Woodcarving can be as simple or as complex
as the project requires or as the carver cares to make it. An amazing amount of work can
be done on small basswood or butternut carvings with just a chip-carving knife (or an
X-Acto knife). Add a few gouges and your range of carving possibilities increases. Power
carving tools such as a flexible-shaft Foredom tool can help speed up the carving process
and produce effects that you can not get with hand tools. Large power tools, such as a
band saw, belt sander, drill press and chain saw, fill out the woodcarver's shop.
Purchasing the best quality tools you can afford will pay off in
the long run. They will perform better, last longer, and just be more enjoyable to use.
There is nothing more frustrating than a tool that doesn't do the job. |
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Chip-Carving
Knife Probably the first tool any
carver starts with is a knife. Its primary use is for whittling and chip carving. The
blade is 1 1/2" long, and has a handle designed to fit the hand. Like gouges, it
should be made of high carbon steel that will hold an edge for a long time. Cost: $15-30. |
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Carpenter's
Chisels These chisels have a flat
cutting edge (#1 Sweep). They are not usually used for sculpture, because the edge of a
flat chisel tends to dig into the wood, twisting, and plunging the tool deeper on one side
than the carver may have desired. It can give a crude, unschooled look that may be
desirable on some types of sculpture ( i.e. Outsider Art). |
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U-Gouges Gouges are the work horses of carving. U-gouges
are designated by the width of the cutting edge (in inches or millimeters), the sweep,
or the amount of curvature of the edge (an arbitrarily assigned number), and the shape of
the shaft (straight, bent, spoon, and back bent).
Gouges can be purchased:
- in widths from 2mm (1/16") to 60 mm (2 3/8")
- in sweeps from #2 (a barely perceptible curve) to #11 (a
very deep, half-round curve)
-in straight, bent, spoon, and
backbent shapes. |
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V-Gouges
(Parting tool) V-gouges
are designated by the width between the top edge tips, and the angle of the vee bottom
edge.
Gouges can be purchased:
- in widths from 2mm to 30 mm
- in 60° (#12 sweep) and 90° (#13 sweep). |
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Bent
and Spoon Gouges These specialty gouges
are used to get into those inaccessible spots on a carving that a straight gouge can't
reach.
Bent gouge: the entire length of the shaft is curved.
Spoon gouge: the final 1 1/2" of the shaft is
deeply bent, in a spoon shape.
Back bent gouges: a spoon gouge with the curve
reversed so the cutting edge is convex instead of concave.
These are specialized tools are seldom used, but when needed, they are
invaluable. |
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Skewed
Gouges A skewed gouge's
cutting edge is angled back from the leading edge at a 45°.
They come in straight, bent, and spoon shapes and in varying widths.
These are specialized tools and seldom, if ever, used. |
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Palm Tools
Most of the above tool shapes can be purchased as smaller, palm
tools. A chip-carving knife and an assortment of palm gouges are all that is needed for
creating small carvings in basswood or other soft woods. |
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Mallet The traditional mallet for carving is cylindrically
shaped and made from a heavy, dense hardwood.
I prefer using a rubber mallet. While it doesn't have the driving
power of a wood mallet, it is less noisy, easier on the chisel handles, and has some
spring that brings the head back for the next swing. |
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Foredom Flexible Shaft Tool
Foredom tools have a motor (1/8 - 1/4 HP depending on model), and run at up to 20,000 RPM.
A flexible shaft extends from the motor to a hand piece that holds a wide variety of burs
used for cutting and texturing wood. Its variable speed capability is operated from a foot
control.
The Foredom tool is an invaluable tool that can speed up carving. It reaches
into places chisels can't go, models wood with almost disregard for grain direction, makes
sanding quick and easy, and allows the creation of textures that can not be made in any
other way. |
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Burs A wide variety of burs are
available to fit in the several different styles and sizes of hand pieces. Burs that
may have been intended for other purposes can also be used for woodcarving, such as single
cut and double cut carbide burs (intended for metal work), burs with needle sharp points
of tungsten carbide, and burs coated with industrial diamonds. |
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Band
Saw A band saw has a long, thin
blade welded into a loop. An electric motor powers the blade around two large wheels.
The band saw is the woodcarver's most often used power tool. It
quickly cuts off scrap wood, speeding up the carving process.
With smaller carvings, trace a pattern of the subject's front
view and side view onto the block of wood. Cut out the side view. Save the two end pieces
and put everything back together again. Cut out the front view. Now that most of the scrap
has been removed, begin carving. |
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Drill
Press The drill press is another
invaluable shop tool. It not only drills precise holes, but other attachments can be
added, such as a sanding drum. |
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Belt
Sander A belt sander is another
one of those tools that comes in handy for doing so many things that come up during a
carving project that it seems you just can't be without it. |
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Planer
and Joiner The planer and joiner
are used to surface wood to give flat sides. They are nice to have, but I worked for years
without them (I had the boards milled when I purchased them). |
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Chain
Saw A chain saw is a very useful
tool for roughing out larger carvings. For shop use, I prefer an electric model. |
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