---- Chris Pye: WOODCARVING - NEWSLETTER ---- November 2001 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com "Dedicated to the teaching, learning and love of woodcarving" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello Everyone! 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/index.html or using the link at the end of the newsletter. ****Back issues here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/intro/pastnews.html ==================================== 1. Slipstones - November 2001 2. Website Notes 1) New Inspiration 2) Green Men Pages 3) Woodcarving Tools, Materials & Equipment Update 3. Article: 'Seeing Things Differently' 4. Quick Carving Questions 1) Texturing 2) Bevel Angles 3) Strop Paste 4) Seasoning a Log 5) Carving a Shoe 5. Carving Cuts from Maine 2001 - IV __________________________________________ 1. SLIPSTONES - November 2001 __________________________________________ Have you got a nagging woodcarving question? Something you are not clear on or need a little advice? Slipstones is like an invitation to my workshop where I share my experience of over 25 years as a professional woodcarver, and offer advice and support. Join me! And get your FREE copy of '101 Master Woodcarving Secrets', exclusive to subscribers. Full details of your interactive woodcarving journal: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/slipstones.html Back issues of Slipstones now available without subscribing. THIS MONTH: *** Backbent Gouges - Useful only to yogi woodcarvers? Or something you probably shouldn't be without? Find out more... *** Rasps - Do you really know the correct way to use them? Do you 'Seek the Form'? You should... ***'Eye Tools' - Here's looking at them, kid. What are they? Modifying a tool for a particular function... *** Grinder Chucks and Inside Bevels. So useful. But you know that? *** Carving Notes from Maine IV My take on the things students learned - see section 4 below. *** And much more, including 'Lines of Light' and Carving Tips. Have you downloaded your FREE sample edition of Slipstones? __________________________________________ 2. WEBSITE NOTES __________________________________________ 1) New Inspiration 2) New eBook: 'Mistakes & Woodcarving' 3) Woodcarving Tools, Materials & Equipment - Update ****** 1) NEW INSPIRATION Back in time! A pierced relief from Egypt c.350BC: strong, simple, and subtle. From Egypt to Greece, to the rest, this is our lineage as woodcarvers; and our tools will be very similar... Here it is: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/gallery/g_inspiration.html ****** 2) GREEN MEN PAGES! Response for a Green Man section on the website has been good, but the numbers sending in pictures for a gallery has been less than I expected. I guess this is just natural reluctance to put heads above parapets! I have decided to start the Green Man section off, embryonic as it is, with many thanks to the two brave gallery contributors. http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/greenman/gm_index.html You can help it grow by sending in your own work. Come on you Green Men, Grotesque and Gargoyle carvers - don't be shy! Suggestions, links etc welcome! Oh yes: While I think of it, a friend of mine emailed me this: "As a connoisseur of Green Men you might like to know that my Forgotten English desk diary has the word DENDRANTHROPOLOGY: 'study based on the theory that man had sprung from trees'." Isn't that a great idea?! Let me know if you are feeling witty and I may include it next month... ****** 3) WOODCARVING TOOLS, MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT UPDATE As many of you know, this book has been overhauled, new parts written, and the whole will be presented in colour in 2 volumes. Right now: Part 1: 'Tools Sharpening etc' is off to the printers and we should see this before too long. Part 2: 'All The Other Important Stuff' is at the designers. In a few weeks I should have what are called 'page proofs': more or less how it will appear in the book, but loose. After that, it's to the printers. So this volume will appear, I'd guess, 6-8 weeks later than the first. The total book (and I see it as one, even though there are 2 volumes) is actually longer; too long now with the new material to be the single volume it was. I'm very pleased with the design and re-arrangement. I'll keep you posted! __________________________________________ 3. ARTICLE: 'Seeing Things Differently' by Chris Pye __________________________________________ The cyberscript-thingy that I use to send out this newsletter, emails a copy to myself. Well, I've got to know what I said haven't I? And, always, I've been surprised at the little mistakes that creep in. I do read the newsletter through, and run spell-checkers over it, but little things get through; grammar or syntax, say, or words which spell-checkers miss. The verbal equivalent of woodworm. I expect most slips aren't noticed as I supposed the newsletter is skimmed through on the screen, and I am sure that even those who spot them forgive me. (Thanks!) But I notice them. I'm the sort of person who finishes the hidden back of a carving to the same degree as the front. I'm not a perfectionist, but I do pursue excellence - there's a difference. I feel even trivial mistakes interrupt the communication with my reader; may even be annoying! So I don't want them there. Well, now, here's the thing. I just realised that this newsletter was the ONLY piece of writing I do ENTIRELY on the screen. Everything else, books, magazine articles, Slipstones, whatever, I print a copy and read it through with a red pen. Perhaps it's because I've always seen the newsletter as something like an email, glorified though it may be, and straight from the computer - paperless in that wonderfully high-tech way. But now I see that the VERY CHANGING FROM SCREEN TO PAPER MAKES ME LOOK DIFFERENTLY AT WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN, AND ALLOWS ME TO FIND MORE OF MY ERRORS AND MISTAKES. By not printing out and reading this newsletter, I got used to what I was seeing on the screen, and missed things. What's this got to do with carving? Well, I think there is an interesting, and not at all far-fetched, parallel with carving, and I'd like to share it with you. I carve as if I had already realised a similar point. When I think I've finished a carving I stop. (And, basically, I stop when I've had enough.) But I haven't REALLY finished, because I do some of several things. I might: 1. LEAVE THE CARVING and come back afresh at least a few days later. Or I cover it and put it away under the bench and get on with something else. 2. HOLD UP A MIRROR to the carving, looking at the work backwards. 3. CHANGE THE LIGHTING - this I do often when I'm working but I may take the work outside or to a different part of the workshop as well. 4. ASK A FRIEND WHAT THEY THINK. I've got a few valuable - fearless - ones who will throw out opinions. My rule is, I don't have to agree, but I must listen; and for this I do need clarity. It's not enough to say, 'I don't like it', they have to be able to say why. ('The nose is upside down', 'For a horse, that's a nice squirrel' etc). That's why these people are special, not every can do this. So, what am I doing which parallels carving and my other writing? It's simple: I'M TRYING TO SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY, TO GAIN THE FRESH, AND INNOCENT, EYE. When we have spent hours on a carving, our brains and sensitivities become jaded; they need to be revitalised. This applies to any repeated activity of course, from brushing our teeth to patting the dog. And it's a great challenge: how do we keep our minds and lives fresh? Well that's a really big issue, and very personal; one we have to work at individually. But I do know that you'll find the 'tricks' above are great for seeing your carvings anew and spotting little mistakes such as torn grain or asymmetry before others do! Why not try them next time you think you've finished a carving? And, for me, it's printing and reading this newsletter from now on! __________________________________________ 4. QUICK CARVING QUESTIONS __________________________________________ **** QUESTION 1: TEXTURING **** "How would you provide the texture of an outer frame to a large lettered sign? With a chisel? Or would you use another tool, like an adze? Or might there be another way to roughen it while keeping a reasonably regular pattern? At present it is not pretty, having nail holes in odd patterns in various places, and so on." **** ANSWER **** "Texturing? Here's the rule: there is none! It wants to be bold to work from a distance; and something not too laborious, or you'll be climbing a wall. A trial run on a spare piece of wood is essential of course. My feeling is not for the adze, or anything to remove wood as such, but something that will give you a strong surface texture: - A big ring depression (say a bolt, hollow bored in the end and with a sharpened edge, hammered into the wood). - Or a stonecarver's bouchard (or bush hammer - like a big meat tenderiser) or claw chisel. - Or hatched, saw cuts. If you wash stain into the texturing you will leave a stronger figuring in the crushed grain. Has anyone else any ideas? Please let me know! =================================== **** QUESTION 2: BEVEL ANGLES **** "I recently purchased a set of Robert Sorby Microchisels. They are beautifully made but the bevels seem to be about 20-25 degrees, the same as on their mallet tools. My Pfeil palm chisels have a bevel of about 15 degrees. Is there a good reason for the 20 degree bevels on the Sorby tools?" **** ANSWER **** None whatsoever! Except that they have to give you something, and that's as useful as any. The fact is that it's a little like buying a violin - the instrument might be partially in tune but the maker would be surprised if you didn't alter it, tune it, properly! A lot depends on what you want to do with the tools, the hardness of your wood etc. A flat bevel on the outside of 15-20 deg. and an inner bevel of 5-10 deg will give you a lasting edge for medium density carving woods (most); make it a bit more or less for, relatively, harder or softer. =================================== **** QUESTION 3: STROP PASTE **** "I am trying to decide on what compound to use on the leather piece I use for stropping. In the Woodcraft catalog there are buffing compounds and honing compounds. Which do you recommend?" **** ANSWER **** Most of these compounds are similar, and I'm not sure it matters which one you choose. The problem is that most are designed for high speed polishing or buffing wheels. They melt at a high temperature with friction and when cold go hard and brittle, flaking off ordinary, benchstrop leather. I suggest you get some suet (beef fat), or lard, or tallow and melt it (1/3) together with the honing compound (2/3). I do this in a pot or jar (such as for skin creams) which I place in a bowl of boiling water from a kettle. It all soon melts and can be stirred it together; after which I take the jar out and let it cool. Although excess will come off the strop initially, you want to end up with a thin, soft wax effect that stays supple on the leather. You may have to adjust the mix until you get it right compounds do tend to differ. My own paste is made from a mixture of every honing compound I could find (I thought one of them must work!). =================================== **** QUESTION 4: SEASONING LOGS **** "I cut off a 6 inch thick branch of an apple tree from my garden, and wish to shape it into an apple! How long should I keep it, and in what sort of conditions, to season it properly? Also I've been given a set of half moon chisels that are in need of sharpening. Do you know of anyone in the South London area who might be able to help?" **** ANSWER **** The Log: I actually did exactly that once - carved a big apple from an apple log - with disastrous results: it split badly enough for me to put my hand in it... The problem is that the wood shrinks different amount in different parts of the log as it dries, creating stresses that relieve themselves in splitting. A whole log spells trouble. You really need to split wood and season it properly first. My book Woodcarving Tools Materials & Equipment has full details on seasoning: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/writing/w_bk1.html - and sharpening too! The Help: I don't know anyone in London but try the UK magazine 'Woodcarving' - they at least have the address of the British Woodcarvers Association and you could join a local club. Has anyone else any ideas? Please let me know! =================================== **** QUESTION 5: CARVING A SHOE **** "I am trying to carve a shoe, mostly with the tongue that goes inside the shoe. Do you round the sides and underneath to get it thin?" **** ANSWER **** Tricky, as I can't see exactly what you are doing! But perhaps I can give you a few 'rules': 1. Rounding over an edge make it look 'fat' ie have mass. 2. Slightly 'lifting' the edge - and undercutting - will make it look thin. 3. Only undercut enough to make the effect; more and you are weakening the subject with no gain on what you see. In other words (and I'm guessing) wherever you see the edge of the tongue, carve this edge so it turns up, or forwards, just a touch. Undercut any wood that you can see beneath the edge, so making it look thin. The point is that there are no rules for 'shoes'. The question is: what effect do you want and how can you get it. You'll probably find a clay model would be very useful. _______________________________________ 5. CARVING CUTS FROM MAINE - IV _______________________________________ Started October 01 - Newsletter back issues here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/intro/pastnews.html While teaching at the outstanding Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Rockport, Maine, USA this summer, I asked carving students to write briefly down "3 Things I've Learned about Woodcarving" - important insights: practical, personal and technical - for this newsletter. Thanks very much to all contributors! Over the next few months I'll be sharing their discoveries. I'll be commenting and adding thoughts in this month's Slipstones: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/slipstones.html Here, I let the words stand on their own: --------------------------------------- 1. "Sharp tools are grand to use; learning to sharpen them well is a skill in itself." 2. "A well organised workbench makes the action of carving easier. Tools placed in a logical order, and placed carefully back in their order, keeps the focus on carving itself rather than on the clutter around what you are carving." 3. "There are many ways to come to the same result. Being taught by a good carver eliminates 95% of the already-tried laborious methods, trying to use chisels straight from the factory or selecting a suitable wood to carve for example." ***Next month I asked myself the same 3 questions! The first of my own discoveries... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That's it - here in the UK we're beginning to batten down for winter. Some of us will hibernate. With luck, it'll be in the workshop! I hope you have found this newsletter interesting and useful. Once more: joy and success in your carving! Chris Pye ----------------------------------- PS: Yet another one to think about at the bench: "He calmly rode on, leaving it to his horse's discretion to go which way it pleased, firmly believing that in this consisted the very essence of adventures." Cervantes, Don Quixote Copyright (c) Chris Pye 2001 Chris@woodcarver.force9.co.uk ----------------------------------- Chris Pye: Woodcarving Newsletter is listed in the EzinesPlus directory of newsletters and ezines. http://ezinesplus.com ----------------------------------- ===========================================