Steve Russell is from Independence, Iowa. About a year before his retirement from John Deere in 2010, Steve took up carving. Steve has won numerous awards at both the local and national level. He has held classes and workshops at his studio and with the Northeast Iowa Woodcarvers Club. Contact Steve at sjr1953@hotmail.com.

To make your own handle, first select the wood you wish to use—I used a piece of zebrawood because of its beautiful grain.

Use either a coping saw or a band saw to cut out the handle. Then use a belt sander or wood files and sandpaper to smooth and shape it to size.

Most carving blades are not full tang, meaning they have a short, flat extension into the handle. A full tang extends the length of your handle. Most Mora blades have a long tang, but I chose to cut mine shorter to about 2″ (5.1cm) long.

Since the Mora blade is flat, I cannot just drill a hole and glue the blade in—I need to mark the width of the blade on one of the ends of my handle (select a drill bit slightly larger than the thickness of the tang) and drill a few close holes along the line. Clean out the thin pieces of wood between the drill holes.

Apply a thin layer of epoxy to the blade tang and a little down into the hole. Slide the blade in and wipe away any excess with a rag. Let dry. Add a coat of finish to the handle and strop the blade. Check for a secure git and no wobbling before you begin to carve.

Create a template and trace the design on the wood running with the grain.

Make a handle from a simple piece of oak, or deck out a “dream blade” with a piece of exotic hardwood.

An artist for over 30 years, John Allard is a professional multimedia artist who works as a sculptor in the toy industry and as an illustrator in advertising and publishing. His hobbies are power carving, whittling, and metal engraving. Email him at allarddesignstudio@yahoo.com.

I’ll warn you, applying the belt to the cylinder made a bit of a mess, so when I got the leather in place, I secured it with a couple of hose clamps until the glue dried. A bit of contact cement got onto the working surface, so I smoothed it off with a piece of 120-grit sanding medium.

The entire stropping brings up a mirror-like finish and only takes a few minutes to achieve, as opposed to the much longer and more tedious hand-stropping method.

Dave achieves  a mirror finish on his tools with minimal time and effort.

Dave Browne is a multi-media artist from Canada who enjoys carving, wood turning, painting, and monochromes in either pencil or ink. He hopes to inspire or encourage others to create. To loosely quote his favorite musician, Tommy Emmanuel, “life is what’s happening now. This isn’t a rehearsal so get after it!”

Safety Note

A carving safety glove was not used for this project because the project was clamped to my workbench and my hands were holding the tool in use. If your hand(s) will be in harm’s way, please wear a safety glove.

Getting Started

When designing any pattern, I use the following supplies: graph paper, a ruler, mechanical pencil (to keep the lines consistent), a drawing kneaded eraser (it’s easy to shape to get into tight spots), tracing paper, a light box, calipers (perfect for transferring measurements), and lots of photos of the subject. Nature is one of the best sources for ideas; barring that, search the internet for photos you can use as inspiration. Once you land on a subject, sketch it out and refine it until you are happy with the shape and level of detail.

Wood Selection

When designing a new carving, ask yourself if you plan on painting the piece or taking advantage of the wood’s natural appearance. If I decide I will paint it, then basswood is my top choice. If I’m keeping it natural, mahogany and walnut are great options.

Basswood

Most woodcarvers in the United States enjoy using this wood. Its real name is linden or lime wood (which it’s regularly called in Europe). With its straight, fine, and even-textured grain, this lumber holds detail extremely well, making it a pleasure to carve and paint, but not stain. Due to the wood’s properties, if staining is not done carefully, the piece that you spent so much time and dedication on will come across as uneven and blotchy. If you decide to use a traditional stain, apply a wood conditioner first.

Mahogany

Mahogany has excellent carving properties and accepts finishes well. It’s strong, stable, and a pleasure to carve because it holds detail nicely. Due to overharvesting and high demand, it’s pricey compared to other woods on the market.

Black Walnut

Widely available and classified as a hardwood, black walnut has an extremely high resistance to denting, and it’s hard, strong, and stable. It is a pleasure to carve with hand and power tools provided the woodgrain is straight. It holds detail well and looks beautiful when finished.

Pattern Transfer

When it comes to transferring the pattern to the wood, I recommend one of three techniques: (1) Using a craft glue stick, apply the pattern directly to the wood. With this technique, you need to sand off the excess paper and glue before applying the finish. (2) Place a sheet of graphite transfer paper between the wood and the pattern, using blue painter’s tape to hold into place. Then, using a stylus tool or ballpoint pen (a pencil may tear the pattern), trace the pattern, transferring the image onto the wood. (3) Use a pounce wheel tool to carefully trace over the pattern. This tool will leave tiny indentations in the wood. Then, using a pencil, connect these tiny indentations to reveal the blueprint image.

TIP: Ebony and Ivory

Graphite transfer paper comes in black and white. Use white to transfer images to darker woods so you can easily see the image.

Developing a Unique Deep Relief Effect

When it comes to carving wood that is harder than basswood, I use a unique approach to assist me in making deep, steep angled cuts. Using a saw with a thin, small blade, I generate a stop cut all the way through the wood’s thickness. You can add more or less piercing in your work; just make sure you’re leaving enough wood to maintain stability around the edges of the carving (for example, piercing too much around the perimeter of the leaves will weaken them).

To start this process, drill a pilot hole directly down (90°) into the wood, feed the blade through the hole, and clamp into the tool that you plan on using. Note: Coping saws and some scroll saws use blades with a pin on both ends (known as pin-end blades). Match your pilot hole to the size of the blade you are using. There are three ways to accomplish this technique:

Scroll piercing lines through the blank to serve as stop cuts.

Scroll Saw

The scroll saw allows you to cut quickly and easily. Compared to coping and fret saws the scroll saw has a larger throat size. That’s the distance between the blade and the frame of the tool. Having a deep throat size on the saw will allow you to maneuver the project freely while you cut. However, it costs more than the fret or coping saw, and requires space and electricity to operate.

Fret Saw

Fret saws accept pinless blades, allowing for small pilot holes. They’re capable of performing the same detailed, tight curve cuts that a scroll saw can make because the blades are thinner compared to coping blades. When using this tool, be aware of the throat size.

Coping Saw

The coping saw is an inexpensive tool. Compared to the scroll saw and fret saw, the coping saw is also better when working with thicker wood because the pin-end blades are more rigid. However, it does not accept pinless blades. The pin-end blades require you to make a larger pilot hole in your project to feed the blade through your work. When using this tool, be aware of the throat size.

Carving the Perimeter

When carving deep relief projects, it’s important to know how deep you are carving into the project, because wood expands and contracts based on temperature and humidity changes. If you remove too much wood from the background, your project can cup or warp, creating small cracks in the delicate portions of your carving. To minimize this process, just leave more wood than you take away and don’t carve lower than half the thickness of the wood. To help stick to these guidelines, I measure the depth as I carve by making a depth gauge from paper stock and making two marks on my gauge. One marks the thickness of the wood (in this case it’s 3/4″ [19mm]) and the other marks a little over half that height (3/8″ [10mm]). I then shade the upper portion red.

Then, from the back of the plaque, I slide the gauge into the saw kerf with the 3/4″ (19mm) mark flush with the plaque. Then I view the gauge from the front of the plaque; if I don’t see red, that tells me I didn’t go past the halfway mark. Now, use #7-4, 1/4″ and 5/16″ (6mm and 8mm) sweep gouges to make the deep steep cuts around the rose (or equivalent sweep gouges). These cuts will generate nice shadows. To outline the rose leaves, make a stop cut using a knife or a gouge. I used various  gouge sweeps throughout the carving, but used a #3 sweep gouge as the tool had the same curve as parts of the leaves.

All About That Bevel

New carving tools are usually shaped with a cutting angle of 19° to 25°. From experience, I find this angle range fine to carve the three woods previously discussed. If you face difficulty, it may be because the cutting-edge angle is too low, making it too weak to carve this wood. In this case, grind a steeper cutting angle on your tool, such as 25° to 30° or even higher. This will give you a more durable edge. Always test the tool on scrap wood to determine if the tool is cutting the way you would like it to.

Specialized Carving Tools

Detail the rose. For this part, you can source specialized carving tools that can be used for relief carving from a range of specialty woodcarving tool manufacturers. Here are a few you may not have tried:

Skew Chisel

It’s such a versatile tool. An angled blade makes it easy to cut with and against the grain. The size of this 5/16″ (8mm) palm skew chisel allows me to get into tight areas, such as between the leaves.

Dental Pick

This is a great tool for reaching into all the nooks and crannies of your carving.

Spoon Gouge

When carving deep relief projects, I rely heavily on spoon gouges. The tool’s spoon-shaped design allows you to carve concave areas where traditional straight gouges won’t fit. The gouge’s design gives you less resistance, allowing you to glide easily through cuts. Since you are scooping into the wood, it’s better to make small, shallow cuts, slicing your way down to the depth, rather than making one aggressive cut.

Back-Bent Gouge

The back-bent gouge looks similar to the spoon gouge, except the cutting edge is reversed (convex instead of concave). This tool is excellent at removing wood on the underside of your piece. For example, when using it on the leaves, you can create deep undercuts, creating shadows and depth.

Skewed Spoon Gouge

Like the name suggests, it’s a skew chisel with a spoon’s shape—a fantastic tool for reaching deep into your carving to clean up those hard-to-reach angled corners with ease. If your budget allows it, I suggest purchasing these tools as
a mirrored pair.

Dogleg Skew Chisel

This 90° bent skew chisel is perfect for leveling out the background of your relief carving or to reach into deep nooks and crannies.

Bent V-Parting Tool

This is like the traditional V-parting tool, except it has a spoon shape bent toward the cutting edge. This allows you to get into areas of the carving that a straight V-parting tool would not be able
to reach.

TIP: Custom Tools

If there is a tool you don’t see on the market that would help you with a specific project you’re working on, contact a blacksmith to get it specially made. You may even come across a blacksmith at a local carving show. For example, I needed a fishtail gouge with a deeper curve than any I could find online, so I had one custom-made by carving legend Harold Enlow.

Sanding the Carving

Place a sheet of 120-grit sandpaper on a flat surface and, while holding the plaque on its edges, carefully sand the entire front and back of the plaque, going in  the direction of the grain. Depending on the pattern transfer technique you used, repeat this process (and vacuum the sawdust from the project frequently) until you remove all the residual pattern, glue, and/or pencil markings. Move to 150-grit sandpaper and repeat. During this process, you might unintentionally sand some of your carving. Look it over and fine-tune those areas. Then sign your work with a woodburner.

Applying a Finish

Apply all finishes in a well-ventilated area, wearing disposable rubber gloves and appropriate eyewear. Always practice on scrap wood first to make sure you like the look. Here are a few that work well for the rose, as well as any relief carved in hardwood:

Wipe-On Polyurethane

Using a disposable paintbrush, apply a liberal amount of wipe-on polyurethane (satin or gloss, depending on your preference) and immediately wipe it off using a cotton rag. Use an additional disposable brush and/or rag to remove any excess puddling in the nooks and crannies. Allow the finish to dry, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Using very fine steel wool (grade #0000), carefully buff the finish and remove (with a vacuum or soft brush) any debris. Apply a second coat of wipe-on polyurethane using the technique previously described. Dispose of rags and brushes carefully; as the finish cures, it generates heat and can spontaneously combust.  

Boiled Linseed Oil and Howard Feed-N-Wax®

Apply a liberal amount of boiled linseed oil over the entire carving using a disposable brush. Let it soak into the carving for about seven minutes and remove the excess by rubbing with a clean rag. Allow the finish to dry for at least three days. Dispose of the rags and brushes carefully for combustion safety. Then, apply Howard Feed-N-Wax® with a disposable brush. Let it set for at least 20 minutes, and then rub off the excess.  Use an additional disposable brush and/or rag to remove any excess puddling in the nooks and crannies.  Buff using a shoe brush and set aside to dry for two days.

Joseph A. Savarese was inspired to carve when, at age seven, he saw his Scoutmaster, Roy K. McGinnis, Sr., carve a deer from a block of sugar pine. Joe would like to express all his love to Patricia and Christopher. Without their love, support, and patience (especially when finding an occasional wood chip throughout the house), these five articles and counting wouldn’t exist. For more of Joe’s work or to view several how-to videos on woodcarving, visit his website at whittleandchips.com, his YouTube channel, MisterSplinters, or his Instagram @mistersplinters.

Bench Knives

The tool we call a bench knife comes in many shapes and sizes. Some have long blades that may extend up to 4″ (102mm) from the handle, while others, such as chip-carving knives, have a 1″ (25mm)-long blade. Some blades have straight cutting edges, while others start to curve along the top third of the blade. Some are sharpened on one side only while others are sharpened on both. And each will fit your hand differently.

While many wood carvers have a variety of bench knives in their kits, most return over and over again to just one or two favorite tools. Following are the two main factors to consider.

Steel Quality

It determines how sharp an edge the knife can achieve and keep during a carving session. No matter how skilled you are, you’ll never be able to sharpen inexpensive steel into a bright, clean edge. Any sharp edge you do get will not last long. Be prepared to pay about the same amount for one good bench knife ($20-$25) as you would for a full five-to-six-piece inexpensive beginner’s carving set.

There are several companies (Barton, Flexcut, Helvie, Moore, My Chip Carving, OOCT, Warren) who make carving knives from excellent steel. If you don’t recognize the name, investigate before buying; inexpensive often means low quality steel.

A Comfortable Fit

When you grip the handle, the tips of your middle and ring finger should lie about 1/4″ (6mm) away from or just against your thumb palm. This lets you have free motion of your fingers, thumb, and wrist during any cut—not too tight and not too open. Your fingers should hold the knife handle to the palm without the need for excess pressure.

If the handle is too narrow or thin, your fingertips will need to curve into a clenched shape to hold the knife steady. That causes extra tension in the hand, which over time becomes tiring.

If the handle is too wide, your fingertips will not touch the thumb palm area. To hold it securely, you would need to grip tightly to steady the knife through the cuts. This, too, can cause fatigue and stress on your hands.

Traditionally, tool handles are sized to fit a medium-to-large man’s hand, because until a century ago, woodworking and carving were mostly done by men. Today, though, many professional carvers are women—and these women usually have smaller hands and therefore narrower grips. (My husband is a longtime woodworker. While his hand can hold a large knife comfortably, mine just can’t.)

Fortunately, today, you can find handles in a variety of sizes. Some manufacturers offer you a choice of handle shapes and sizes. In general, those classified as detail knives have smaller handles.

This knife handle is too wide for this carver.

A knife handle that properly fits a woman’s hand…

…will most likely be too small for a man.

A Rule of Thumb

To gauge how well a knife handle will fit your hand, wrap the fingers of your dominant hand around your other thumb. Your thumb represents the knife handle, which rests across your palm. Since the fattest part of your thumb sits nicely in this area, you can use it to see how thick a knife handle you can comfortably use. This is why I never recommend ergonomic grip tool handles, because they only perfectly fit one person’s hand—the person (usually a man) who made the handle mold in the first place.

TIP: Adjusting A Handle

If your knife handle is too large, sand or carve it down to fit your hand. If the handle is too small, wrap vet-wrap tape around the handle to build it up.

Blade Length

A good bench knife, one with high-quality steel and a proper fit, will carve about 90% of the straight cuts that you need for any project.

And for most carving projects, especially if you’re working with milled and kiln-dried wood where the bark and heartwood have been removed, it only needs to make a clean 1/2″ (1.3cm)-wide slice. A longer knife puts your hands farther from the details you’re carving and reduces your control (above right). If you do need to take larger slices, clamp the wood and use a drawknife; this allows you to use both hands on the tool, keeping control despite the length of the blade.

A shorter blade length (top) will afford you more control.

When a Longer Blade is Better

Harley Refsal, author of Carving Flat-Plane Style Caricatures, prefers a longer blade to take the large cuts needed for flat-plane carving. Initially, he ground down a Morakniv blade (a traditional Scandinavian multi-purpose knife) until it was about 2″ (5.1cm) long, and thinned it on a sharpening stone so it would glide through wood more easily. Eventually, he teamed up with Del Stubbs of Pinewood Forge to make the Harley Knife (shown at right).

“The distinct, flat facets created by a fairly large, thin-bladed knife, rather than a tiny detail knife or a variety of gouges, yield the Scandinavian-inspired flat-plane look I most enjoy carving,” Harley explained. He also recommends straight knives by OOCT for flat-plane carving and curved knives by Pinewood Forge, OCCT, and Drake Knives for spoon carving.

Longer knives, such as a traditional Sloyd, also work well to remove bark from large surface areas such as a walking stick. The long blade allows you to glide the cutting edge down the stick, freeing strips of bark.

Mounting a Carving Directly

To attach a large carving to the arm, use a carver’s screw. Drill a pilot hole into the bottom of the blank and thread the carver’s screw into the hole. Carver’s screws are available from most carving supply stores.

For small carvings, you can use a common hanger bolt in lieu of a carver’s screw. Hanger bolts, which have a machine-thread bolt on one end and a lag screw on the other end, are often sold in the plumbing area of hardware stores. I suggest a 5/16″-dia. by
4″-long (8mm by 102mm) hanger bolt.

To attach the hanger bolt to the blank, drill a 3/16″ (5mm)-dia. pilot hole in the bottom of the carving, and thread the lag part of the bolt into the hole. The hanger bolt should protrude at least 2-3/8″ (60mm) so you can attach the piece to the carving arm.

Twist a carver’s screw or hanger bolt into the bottom of the carving.

Using a Mounting Block or Plug

It can be difficult to use a carver’s screw with some projects, such as relief carvings or figures without bases. To mount carvings like this, I use a carriage bolt attached to a temporary mounting block.

To mount a relief carving, choose a piece of 3/4″ (19mm)-thick wood that is large enough to insert at least four wood screws into the relief carving. Position the screws in areas that will not protrude into the finished carving. Drill and countersink the holes for the screws in the bottom of the mounting block. Drill and counter-bore the hole for the carriage bolt in the center of the top of the mounting block. Drive the carriage bolt through the hole and then screw the mounting block to the relief carving.

For an in-the-round carving that doesn’t have a base, such as a human or animal figure, choose a 3/4″ (19mm)-thick piece of wood big enough for the figure to stand on. Determine where the feet will be located and drill and countersink holes positioned so the screws will go into the feet and legs.

Drill a hole for the carriage bolt in the center of the mounting block. To ensure the carriage bolt sits below the surface of the mounting block, counter-bore a shallow hole the same size as the head of the carriage bolt in the top of the mounting block and drive the carriage bolt down through the hole. Use wood screws to attach the carving to the mounting block.

For hollow items, like cane heads, make a plug that fits into the blank. Drill a pilot hole in the plug and insert the lag end of a hanger bolt into the hole. Use wood screws to attach the plug to the blank. When the carving is finished, back out the wood screws to free the carving from the plug.

Use a mounting block to attach a relief carving to a carving arm.

Use a mounting block for an in-the-round carving that does not have  a base.

When you can’t drill into the blank, create a plug. 

Choosing a Handle

Once you have attached a carver’s screw or bolt to the blank or mounting block, you can use either a commercial or a shop-made handle to mount the blank to the carving arm.

To use a commercial handle, place a 5/16″ (8mm)-dia. fender washer onto the carver’s screw or bolt and then add a 5/16″-16 five-star knob.

To make a handle, sketch the shape as pictured. Drill a 1/2″ (13mm)- dia. by 5/8″ (16mm) deep hole in the inner curve and then drill a 5/16″ (8mm) hole all the way through. Cut around the perimeter of the handle. Install a 5/16″-16 threaded insert into the larger hole. Thread a fender washer onto the carver’s screw or bolt and loosely twist on your shop-made handle.

Buy a handle or make your own. 

Using a Carving Arm

Keep the handle loose enough that you can slide the bolt through the slot in the carving arm. Make sure the fender washer is against the handle and tighten until the carving is held securely.

To rotate the carving as you work, simply loosen the handle or knob. Be sure to re-tighten the handle before working again.

Use a handle to attach the mounting block to the carving arm.

LaVerne “Sid” Sidler was a woodworker for more than 50 years and an award-winning woodcarver for over 40 years.

Getting Started

Cut the stock to length using the parts list and diagrams as guides. I use a miter saw. Several pieces have angles cut on the ends; use the drawings to make sure you angle the ends properly. Drill the holes marked on the drawings. Then, apply a waterproofing finish to the pieces. This allows you to leave the main structure of the frame outside; I suggest you bring the press screw and any other metal hardware inside.

To screw in hanger bolts, tighten two nuts against each other. Use a wrench on the top nut to turn the hanger bolt into the table.

Assembling the Frame

Use the assembly drawings as guides to assemble the stand. Drive the table bolts (P) about 3 1/2″ (89mm) into the edge of the press screw mount (H) and clamping tables (I, J) (see Tip). To make it easy to drive the screws at an angle through the table brace (C) into the back table (G), drill pilot holes slightly smaller than the diameter of the screws. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to mount the press screw.

Using the Frame

Secure the frame to the ground using heavy-duty shepherd-crook-shaped tent stakes. To use the press screw, insert the table screw through the hole of your choice in the upright and lock it in place with the wing nut.  Use the size of the carving to determine where to position the clamping table, and lock it in place with the wing nut. Then, secure the carving with the press screw. Use the other clamping table with a hanger bolt or carving screw to secure an in-the-round carving. Use the back table to secure in-the-round carvings or relief carvings using the press screw mounted on the other side of the upright or with ordinary clamps.

MATERIALS

• Construction 2x4s: 2 each, 8′ (2.44m) long

• Construction 2x6s: 2 each, 8′ (2.44m) long

• Construction 2×10: 8′ (2.44m) long

• Shoulder vise screw: 9″ (22.9cm) long (see Special Sources below)

• Hanger bolts, 3/8″ (10mm) dia.: 3 each, 6″ (15.2cm) long

• Wing nuts, 3/8″ (10mm) dia.: 3 each, with 3″ (76mm) wingspan

• Washers, 3/8″ (10mm) inside dia.: 3 each, 1 1/2″ (38mm) outer dia.

• Exterior deck screws: 1 1/2″ (38mm) long, 2 1/2″ (64mm) long, 3″ (76mm) long

• Shepherd-crook-shaped tent stakes: 2 each

TOOLS

• Saws: miter, circular

• Hand drill with bits: 5/16″ (8mm), 3/8″ (10mm), 7/8″ (22mm) dia.

• Level

SPECIAL SOURCES

An 11 1/2″ (29.2cm)-long veneer press clamp (part number D2893) is available for $16.50 from Grizzly Industrial, grizzly.com, and other online retailers.

Hanger bolts and wing nuts are available for $1.93 each (bolts) and $6.88 each (wing nuts) from MSC, MSCDirect.com.

Ralph Beam is a retired high school earth science teacher who lives in Mishawaka, Ind., with his wife Kay.
He immersed himself in carving after retiring and joined the Council Oaks Woodcarvers Club in South Bend, Ind.
His carving focus is wood spirits.

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