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Below is a quick summary of what was discussed plus any resources we may have mentioned.
Show Notes
We have come to the end of our “Getting Started in Woodcarving” series, and in this final episode Shaun is going to give you some beginner projects to help get you started. He has thought through three separate projects that progressively get a little trickier and build upon the skills you have already learned. We’re starting things off with a spreader.
Carving a Spreader
First, why a spreader? What makes this the first thing on the list of projects to attempt? Well, a spreader is the closest to a 2D object you can carve. It can be as flat as you want it to be! It is also a very small project, so buying or finding wood for it should be cheap and easy. Essentially you will need a piece of wood that is roughly 6 in. x 2 in. x ½ in. thick. Not just that, it will only require one tool…your knife!
Shaun likes to carve in 4 steps:
Step 1 – Draw the design onto the wood. Start by finding your piece of wood, and then draw the shape of the spreader you have in mind onto the piece of wood (you can also make a template of a spreader onto a piece of thin cardboard so that you can copy this design onto numerous pieces of wood).
Step 2 – Carve just around the outside of the line to get the shape of your drawn object. Carve around the circumference of the spreader, leaving the sides of the spreader as flat as possible to begin with. This is usually known as leaving things “square”. It is the process of carving while leaving everything flat and square, you haven’t started to round over any edges yet, it is basically 2 flat sides in the shape of a spreader. This will be helpful when it comes to step 3.
Step 3 – Bring “life” to the piece by rounding over the edges and adding curves or features to the project. Start with the handle, round the edges of the handle to make it feel more comfortable in the hand. You can do this by carving at a 45-degree angle across where two corners meet. Taking a square handle now into an octagon after carving all 4 corners. And then carve at another 45 degrees to where those two previous cuts meet, you can keep doing this as much as you want until your handle is as rounded as you would like. Shaun tends to stop when his handle is in the octagon shape but if you want a completely rounded handle you just have to keep removing any corners until it is round.
Once the handle is done, and in the shape you like, it’s time to start carving the blade. Aim to bring each side of the blade down evenly, tapering down from the end of the handle, all the way to the tip of the blade. You can achieve this by carving one side and then turning the spreader over and carving the other side, one cut at a time, or over time you will just get a feel for how much to remove from each side.
Previously, in another podcast, we stated that it is important to constantly be looking at your work piece in between cuts, this is especially important when it comes to evenly carving the blade of the spreader. So, now you should have the handle looking the way you like, and the blade tapered down evenly on both sides, if so, you have completed step 3! Step 4 is a very simple one now… in theory!
Step 4 – Smooth over any rough surfaces left behind, this can either be done with a razor-sharp knife and a lot of practice or some sandpaper. Shaun uses his knife for everything! Using small and controlled cuts, slowly start removing any rough edges that may have appeared while carving. You don’t want to be removing huge chunks of wood here, just tiny little shavings, imagine you are trying to sand the wood with your knife, you don’t want to remove much material at all! Once you have finished, then your spreader is complete. Congratulations, you have carved your first product! Now you can use it in your kitchen and cherish it forever.
Carving a Pendant
If carving the spreader has left you hungry and wanting more, the next project you could try is a pendant. This can be slightly trickier due to its size; and symmetry comes into play even more so! But one of the great things about carving a pendant is, it can be as basic or as complex as you desire, it can be something small and simple like a 2D heart, or it can be a complex 3D leaf or a dolphin, what you decide to carve here is entirely up to you. We won’t go into too much detail on this but following the same 4-Step principle used on the spreader, start by drawing the pendant design on the wood and then carve away until you are happy with the result. When it comes to things like pendants that are not going to be used for food purposes, the same rules do not apply regarding sandpaper, as the item is not going to be getting wet and therefore the grain should not be raising.
Carving a Spoon
The last of the three beginner projects for you to try after a spreader and pendant is a spoon. This is by far the hardest of the three. Not only is it trickier because you now need to use more tools, but a spoon is very much 2D and is comprised of many flat sides and curved sides combined! But again, using the same 4-Step process, you should be fine. For a spoon, you are going to want a slightly thicker piece of wood, and we recommend for this project (unlike the previous two) to use fresh wood from a log. Because a spoon is 3D, you need to have a thicker piece of wood to allow for what we call the “crank”. This is the side profile of the spoon that looks like a Tick, when the bowl is flat, the handle comes up at a 45-degree angle. Start by cutting a log (around 2 inches in diameter) to the desired length for your spoon. It is then crucial to split the log in half, splitting through the pith. The pith is usually found in the center of the log and is a small round dot. This is the part of the branch that draws all the nutrients from the wood, and when the wood starts to dry, the pith will cause the wood to dry too quickly and crack, and you don’t want that to happen to a freshly carved spoon!
Once your log has been split and is at the desired length, it’s time to follow the 4-Step process. Draw your design and then start with the axe or a saw, chop, or cut, around the circumference of your spoon. Once you have gone as far as you dare to go with the axe, move on to the knife, and just like with the spreader and the pendant, continue to carve around the circumference keeping everything square. When that is done, it’s time to move onto Step 3 and round things off and make your 2D spoon more 3D. Shaun tends to start with the bowl. Start to round over the back of the spoon bowl to make it more spoon-like, and then start to carve the back of the spoon handle up to achieve the “crank” we mentioned before. Mirror this on the top of the spoon by bringing the handle down into the spoon bowl. And then just like with the spreader, carve away any square corners to make the spoon feel more rounded and comfortable. Now it’s time for the final step of smoothing out your project. Just like the spreader, Shaun uses his knife for this and in the same motion you did with the spreader (small, controlled cuts) begin to remove any rough or sharp edges left behind during your carving. When you have finished the 4-Step process, then you have yourself a finished spoon!
All of these projects can obviously be repeated as many times as you like, but we feel personally that until you feel confident carving a spreader, don’t move onto the pendant. The same goes for moving onto the spoon. Don’t rush! Take your time and most importantly have fun!
We hope you have enjoyed this episode, and this whole woodcarving series. If there is anything you are still unsure of, then please feel free to write to us at info@fggdesigns.com.
