a few woodcarving videos on you tube and see what tools they are using. Also watch their fingers and see how many scars or band-aids they have on their fingers.

I recommend Mary May.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43dLqrKV9OI

Carving

Once I understood how to sharpen chisels, I started enjoying the freehand wood work, which brought me to carving. There are a lot of wonderful power tools for wood carving. Although noisy, these tools remove wood quickly. I get fast results and get to control the shape with my free hands.

I have the Arbortech carver and an angle grinder. Bought it a while back hoping to scoop a chair seat. Never got around to it. For free hand carving this tool is wonderful. It removes material so fast, that I really need to learn to control it.

I watched all the Arbortech videos posted by the company CEO. Here is one of them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ksu6BgMR1k

I wish there were more videos!

This is my first attempt. I am pleased with the results although I need to investigate the mini-Arbortech or create bigger pieces. I found it hard to carve depth with the big blade.

This is my first project. The piece looks bigger then it actually is!! I also have to give credits to the apple tree itself. The wood is beautiful no matter what you do with it!

Brimfield Flea Market

Went to Brimfield flea market. A family tradition in our house. Nice things! Always exciting. The cart wheels, amazing but so expensive.

So instead of buying one I made one. I am happy with the result. Nice addition to our garden.

Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table at Crave Cafe and Bakery in Beverly, MA

Had to make a few versions until I found the right color and the right size.

I ended up with a 24" x 36" to accommodate a relatively tight corner.

Clamping Mitered Corners

Having a frame with 45 degrees mitered corner is a clamping challenge. Lots of solutions out there. Just search on Google, Pinterest or You Tube. Pick your solution and you may be happy with it. Some look great in a photo but I suggest you try them before using them on a project.  I found problems with some. Unfortunately I discovered when the glue was  spread already and I was ready to clamp.

A great solution is shown in the photo below. It is on You Tube but it does not come up in the search on the first or second search results. Maybe because the descriptive text is in Russian!

It looks like this:

The video that shows how to make it, is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlrx1QLUAs4&index=8&list=LLUr1MZqUXbovcI8obZac30A

Palette Table

At some point I stopped turning wood. It is still the fastest way to carve wood and very relaxing but how many more hollow forms can I make without tangible use? My house is full of these pieces. Some admire them some compare them to other things they saw in craft fares but that is it. I may return to Turning but not soon! I spend the last few years building things. Mostly tangible usable things. Furniture, shelves, cabinets, tables, desks, etc. The last few years brought the new trend of reclaimed wood and pallet wood work. I took up on that. Made a coffee table for my sun room, made a mail box to store incoming mail and a small wall bar for my Son.

Crave Bakery in Beverly, MA. Opened on April 17, 2016

 Built for them:

Tray for sugar, etc.

Kitchen Workbench

I am fascinated by Mushrooms. The shape and colors opens a lot of turning possibilities. Whatever you can not find in nature you can find on a lathe!!

Mahogany Box

This Mahogany and Canary Wood box was made for my son as a box to keep loose change.

Small Lided Box - Willow