1 Introduction

This book project is part of a much bigger commission for Hay Castle, Powys, UK, which you can see 3 parts on Woodcarving Workshops starting here with the Open Book itself.

You can watch the next part, an Ornamental Letter H with a daffodil and bird: here; and the second part, an armorial device consisting of a Shield and Lion: here.

But this book can stand alone. It's a great conversation piece! I’ve made several before as memorials or for presentation. You can paint on the ‘pages’; add text with calligraphy or pyrography; carve lettering or reliefs; screw on an engraved silver plate... up to you.

In this video workshop, I look at books closely, find my wood (grain horizontal) and make a template.

I also use a table saw to save a lot of time: Yes, it's the sort of thing I do! I thought you’d like to see how useful it was in this instance. For the woodworking-machinery-minded: you could do the same work with a router or spindle moulder. Remember to take all appropriate safety measures.

'But what if I don’t have either table saw or router?' Instead of the table saw, you’ll need to go the long way around and carve the wood away, just like a woodcarver! I've put  notes about this in the download (below).