---- Chris Pye: WOODCARVING - NEWSLETTER ---- March 2004 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com "Dedicated to the teaching, learning and love of woodcarving" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please forward this newsletter to a woodcarving friend, and anyone else you think might be interested. Thanks! This is an opt-in newsletter and you should only be receiving it because you requested it from the website, or were sent it by a friend. Subscribe or Unsubscribe easily on the home page here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/ or using the link at the end of the newsletter. ****Back issues here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/intro/pastnews.html including zipfiles for 2001, 2002 & 2003 newsletters ============================================================ Hello Everyone! I apologize for the lateness and brevity of this newsletter, and the absence of any changes to the website - pressure of work! CONTENTS: 1. Quick Carving Questions 1) How to Carve Grapes? 2) Carving Woods? 3) Gino Masero? 2. Follow Ups: 1) Sawtooth Hangers 2) US Sources of Limewood and Basswood - note on Limewood & Basswood Some Website Bookmarks at the end. __________________________________________ 1. QUICK CARVING QUESTIONS __________________________________________ **** QUESTION 1: CARVING GRAPES? **** "How would you carve a bunch of grapes?" **** ANSWER **** Probably the worst thing you could do would be to get a piece of wood and start carving a bunch of grapes... You must understand that any carving is the product of a process. The process starts with the intention to carve something; wanders through ideas and explores ways of doing it; researches the subject and how it may be - and has been - treated; would certainly involve sketching and drawing, and quite possibly modelling; includes the selecting of wood, and sharp tools; could include some practice carvings and - eventually! - gets round to the definitive work... If you know what you are doing, exactly what you are carving, then you can go straight at it. I'm not sure I have EVER done this, there are always SOME elements of the process I have to do first. So, plenty of work to do first. =================================== **** QUESTION 1: CARVING WOOD? **** "Please what kind of wood do you use for carving? May I use any soft wood to try it? Please mention me some wood name. How do you work it? What tools may be use for this work?" **** ANSWER **** You can carve almost any wood except rhubarb. You have to pick your wood - its figure, strength, ability to take detail etc., according to your subject and design. This is part of the challenge of woodcarving. Similarly your tools will reflect the hardness, complexity and finish of what you are trying to achieve. It sounds complicated but, really, just look at what other carvers are doing, and with what sorts of wood, and all will be revealed. I finish off my rhubarb with custard. =================================== **** QUESTION 3: GINO MASERO? **** "On page 123 of your book Relief Carving In Wood is a detail of a carving by Gino Masero. I'd much like to see other examples of his work. Is there any book or web address with such?" **** ANSWER **** I'm sorry but as far as I know there is nothing else available. __________________________________________ 2. FOLLOW UP... __________________________________________ 1) SAWTOOTH HANGERS IN THE UK? (Thanks to Bernard Greatrix:) B&Q [a DIY store] have "brassed" mild steel versions nominally 1" long at 58p for two! If like me they do not like these fake brass versions, go to a supplier for engineering model makers - steam locomotive model builders rather than plastic Airfix modellers - and buy a 1/4inch wide strip of brass. Cut to length, drill and countersink each end, and file vee notches with a Swiss file. Much better and only costing just a few pence. 2) SOURCE OF LIMEWOOD IN THE USA? (Thanks to Steve Odut:) Woodfinder.com is a good resource for finding wood retailers. Woodfinder lists 234 suppliers of basswood, and 79 suppliers of boxwood in Canada and the USA. Here's the link: http://www.woodfinder.com/ (Thanks to Rich Johnson:) Someone in your newsletter was asking for a source of Limewood in the US. I found a supplier in Pennsylvania. The website is www.hearnehardwoods.com. Hope this helps. (Thanks to Malcolm Wall:) Try Exotic Woods Inc of Burlington, Ontario, Canada. (905) 335-8066 www.exotic-woods.com. NOTE: LIMEWOOD AND BASSWOOD Yes, these two trees are of the same family, tiliaceae, but are different species. American Basswood - tilia americana European Limewood/Linden - tilia platyphyllos or tilia cordata. So, although similar, not the same thing. By-the-way 'Lime' is a corruption of 'Lin' and nothing to do with the citrus fruit. At their best, both are excellent carving woods. Having tried them, my own sense is that basswood more resembles a fine birch wood - somewhat drier and crisper than lime. But the wood in any tree is affected by growing conditions, particularly the speed at which it is grown. As a rule, the heavier the piece of (seasoned) bass or Limewood, the denser it will be, and the more likely to carve well. ============================================= That's all for this month! Joy and success in your carving! Chris Pye ------------------------- PS: One for the bench: WILD GEESE by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the praries and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting - over and over announcing your place, in the family of things. (New & selected Poems, Beacon Press 1992) ____________________________________________________________ SOME WEBSITE BOOKMARKS ____________________________________________________________ ----------------- WOODCARVING TOOLS The FOLLOWING PAGES ARE UNAVAILABLE and being re-written: * UK TOOLSHOP: Auriou woodcarving tools and other equipment http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/ts_uktoolshop.html * UKTOOLSHOP Direct Link (missing out introductory page): http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/uktoolshop/index.html ----------------- SLIPSTONES WOODCARVING MANUALS Over 14,000 copies of these ebooks have been downloaded in the last 11 months. * The Accomplished V Tool 1 - Free evaluation copy http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/ * Learning to Carve - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/learncarving/learn_ebook.html * A Guide to Safe Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/safecarving/safecarving_index.html * Mistakes and Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/mistakes/mistakes_ebook.html * Fundamentals of Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/fundamentals/fundamentals_ebook.html *Slicing, And The Value Of The Inside Bevel With The Chris Pye #2 1/2 Finishing Gouges From Ashley Iles - Free pdf http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/toolshop/ts_iles.html ----------------- TEACHING * UK (1-TO-1 PERSONAL TUITION) Full details here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/tuition/t_custom.html Single day: £150 3 days: £360 5 days: £495 Lunch included. Local B&Bs in a very beautiful part of England... * USA (CENTER FOR FURNITURE CRAFTSMANSHIP, MAINE) http://www.woodschool.org/ Sept 20 - 24 Ornamental carving (Mouldings) Sept 27 - Oct 1 Relief Carving Oct 4 - 9 Carving Tutorial Full details to be announced. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright (c) Chris Pye 2004 Chris@chrispye-woodcarving.com ----------------------- -----------------------