2012 » Ozark Walking Sticks

Inexpensive Wood Carving Travel Case

May 152012

When it comes to wood carving, one of the best things is that you can carve anywhere that you have your tools and a little room to sit. If you are like me, you have added wood carving tools along your journey of carving. There is absolutely no way that I could carry all of my wood carving tools and materials with me away from home, but with a very inexpensive item from Wal-mart, you can take a few of the essential carving tools with you.

I found a clear, single layer tackle box at Wal-mart that does the perfect job of carrying a few of my carving tools while on the go. The tackle box holds my carving knife, small detail knife, carving glove, thumb guard, a few triangle blanks of basswood, and a small leather strop. That’s everything that I need to carve a small Santa ornament or refrigerator magnet.

Wood Carving Travel Case

Cutting Triangle Blanks for Wood Carving

Beginner Wood Carving Information, Wood Carving Studies/Tutorials, Wood Carving Tips No Responses »

May 062012

I posted a picture of some faces that I have been working on, that were carved on the corner of a basswood blank. I received a comment asking how I cut those blanks. With a couple pictures, I hope that I can do justice to the explanation.

Here is a finished picture of the triangle cutting jig with a 2″X2″ piece of basswood sitting on it.

Triangle Blank Cutting Jig for Wood Carving

I have to say that this is not my own idea or design, but I don’t remember exactly who I learn this from to give them credit. If my memory serves me right, it came from a past article in Woodcarving Illustrated or off of the Woodcarving Illustrated forum.

I started with a scrap piece of 2X4 and used a table saw to make the triangle blank cutting jig. Using the table saw, I set the blade to a 45 degree angle and the depth of the blade to go about halfway through the piece. Run the piece through one pass and then turn it around and send it through again to create the trough in the jig for the carving wood to sit in.

Now put the table saw blade back up to the normal up and down angle (90 degrees). Cut a groove down the middle of the trough that you just created about 3/4 of the length of the jig to form a guide for the blade.

Here are a few pictures to show better detail of the end result after cutting the jig.

Triangle Blank Cutting Jig for Wood Carving

The end result will be triangle blanks similar to this:

Triangle Basswood Blank

Wood Carved Faces

Wood Carving Projects 3 Responses »

Apr 282012

Hey everybody! It’s been over a month since I posted anything on the blog. It is has been very busy around my house and I haven’t had much time to devote to the blog or to much carving. I have a ton of ideas and things that I have been making notes on to share, so don’t give up on me. I will get back to sharing as soon as I can.

For now, I wanted to share some faces that I carved on the triangle block of basswood. I think that they turned out fairly well. I need to give them a face lift with some paint and they should be ready to be refrigerator magnets.

Let me know what you think of these.

Wood Carved Faces in Basswood

Click on the image to see the expanded picture of all 4 faces.

Make Your Own Wood Carving Knife and Tool Strop At Home

Beginner Wood Carving Information, Wood Carving Studies/Tutorials No Responses »

Mar 252012

A leather strop is an essential tool for keeping your wood carving tools and knives sharp and in top condition for carving. The difference in a good carving and a great carving can sometimes be as simple as having properly sharpened and maintained wood carving tools. Using a leather strop during the carving process will keep a razor edge on your wood carving tools and cause less headaches in the long run with the outcome and ease of the carving process.

Wood carvers have the option of buying a mass produced leather strop or making their own. I have both and discovered that making your own is only a few steps from being complete with just a few simple items. Here is a very simple picture tutorial of the strop making process:

Leather Strop Materials Ready

Fish Hooks Make Great Ornament Hangers

Beginner Wood Carving Information, Wood Carving Tips No Responses »

Mar 102012

Ordinary fish hooks make very functional Christmas ornament hangers. Using a pair of wire cutters, carefully cut the fish hook a short distance below the eye of the hook. Use caution not to throw the sharp barbed hook into your eye or skin and also do this process where you can easily find the sharp hook so that you don’t risk stepping on it later with bare feet. The actual hook and most of the hook shaft are scrapped and the eye is then used as the hanging mechanism on the ornament.

Most of my Christmas ornaments are made of basswood and therefore will allow me to insert the short hook shaft that is attached to the eye, into the ornament with a pair of pliers and a little bit of force. I have found that most of the time, the eye will remain securely in the ornament without any further assistance, but there are times that a small amount of glue is needed to keep it securely in place. I usually wait until I am completely done finishing the ornament (painting) before I insert the eye.

Ornament Hook

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