Recommendation? Rotary Carving - Resources to start?

[Maelstrom78]

I've been enjoying watching youtube videos of various carving and have started to dip my toes into some rotary carving.

Working now on a simple fox head pendant for my Mom out of some wood I stabilized.

Not too many good instructional videos though that I have found on youtube. Anyone have any suggestions?

Eventually, I think it would lend itself to some cool Wa knife handle caps.

Thanks!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Basically, take a piece of wood that is a little larger than a fox head pendant and remove all the wood that isn't a fox.

There are many books and videos on wood carving and metal sculpting with power tools. It is often called "power carving".
The general tool is a flex shaft with a handpiece. Use good quality burrs. I use carbide burrs for metal and Bush Burs for wood. You want a powerful unit like the Foredom TX series. If you are going to carve metal, 1/4HP minimum, 1/3Hp is better. For wood, 1/6HP minimum, 1/4HP is better, and 1/3HP is great. A Dremel hand tool will work for very simple carving, but isn't optimal.

Make a plan and sketches before staring. Photos from books or online are very useful.
Carve with the grain when possible.
Take smooth strokes and scoops.
Take your time. You can always remove a little more, but can't put any back.
Take the whole project to abut 95% done before doing the final details.

 

[Maelstrom78]

Thanks! Definitely better to let the speed of the tool do the work.

 

[weo]

Nice! Looks almost exactly like one I'm doing (except for the color).