How to Carve Wood
Wood carved with a lovely aesthetic design is beautiful and classy. Whether you want to carve lovely figurines or etch something in a wooden furniture, it’s easy as long as you’re creative and you know how to work with this material. Here are some steps to follow.
What You’ll Need:
Carving tools
Wood
Wood chisel
Hammer
Graphite paper
Pencil
Wood stain
Sandpaper
Shop vacuum
Tack cloth
Wood carving books
Procedure:
Ready your equipment and your working spot. You’ll need plenty of surface for this type of hobby, and you’ll be making a lot of mess. If you want, set a woodworking place in your home where you can work peacefully. You should also prepare eye goggles and protective gloves.
Get your wood. If you’re a starter, it’s better to use soft wood types, such as butternut, basswood or aspen. They’re easier to work with.
Assemble your toolset for carving. You can get a utility knife, a regular knife, a pick and a wood chisel. Make sure all your tools are sharpened before you begin the project.
Choose a design. Coming up with your own is great, but if you have no idea what kind of design to make, you can leaf through wood carving books, and choose one that you can practice on. Use a basic design. When you become an expert, you can move to more complex ones.
Draw the design on the wood. You can use graphite paper, to transfer your pattern, or you can just draw the design directly on the wood.
Begin carving, starting at the design’s tip, and using a small knife. Go against the grain, so you’ll have an easier time. Use an x-acto knife, if you have one. Be very careful when handling the sharp tools. Afterwards, use a bigger utility knife, until you get used to it. You can then move on to using a more sophisticated carving knife.
If you want to carve out deeper, use the wood chisel. With the hammer, strike the chisel’s head to get deeper, pushing the chisel very slowly, as you hit it. This makes sure that you stay within the pattern lines.
Every now and then,vacuum or blow off the debris, examining the carvings. If there are small lints, wipe them out with a tack cloth. Improve the details and carvings, and when you’re satisfied, smooth the sharp edges and splinters with sandpaper.
Protect your finished project with a wood stain.
You can start with small wood pieces and figurines before moving on to large items, like doors, cabinets and other furniture. Keep practicing, and once you get the hang of it, you’ll be surprised at the lovely pieces you make!