Menu
We'll decorate the frame around our relief flower with a repeating pattern along it. The result is a carved 'moulding'. Carvers have created huge numbers of these carved patterns over the centuries, decorating everything from fireplaces to picture frames. The design we'll be carving here is very old indeed, and cut simply with the V tool.
Note how we have to deal with the corners and also how the effect comes from the wood we leave rather than the wood we cut.
And when you have finished the frame: Congratulations! You've completed your first carving and thus can call yourself a woodcarver.
| 09 August 2023 22:15
Simon - do it again! You can't expect to learn violin skills in one sitting. You'll find repeating the exercise amazingly helpful (and quick!).
My favourite fat gouge for flattening backgrounds is 1 1/2inch (30mm) no. 3. I seen to be most efficient with this. The Iles no. 2 1/2 should be fine too.
| 04 August 2023 16:29
Wow. That was hard. Four hours and it don't look much like yours Lol. Found it hard to get in to the tight corner bits, so will be ordering a skew chisel. Levelling was OK but i found the flattening really hard. I'm using a 1/2 inch 2 1/2. I'm thinking it may be easier with a wider chisel???? BTW watched your V tool sharpening last night and found i have one of the problem ones. Of course! The heel on mine is a wide wedge straight from Ashley Iles, so with trepidation i will follow your instructions for removing that and re sharpening it. I fear it is going to be a frustrating weekend :-)
| 24 August 2020 15:26
Sean - Great news! The most important part of a journey is starting; the next is not stopping!
| 23 August 2020 14:23
Thank you Chris. Excellent beginners course. For a first attempt at carving, the flower project has exceeded expectations. I can see what will develop and what needs attention and practice. The transformation that takes place in the modeling and detailIng sections was a revelation. Looking forward to the next project. Cheers, Sean.
| 18 April 2020 15:13
David - I tend towards a 3/8in. (10mm) V tool for most work, and I'm pretty sure that's what I am using. A 6mm (1/4in.) would work too since you aren't going very deep - which is often the deciding factor for size, the V angles being the same.
| 18 April 2020 03:58
Chris, your V tool looks so much larger than mine. I have a Pfeil 12/6. Is it the camera or is your V tool larger?
| 06 January 2020 09:35
Kevin - Yes, you can certainly, and easily, make your work grubby by rubbing the heel of your hand on the wood. The best way I find it to wear a carving glove as you get near to what will be your finished surface. I claim them as my invention! - and they are very simple and cheap to make.
Put 'gloves' in the search box, top left, and you'll find a couple of videos where I demonstrate their use.
And congratulations on finding woodcarving - wishing you joy and success on the journey.
| 05 January 2020 16:18
I've ordered a V tool to try some of the initial first cut exercises to see how I like it before spending too much. My V tool hasn't even come in yet, and I think I'm already hooked.
A thought occurred to me while watching you line in the frame. In an earlier video, you warned against using one's hands to brush away shavings due to the oil on our skin. Doesn't always keeping one hand on the wood when making cuts result in way more skin to wood contact that brushing away shaving would? Regardless, it looks like using a brush for shavings and keeping one hand on the work when cutting are the safest approaches for both activities.
| 06 February 2017 17:36
What an enjoyable little project Chris. Simple, clean and Oh so useful. The type of project that could be adapted to almost anything. That 'simple' moulding was surprisingly effective. Thanks so much for showing us that there is real elegance in simplicity of design.
