Mallets and Hammers

Mallets and Hammers

Mallets and hammers are two very valuable and very different tools.  While both are used to hit another object such as a nail or chisel, they have completely different characteristics.   Hammers are tools made from metal, iron, steel or bronze and are used for driving nails and hitting other metal objects.  The hardness and density of the material in...

Knives

Knives

Information About the Ron Wells Carving Knife Ron started carving caricatures in 1979. The first figure was carved with a friend’s carving knife, after which he read moraknive wood carving knife review. That night Ron did a second figure with his pocket knife. The next day he made his first carving knife and has been making them ever since. About...

Layout Tools

Layout Tools

Laying out you work properly and accurately is critical to fine woodworking.  This is important to insure that all of your pieces fit together and that similar pieces such as drawers and doors are the proper size and fit into their openings.  Never use a pencil for layout work, it is not accurate enough, you should use a scratch awl...

Carving Chisels and Gouges

Carving Chisels and Gouges

Carving chisels and gouges differ from cabinet chisels and other gouges in that they are usually somewhat thinner and are sharpened with a finer angle on the cutting edge.  Some are intended for handwork only while others can be struck with a mallet and of course are never struck a metal hammer.  They have thinner blades and handles that are...

TOOL HARDENING

TOOL HARDENING

The half-circle cutters made from files are easy to harden. The hardening is done in two operations. During the first, the cutter is heated to a cherry red glow in a gas burner or other method. A well-cleaned kitchen gas torch is quite suitable for heating such cutters. The heated tool is quickly lowered into the water, the vessel with...

HALF-CIRCLE CUTTERS AND CHISELS

HALF-CIRCLE CUTTERS AND CHISELS

A semicircular chisel is more popular with the carver than a straight chisel, especially in the width of a little finger. Practically it is enough to have four or five semicircular chisels of different radius of curvature and width of blade, i.e. sloping, medium, steep. Two small chisels can be successfully made by yourself from round files: one 6 mm...

Flat chisels

Flat chisels

Flat chisels are available in stores. If the quality of steel or the size of flat chisels does not suit the carver, then a flat file or personal files can be used with complete success, starting with the narrowest one. They are sharpened without preliminary annealing (by heating) on a sharpening wheel or a water sharpener. In the first case,...

Sawing from plywood

Sawing from plywood

Given the different ages of beginners, from children to older generations, I suggest an uncomplicated beginning that is accessible even to a 9-10-year-old child. This type of carving is simple in technique, but spectacular in results. And most importantly, you are already working the wood as a material with a cutting tool, or rather, you are sawing, but it is...

Carving an 1880s Western Train

Carving an 1880s Western Train

Members of the Caricature Carvers of America join forces to create a nostalgic display   The primary objective of the Caricature Carvers of America (CCA) is to promote the art of caricature carving. The organization works hard to achieve this objective through seminars, exhibits, competitions, and books. Major group carving projects are a part of the larger scope of the...