Creative Woodworks & crafts 1999-04, страница 36

/ Patterns \ Located in ' Full Size Pattern k Section j \ No. 2! /

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by Ivan Whillock

Step 1. Trace the pattern onto the wood. Clamp the wood onto your bench so that both hands are free to control the tools.

supplies

Wood: abura or hardwood of choice*—

one piece 3" x 9" x 14" Tools: Nos. 3-6mm, 3-16mm, 4-6mm, 5-20mm, and7-12mm straight gouges; 41-16mm | V tool li Wood sealer j Clamps of choice ¹ Oak stain of choice

*Abura (as well as other carving woods) is available from Memphis Hardwood Lumber, Inc., 6535 Church Street, Memphis, NY 13112; (315) 689-3949.

I Sometimes it is a pleasure to take the mallet to a piece | of dense hardwood. Yes, medium density woods such as basswood and butternut are "easier" to carve in that most of the cuts may be made with hand force—but 1 high density woods have advantages as well. The grain holds up better to the carving process, and it is possible to use the mallet and chisel to create clean, sharp edges that give strong definition to the carving. Under a good, sharp tool, the wood surface literally | shines.

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instructions

I In carving "Saying Grace," I used a dense wood called abura. According to Paul Anthony of Memphis Hardwood Lumber, the abura tree grows in Nigeria. It , is used by furniture makers in place of European beech % because of its stability. It holds up well under the mal-let and chisel, even on cross-grain cuts.

Step 2. With the V tool, make a stop cut around the entire outside of the pattern. Do not make stop cuts on the figure at this time.

Step 3. With the Nos. 3-6mm, 3-16mm, and 5-20mm gouges, rough out the background wood. Do this in stages. First make the V stop cut, then clear away wood from near the stop cut. Make another series of V stop cuts until you have removed about 1" of wood from the background. I used a self-framing technique where I left the edges at full height and with the No. 5-20mm gouge made a scalloped edge rounding into the background.

Step 4. After removing the background and truing up the edges around the pattern, make a V stop cut around the arm, the hair, and the neck of the girl as shown in Fig. 1. Lower the wood of the neck about 1/2". Lower the body, face, and hands about 1/4". Lower the visible edge of the back sleeve 1/2" (see Fig. 2).

Step 5. Draw in the eyebrow and the line of the cheek. With the No. 7-12mm gouge, make a plunge stop cut in front of the eye. Use the same tool to remove wood from in front of the eye. Again with the same tool, make a cut along the cheek line from the corner of the mouth to the eye. Remove wood from the nose and the mouth to make them slightly over 1/8" lower than the cheek as shown in Fig. 3.

Step 6. Draw in the nose and mouth. With the No. 4-6mm gouge, make a stop cut at the wing of the nose and the nostril (see Fig. 4).

Step 7. Make a stop cut at the mouth and angle the upper lip into the stop cut. Round off the lower lip as shown in Fig. 5.

Step 8. Shave some wood off the eye mass to lower it into the face. Round off the sharp edges of the eye,

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