booklet 2 chip carving
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Booklet 2 Chip CarvingTRANSCRIPT
Booklet 2 Chip Carving T i m i n g f o r B e g i n n e r ] :
T i m i n g w i l l r e l a t e t o t h e i n t r i c a c y o f t h e d e s i g n
mak ingwoodrea l
Making Wood Real A Beginners Guide to Chip Carving
Chip Carving
Booklet 2 – Chip Carving is aimed at students and teachers of Materials Technology Wood. This booklet will provide you with a foundation in Chip Carving focusing on key techniques, tips & advice that help relax constraints and remove any perceived difficulty. The Road to
Success section will focus on key elements before you start carving such as chip carving knives, safety, holding the work and holding the knife.
The Chip Carving
section focuses on the 3 areas in chip carving. The 3 chip types, borders, grids and rosettes
This logical sequence will enable you to enjoy the carving and produce something which you may not have thought you could.
2
FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND
Tools & materials .................. 2
Road to Success Chip Carving Knives................................. 3 Drawing Equipment.................................. 3 Safety......................................................... 4 Sharpening................................................... 5 Holding the Knives ........................................ 6
Chip Carving
Two Sided Chip.......................... 7 Three Sided Chip.......................... 7 The Straight Line Chip.................... 8 Standard Border............................... 9 Large Width Border............................ 11 Curved Borders..................................... 13 Grids........................................................ 16 Rosettes..................................................... 18
Further Application............. 19
table of contents
TOOLS & MATERIALSA4 SIZE PIECE OF
CARD [ M.D.F PRACTISE BOARDS
[200MM X 175MM]
CHIP CARVING KNIVES
[CUTTING KNIFE & STAB KNIFE]
DRAWING EQUIPMENT
[PENCIL, ERASER, TRY-SQUARE OR
TEE SQUARE & BOW COMPASS]
TEMPLATES
[CIRCLES TEMPLATE]
3
simplified solutions for your carving
ROAD TO SUCCESS
CHIP CARVING KNIVES
Conventional carving knives are not
suitable for chip carving because the
blade does not have the appropriate
angle and so make it awkward to chip
carve.
On the right we can see a set of 2
carving knives. Knife 1 is called the
Cutting Knife and does the majority of
the work.
Knife 2 is the Stab Knife.
DRAWING EQUIPMENT
You will need some basic equipment for
Chip Carving. As a student of Materials
Technology Wood it will be highly likely
that you already have the following
equipment:
A pencil, preferably a 0.5mm
mechanical pencil but a normal
pencil will suffice if kept sharp
A white polymer eraser
A bow compass. A bow compass
is very precise so a very handy
tool
A 12” tee square is very useful
but a try-square will also work
well
SIMPLIFIED SOLUTIONS As newcomers to carving you may not be aware of the best approach. The ROAD TO SUCCESS will guide you through important information necessary for a good
footing in the craft.
WEB SOLUTIONS You can visit the website to see how the ROAD TO SUCCESS was applied to other carving methods
http://carving.skynet.ie Visit the website to get more information on Relief Carving as well as an Introduction to Relief Carving and Carving in the Round
.
4
Safety & Technique
key woodworkers rule
1. Stance
o Seated position, the carving is
done on the lap. This allows for
longer periods of carving
without becoming fatigued
2. Posture
o Sit in an upright position so no strain is put on
the back.
o Use a chair with a back
support as it encourages
correct posture
3. Clamping
o Clamping is vital, for chip
carving the piece is
clamped with the hand as
shown.
o Because the carving is
done on the lap there is a
danger of the knife
slipping and causing injury
Note: if you do not have the availability of a protective
apron, place a sacrificial board underneath the piece
being carved. This should be bigger than the piece
being carved
4. Hand position
o The clamping hand should never be placed ahead of
the direction of cutting
o Keep your thumb against the handle of the blade and
on the wood at all times. This will ensure consistent
angles and will minimise the chance of cutting yourself
5. Hand control
o You will discover it is much easier to carve with your
upper arm/ body strength rather than your wrists.
Note: NEVER try to carve when the piece is not being
securely held
6. Motion
o Using the tripod created with the knife edge, thumb and
knuckle we will carve with a constant 65°
o The motion is determined by the type of chip
NOTE
The Woodworkers Rule can and should be applied in all areas of woodworking to ensure safe use of hand tools
These 5 key points should be ticked either mentally of on a safety chart before any work is commenced
http://carving.skynet.ie Visit the website to download the Woodworkers Rule poster
.
TIP Place a coloured plaster on your thumb. This will remind you of its correct position so minimising the chance of you forgetting the correct position and cutting yourself
.
CHIP CARVING
5
THE CUTTING KNIFE
o A sharpening angle of 10° should be used. This angle is so
steep because the knife needs to slice the fibres. The
sharper the edge the easier it is to slice the wood fibres
o Move the knife back and forth on the stone
o Ensure the blade is honed and if available use a strop to
polish the edge
THE STAB KNIFE
o A sharpening angle of 25° should be used.
o This is greater as the knife acts like a mortise chisel. It is
pushed into the wood with the fibres being separated in the
shape of the blade.
Holding the knife is very important. To create consistent chips
the angle of the knife must be consistent
The Cutting Angle
As mentioned earlier a cutting angle of 65° is used. The steeper
the angle the better shadow that is created. This is because
the cut is deeper and so a greater shadow is cast
NOTE A sharp knife is
the key to a great carving. Ensure the knife is constantly sharp.
Ask the teacher to sharpen the knife if you feel the edge is dulling
SHARPENING
TIP Do not remove the knife from the stone when sharpening, simply move it back and forth while maintaining the
angle of 10° .
HOLDING THE CUTTING KNIFE
A tri-pod is created between the thumb, index finger knuckle and
blade.
HOLDING THE CUTTING KNIFE – POSITION 1
1. Take the knife an d place
it in the palm of your hand
2. Wrap 3 fingers around
handle
3. Bring the index finger
around the handle
4. Turn your wrist and lock
your thumb against the side
of the handle
6
HOLDING THE STAB KNIFE – OUTWARD POSITION
1. Take the knife an d place
it in the palm of your hand
2. Wrap 3 fingers around
handle
3. Bring the index finger
around the handle
4. Turn your wrist and lock
your thumb against the
back of the handle
HOLDING THE CUTTING KNIFE – POSITION 2
HOLDING THE STAB KNIFE – OUTWARD POSITION
Holding the Stab Knife in the
outward position
Holding the Stab Knife in the
inward position
7
TWO-SIDED CHIP
CHIP CARVING
let the real carving begin
This is the easiest chip to carve as it has only 2 sides
To carve simply:
4. Hold the Cutting Knife in position 1and draw it along one
side of the chip
5. Remove the knife, turn the board 180° and carve the other
side of the chip
TIP practise. Practise,
PRACTISE and very soon you will be a pro
.
Always cut, do not pry the chip out
You will break the chip making it look messy and could possible damage the knife
.
If the chip does not pop out you
may have not gone deep
enough with one of your cuts
Practise makes perfect!!
THREE-SIDED OR
TRIANGLE CHIP
This chip is slightly more difficult than the two sided chip as there
are more cuts to make
1. Make the first cut in
Position 1
2. Make the second cut in
Position 2
3. Make the third cut across
the base of the triangle
with position 1
o Draw 2 rows 4mm apart
o Mark boxes 4mm in with
o Create the triangles shown
We will carve from
1. A to B in
Position 1
2. A to C in
Position 2
3. B to C in
Position 1
8
HAVING PROBLEMS??
• Let’s have a look at the most common problems
encountered with the three-sided chip
The straight line chip is used mainly for borders and grids
1. Run off
In your last cut, or
third cut along the
base of the triangle
you continually run
off the line as you
draw the knife across
the two squares
Solution: it will help
if you hold your
elbow closer to your
body...plus Practise
3. Curled edge
Curled edge is caused
by pushing the knife too
deeply into the wood
when you start your
third cut
Solution: simply place
the blade back on the
first cut and undo the
curl
2. Rabbit tooth
This occurs especially at
the bottom of the chip. If
you see this you are not
cutting deep enough
Solution: lay your knife
back into each cut,
ensuring it is at the 65°
angle and finish the cut
to the correct depth
STAIGHT LINE CHIP
To carve simply:
6. Score one side of the line (Lightly) using a metal
ruler then cut the line using Position 1
(Be extra careful when running the blade along
the ruler...Woodworkers Rule)
7. Score the second side and cut in the same manner
after turning the board 180°
8. Make stop cuts at each end and the chip should fall
out
TIP For straight line chips
Twist your wrist outward so that the blade of the knife is in line with wrist, elbow and shoulder
Hold your elbow close to your body
Try to focus your eyes about 20mm ahead of the blade
.
9
Note: It is a good idea to mark the
areas you want to remove as it
avoids confusion
NOTE Unless otherwise
stated all grids are 4mm x 4mm
1. Positive Diamond
o Called positive as the
diamond shape remains in
the wood
STANDARD BORDER
using three-sided chips
2. Negative Diamond
o Called negative as the shape is cut out
of the wood
3. Positive Diamond with flip flop cuts
o This is the same as no.1 but with wedge shaped
cuts, flip flop cuts taken out
o To make these cuts, first flip the knife using
position 1 and then flop your knife over to
position 2 for the second cut
TIP Use the eraser to
get rid of any pencil line and reveal you work
10
STANDARD BORDER
using two-sided chips
TIP A circles template
is very useful in chip carving and would be a very worthwhile investment
o In this border we will set up two
4mm wide horizontal rows
o Draw a vertical line every 15mm
and insert an arc using your
circles template
2. o Remove the two sided chip as
shown earlier
1. o Mark the areas you wish to remove
3.
o Remove the three sided chip and
remove the remaining pencil lines
11
LARGE WIDTH BORDER
NOTE If you want a larger
grid increase the number of grids rather than the size of the boxes as it is harder to carve bigger boxes
o Large width borders are basically the
same as standard borders but there is
simply more rows
o 4mm x 4mm block are still being used
1.
o Mark the areas to
be removed
A double row of chevrons
2. o Similarly to the standard sized border
we will remove the negative diamond
first
3. o The chevron pattern is created by
removing the remaining chips
12
o This pattern can be found in
Renaissance architecture, it is a
unification of St. Andrews cross and a
four sided rosette
1. o This pattern is again
four horizontal row of
4mm squares
o Highlight the boxes
into which the cross will
go
2. o To draw the arc representing
the four sided rosette we will
use our circles template
o To remove the first chip will
only require position 1
Draw the knife from A to B, B
to C, C to D and finally D
back to A
Did the chip pop out?
3.
o Repeat this process for
the remaining chips
4.
o To take out the next
chip we will again use
position 1
o Cut from A to B, B to C
and C to A and the chip
should pop out
5.
o Continue this until
all the chips have
been removed
6. o Finally add the
Flip Flops
13
TIP
A bow compass is ideal as it holds the set radius until moved by the user
.
CURVED BORDERS
o Up to this point we have been focusing
on borders for square of rectangle
projects. Now we will look at curved
borders
1.
o Choose a radius and
draw the outer circle
o Reduce the radius by
6mm and draw the
inner circle
o The design is drawn with a combination of
the circles template and sketching to get
a smooth transition in curvature
2.
o Carve the inner section of the border first again using position 1
3.
o Complete the border
by carving the out
section of the border
14
o This is an alternative way to carve what is basically
the same pattern.
1.
o We are using the same pattern as the previous
border but have added an extra inner circle 8mm
in from the outside circle
2.
o The same design is drawn with the circles template and sketching
leaving a thicker lace
3.
o Complete the
border in the
same way as
the previous
curved border
15
Other Examples of Curved Borders
Carved Crescent Border
Curved Triangle Border
o Both completed
using the same
techniques and
principles
16
o Up to this point we have been focusing
on borders for square of rectangle
projects. Now we will look at curved
borders
o This piece is 120mm x 80mm, both
lengths and widths are divided into 4
with the resulting points joined as
shown
GRIDS
1.
o To cut a straight line chip
first score the line very
lightly as shown
o Note: this score line
should only break the top
surface of the wood
2.
o Use position 1 to cut this slice
this scored line
5.
o Repeat the same process and
score the other side of the same
line
o Turn the piece 180° and using
position 1 cut the line once more
TIP
The scoring line is only a guide for the knife, if you go too deep with this line it will ruin the straight chip
When cutting straight chips we do not use position 2, we always turn the board around and cut in position 1
We do this because it is more accurate
5.
o Note the different effects the stab knife
can produce
4.
o Use a stop cut
at the end of
the straight line
chip. To do this
simply use
position 1
where you want
the chip to stop,
the chip should
pop out
o Note: to get this star finish use the stab
knife in the outward or inward position
as shown at the beginning of this
booklet
17
4.
o The piece is set up the
exact same except we use
the circles template to
create the effect shown
3.
o Using position 1 and 2 we
begin taking out the two
sided chips
2.
o Get the centre of
each block
1.
o Use the flip flop method from the centre
point out of each section to create the
effect shown
18
TIP
To get the diameter of a circle pick any point and draw from this point through the centre and on until you meet the other
side of the circle
ROSETTE
o Drawing a
rosette is a
simple process
with the use of
a compass
1. Draw a horizontal line on the board, pick a
centre and draw a circle
2. Take the radius
and swing an arc as
shown
3. Put the point of the circumference on
where the first arc cut the circumference
,draw a another arc of same radius
4. Draw another arc from
where the previous arc cut
the circumference
5. Continue this process until
you have this result
6. By repeating this process and
rubbing out all the areas where the
arcs swing clockwise will produce
this result
19
o Here we can see an example
rosette created from dividing the
circle into sections as previously
shown
o There is an endless amount of
rosettes that can be chip carved
20
CUSTOM SOLUTIONS
Opes sed nonummy tation
augue pecus. Venio regula ea
fatua incassum. Nisl quia et
aliquip, scisco roto minim ali quip
macto duis. Wisi regula eum
consectetuer ut mos tamen enim,
aliquip feugait regula. Ut amet
opes ideo gemino et tinci dunt
humo sed ut, macto, meus.
WEB SOLUTIONS Visit the website for more information on
carving methods
MAKING WOOD REAL
FUTURE APPLICATION
o The application of chip carving
is only limited by the student’s
imagination and creativity.
o It can easily be applied to
small projects and as can be
seen it really makes a piece
o You have been introduced to
only a small segment of what
chip carving has to offer.
o I would encourage you to
come up with your own
designs, be as creative as you
can and apply the principles
which you have learned