61 articles match · page 5 of 6
July 21, 2024
Beginner wood carving, the first year in the order it really happens
One knife, one basswood board, and a year of short evenings. Here is the whole first year in the order it really happens, from the three angles you practise in week one to the panel that finally reads from across a room.
December 7, 2023
From Russia to America, and What I Carve Now
Alexander Grabovetskiy is a master wood carver, born in 1973 in Dimitrovgrad in the Russian part of the Soviet Union. His great-grandfather built mahogany furniture in the Chippendale style. He ruined his own grandfather's chisel on a brick at six, became the only student of the carver Vladimir Tokarev at sixteen, and reached the United States as a refugee on 15 March 1996 with almost no English. He built the woodworking firm Aalmark in Indiana, hired other refugee woodworkers, then sold every machine to carve full time. In 2012 a panel called Wall Decoration took first place and made him International Woodcarver of the Year.
January 9, 2023
Mathematics for woodcarving, and who this book is really for
A 576 page cultural history at $74, weighed honestly against what a carver actually needs. Good for your eye, no help at your bench, and here is the geometry it leaves out.
January 2, 2023
Woodcarving classes near me when the closest one is 500 miles away
The nearest hand carving school is usually 500 miles off. Here is what a five day class really costs once flights and beds are counted, what a room gives you that a camera cannot, and how to begin this week with one gouge.
November 29, 2022
What should I carve as a beginner?
The honest answer is three knife cuts on a scrap of basswood, not an object. Here is the order I put in front of every beginner, with the tools, the wood and the first two projects.
November 16, 2022
Will wood carving lessons online teach how to carve wood, honestly
A camera set six inches from the blade shows a rotation nobody can see from four feet back. What it cannot do is put a hand on your wrist when you press too hard. Here is the honest split, and the five habits that close the gap.
Everything above is free and stays free. The courses are where I put your hands on the gouge and watch what they do.
See what is inside →
November 15, 2022
The basics of wood carving, and the order they actually bite
Beginners do not fail because the design was hard. They fail in four places: the grain tore, the board slid, the tool was blunt, or the spare hand sat in front of the edge. Here is the short list, in the order it bites.
November 9, 2022
What wood carving tools should a beginner use?
Wood carving tools for beginners are one knife, one gouge, and something to sharpen them on. What I buy, what I skip, and why one sharp tool beats a case of twelve.
November 8, 2022
How do I learn to carve wood, and the order that actually works
There is no shortcut, but there is an order, and the order matters more than talent. One knife for a month, sharpening in week two, drawing in month three, and one shape repeated until your hands stop thinking about it.
November 7, 2022
Is wood carving hard to learn, and which two parts are the hard ones
Only two parts of this craft are genuinely hard, and neither is your hands. Sharpening, because you cannot see it. Drawing, because repetition does not fix it. Everything else is just slow.
December 8, 2020
Carving walnut, is it good wood for the job?
I once worked a house built entirely from purple walnut, and carved a furniture panel out of what was left over. Here is how the wood really behaves under a gouge, what bevel it wants, where it snaps, and what a board should cost you.
December 7, 2020
What is the best woodcarving tool set, and the four that do the work
Half my students arrive with a 30 piece box and carve with four of them. Here are the four gouge numbers that do the work, the three makers whose steel holds an edge, and how to buy them one at a time.