Wood carving, of course, is one of the oldest crafts that humanity has ever been engaged in. Dishes, parts of a building, furniture, chests, boxes for backgammon, etc. can be decorated in this way. Of course, everyone can learn woodcarving. The main thing is to choose the right tools, workpieces and master the necessary techniques. In this case, woodcarving for a novice master will soon become a hobby not only pleasant, but possibly even bringing a good income.
Types of thread
There are four main techniques for decorating wooden products in this way:
through;
deaf;
sculptural;
brownie (ship).
Sculptural carving is performed over the entire volume of the workpiece. The final product in this case is a separate figure or three-dimensional composition. This type of thread is considered quite complex and is more suitable for experienced craftsmen.
House carving, otherwise known as ship carving, combines elements of all other techniques and is used to decorate buildings and structures. According to this technology, for example, platbands, balusters and railings, skates of roofs of houses, etc. can be cut out. For a beginner, this technique works well, because it does not differ in too much complexity.
Through thread
This technology, in turn, is classified into:
The end-to-end technique differs primarily in that the products do not have a background when using it. Such technologies are most often used for the manufacture of platbands or, for example, in the design of wooden churches.
According to the technique of execution, all three types of through thread are very similar. The difference between them is only in the degree of complexity of the work. The simplest type of through thread is prop. In this case, the workpiece is cut along the contours of the applied drawing without further elaboration of the details.
Products in openwork technology are made in much the same way. The only thing is that the thread in this case looks richer due to additional small details.
Carved thread, in turn, is very similar to openwork. However, when using this technology, among other things, a thorough study of small and large parts of products is carried out. Using this technique, among other things, furniture covers are often made.
The through processing methodology also includes such a variety of processing as artistic sawing with a wood jigsaw. This technology allows you to get very beautiful products: caskets, furniture covers, toys, souvenirs, etc. However, this method is most often used not on wood, but on plywood.
Blind thread
This technology is often used to decorate dishes, furniture, walls of houses, etc. Blind carving, in turn, is classified into:
It is believed to be most suitable for beginners carving wood using the flat-engraved technique. Such a technique, in turn, can be:
contour line;
geometric;
bracketed.
In the first case, wood cuts are made with a jamb knife, small diameter chisels or corners. The contrast between the pattern and the background in the products using this technique is created by stain.
Geometric wood carving allows you to make very beautiful products. It is this technique that is most often chosen by beginners who decide to master such a craft. Geometric carving is usually performed using tools such as a flag (hatchet), semicircular chisels, corners, and knives. The main pattern when carving using this technology becomes a triangle.
With a brass thread, only shallow cuts are generally made on the surface of the workpiece. In this case, the master performs vertical chisels with a chisel, and then the cut itself. This technology in wood carving is the oldest. Once it was very widely used by village craftsmen.
Relief wood carving, in turn, happens:
flat-relief;
bas-relief;
high relief.
The plot execution techniques are also similar in this case. However, when using the first from the list of methods, the image ultimately turns out to be quite flat. The background when applying flat-topography technology can be:
cushion - decreasing to the image, because of which it looks pressed into the product (like a trace on the pillow);
zaovalenny - lowered (the image itself is cut off at an angle to the background).
When using bas-relief technology, the background decreases very much. At the same time, the elements of the figure itself appear semi-voluminous. High relief is considered even more complex. In this case, the image looks already voluminous - almost sculptural.
Core tools
Most often, in this way, beginners choose a plane-engraving geometric technique for wood cutting. Tools in this case, beginners usually use these:
flag (hatchet);
corner;
semicircular chisels.
The flag cutter blade is made in the form of a usually equilateral triangle. At the same time, it is attached to the handle at the top. Such a cutter marks the contours of the drawings, straight lines when decorating the sides, etc.
The corner cutter has a V-shape from the end (in cross section). It is used to cut through the relief of the corresponding configuration. The semicircular chisels at the end have the shape of a semicircle. They can be used, for example, for cutting smooth recesses-petals. And the corners and semicircular chisels can have different sizes.
There are many other tools that can facilitate the master's work on woodcarving and make drawings more complex and beautiful. This can be, for example, knives, jambs, ordinary straight chisels, etc.
In addition to the actual cutting tool, for woodcarving, the novice master must necessarily acquire for himself all kinds of auxiliary devices. For registration of products using geometric technology, for example, you will definitely need: compasses, rulers, tape measure, protractor.
On sale today are including machines for wood cutting. Such tools are also called engravers. Such devices, although they are quite expensive, allow to facilitate and speed up the design of wooden products.
What woodworking tools to purchase: manufacturers
Most often, beginner carvers use Tatyanka knives in their work. The advantages of tools from this manufacturer include, first of all, low cost and good quality. A plus of cutters of this brand is the fact that they come to the counter already well-sharpened. The only thing - the tools from "Tatyanka" in most cases can only be used to work on a fairly soft material. But this company delivers to the market and directly whole sets for wood cutting, designed specifically for beginners.
The cutters from the Czech company Narex also earned a very good reputation among the carvers. Such tools are also of good quality and in many cases are inexpensive. But unfortunately, the Narex cutters are not delivered to the market. If desired, a beginner can purchase, including a set for woodcarving from this manufacturer.
What wood to use
Of course, the novice master needs to decide on the type of material with which he will work in the first stage. Most experienced carvers advise novices to choose linden for training. This wood is not too hard and lends itself well to a knife. The only thing, linden is considered material is not too predictable. Depending on which soil the tree grew on, it can be either too dense and, accordingly, hard enough, or, conversely, too loose and soft.
Also, various kinds of carved products, including by beginners, can be made from:
cedar;
aspens;
birch trees;
apple trees;
pine trees.
Moreover, it is believed that cedar is best suited for the manufacture of various kinds of wooden souvenirs, light cases, boxes, etc. Products that are subjected to loads during operation cannot be made from this soft material. For example, do not make handles for knives, axes and hammers, carved shelves made of cedar wood, etc.
Aspen is considered very well suited for a novice materials. Such wood is cleanly cut, and besides, unlike cedar, it “holds” fine carvings well (without chips). In addition, aspen is a common, and therefore usually inexpensive wood. The disadvantage of this material is only one. Unfortunately, it is difficult to grind aspen. In the process of performing this procedure, pile is usually raised on such “wet” wood.
Birch is a favorite material of many carvers, both experienced and beginners. Such wood is well cut, perfectly "holds" small parts and, moreover, unlike aspen, it is perfectly ground and even polished.
The wood texture of the apple tree is characterized by increased density. Therefore, for beginners, such a tree does not fit too well. Before cutting, the apple tree, like birch, is often boiled. Such wood is usually used to make patterns with a large number of small details.
Pine is also considered a material that is not well suited for conventional cutting. The fact is that because of the hardened resin veins, in the process of working with a knife on such wood chips and stumps are obtained. Most often pine is used only for making large wooden park sculptures.
How to make a blank
In principle, you can practice woodcarving on any small piece of wood. But in order to make a beautiful, spectacular product, it is important, among other things, to use a good workpiece.
As already mentioned, most often beginners are engaged in woodcarving on linden. To make a blank of such a tree, you just need to purchase the boards themselves at the nearest sawmill. Such material should be pre-dried. Next, you need to grind each board in a special machine in such a way as to highlight the core as much as possible.
For woodcarving when using linden, only sapwood is used. It then needs to be separated from the core, using a circulation saw.
Linden sapwood, because the tree itself is not too thick, usually small. Therefore, for cutting panels of considerable area, such bars often have to be glued together. To fasten the linden material, according to experienced masters, it is best in an ordinary vice using the highest quality glue (for example, German Jowat).
How to avoid chips
A good set of chisels for wood and high-quality workpieces, of course, allow us to produce very beautiful products in the end. But actually the thread itself must be performed correctly.
Boards - the material is known to be fibrous. Before cutting, a drawing is applied to the wooden blank through tracing paper. Cut contours and grooves in the wood, focusing primarily on the location of its fibers. It is best to move along them. In this way, chips can be avoided. When cutting, among other things, you should try to make sure that the tool does not “push” the fibers to the sides, but, on the contrary, moves towards the center of their mass.
Geometric thread
Before proceeding to the actual carving using patterns, patterns, patterns, etc., a novice master should fill his hand a little in working with knives of different types. With the help of a flag on a waste board you can do, for example, simple cuts at an angle, Christmas trees. Then you can use corners of different lengths, making straight slots, with turns and waves.
Experienced masters advise necessarily to fill a hand in using different cutters for a beginner. Otherwise, he will subsequently not get a clean thread, which can lead to disappointment.
Where to get the templates
Beautiful wood products to order and for personal use can, of course, be done only using spectacular patterns. Stylish and attractive cutting stencils these days are easiest to download on the Internet at specialized sites. In addition, such a template, of course, you can create yourself. For geometric carving, for example, you can sketch directly on the workpiece using ordinary compasses, a protractor and a ruler.
For carving in other techniques, when choosing a stencil, one should observe, among other things, the following rules:
for engraving, the template should be as simple as possible;
for a large product, you should not choose a stencil with a large number of small parts (and vice versa).
Lines from an existing template for cutting wood with a jigsaw or special knives should be transferred to the workpiece as accurately as possible. Otherwise, the product will not succeed subsequently.
Stain Treatment
At the final stage, carved, custom-made wood products, as well as those intended for personal use, are often additionally stained or stained. These products, as you know, give the wood a brighter and more attractive appearance and at the same time do not hide its spectacular natural texture.
For the same purpose, a more modern tool can be used - wax for polishing wood. Such material, as well as stains and varnishes intended for coloring carved products, can have different colors. Very popular among carvers are, for example, shades of “oak”, “alder”, “mahogany”, etc. In any case, before painting with such means, the wood is usually thoroughly primed beforehand using transparent, colorless agents.
Very often, carved products, among other things, are additionally aged. In this case, they are pre-painted with stain, and then sanded with sandpaper.