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Here's the secret. Seriously! I'm frequently asked about finishing work 'straight from the chisel', my preferred way of working: you get unique. personal, interesting and vibrant surfaces; it's quick and efficient; you finish as you go along - no sanding etc. You put the chisel down and walk off. I believe I only use a few core carving techniques, though I trust I do them well, and this is one of them.
Here is how to go about getting a smooth surfaces - flat, rounded or hollowed - straight from your cutting edge. I see this lesson as one of the most important one on Woodcarving Workshops.
Grasp this idea. It's a gem.
| 31 August 2014 08:10
Excellent video Chris probably one of the most important I have viewed. The techniques you portrayed are essential to my progression within relief carving. A lot of people actually frown on using sandpaper and they feel it takes away the spirit of the carving. I personally feel it has its place and I also like the video you had on woodcarvers scrapers. Still practicing especially the slicing cut technique to flatten and round off those convex surfaces.
| 23 July 2014 21:55
thanks a lot for the help , i will buy mine tomorrow
| 23 July 2014 00:46
Roy - Yes, for tool firms using the so-called 'Sheffield List' and no. 3 gouge is the flattest, a 'flat gouge'. Pfeil uses a different though similar system, and their flattest gouge is a no. 2.
| 21 July 2014 15:02
thanks for replying so promptly , just to clarify , a no3/ gouge is what carvers call a flat gouge ? but is actually slightly curved ?
Also you have put "(pfeil cut2) are you trying to say that i should buy the No2 pfeil gouge if i am buying pfeil ?which i can see from a site i am looking at now is a " flat gouge " ? i only have the pfeil and would like to buy the same so is it a No3 or 2 , they do look very similar , but i find its always best to ask even if i am missing the obvious meaning . thanks once again.
| 20 July 2014 21:08
Roy - What you need to flatten the background is a #3 gouge (Pfeil cut 2), which looks flat but is very slightly curved, and that's what stops the corners digging in. The final surface will be slightly facetted and not truly flat. Your dead flat carpenter's chisel will always dig in - as you found - I'm sure I couldn't do any better than you! In carving, we don't really need in a background to be truly flat, it just has to look it, and the slightly tooled #3 surface is a lovely finish. So, buy yourself a flat gouge, it's a very useful tool elsewhere. As to the width, 1/2in. is probably a good place to start, but you'll find the 1/4 and 3/4in useful eventually.
| 20 July 2014 20:17
Hi chris , just starting out, and im trying to work away the background like shown above and in the 3 leaf relief vids , and get it flat with a carpenters flat chisel but i keep digging one end or the other back into the wood , i was wondering if you slightly round off your edges or do you not get this problem with a proper No1 straight chisel ? that is the right chisel i need yes ? , i find it easyer using my number 7 i think to get the surface almost flat.? and sorry to go off a little but off but i only have palm tools at the moment and im going to buy a proper flat No1 and then i am not sure to get either a no 3 or 5 which would you say is more essentialas money is tight. thanks for any help
| 16 June 2014 15:07
Sean - Excellent! That's one of the most important techniques you can master. Well done.
| 14 June 2014 01:22
I finally found my answer on how to smooth my projects out, straight from the chisel, without sanding or scrapping. Perseverance pays off!
| 04 June 2013 16:12
Ann - In terms of tearing, essentially you reverse the cut and slice from the opposite direction. Wood cannot orientate its fibres 'with' and 'against' at the same time, though the direction may change quickly. But I think you may mean that you find the surface a little 'grey' if you've sliced AGAINST the grain. Normally, the polished heel of the bevel follows the cut and burnishes the wood facet, leaving a polished sheen. Against the grain, this burnishing is less effective and so the cut can look relatively dull, grey even when you have sliced. Assuming your tools are sharp, you'll find this 'colour' disappears when you wax or oil the wood.
| 04 June 2013 09:20
Chris, when trying to finish off "straight from the chisel" I have one question (and lots of practice to do!): at certain points one can't go always in the same direction and the "color" of the surface shows it. What can one do?
