Wood Whittling

[richstag]

Your welcome Fausto. I am amazed by it. I was told he worked on it for years and years whenever he had some free time

Glad you like it too.

Kevin

 

[kamagong]

So how do I find out how to carve one of those ball in a boxes? I haven't found anything on the web that was helpful. Any tips of links? I am bored making spoons.

I found this online article by Hoodoo quite helpful.

- Christian

 

[Chief]

So how do I find out how to carve one of those ball in a boxes? I haven't found anything on the web that was helpful. Any tips of links?

My first ball in a box, took a couple weeks. Started out by drawing the square on all four sides, then used an old small fixed blade work knife to start. At first it was more ripping and tearing than whittling, was taking out my frustration and lack of patience on the wood.

Consider making the four legs triangle shaped. Square legs might look cool but triangle legs leave more wood inside the cage to work with and can result in a larger ball than square legs. IMO a larger ball is more impressive. I put a dot in the center of the ball on all four sides so I would have a frame of reference to know where to stop carving yet have the largest ball possible. I hold the wood in one hand and carve with the other, would be easier if you clamped your project in a vise. Check your block of wood is perfectly square on the ends, didn't notice mine was slightly rectangular on the ends until it was too late to turn back. This made my ball slightly oblong and I had to even it out once it was free moving. In this pic you can see the ball is still attached on both ends. Do as much carving as possible before cutting the ends loose as it is harder to carve on the ball once it is free floating as you have to hold the ball and carve it at the same time.

Have done a couple more little projects and learned how to actually whittle, it's kind of like peeling very thin layers off one by one, with a thin sharp knife they kind of come off like peeling an onion. Keep your knife sharp, when you stop, strop. When I did my first ball, I was impatient, frustrated, it was harder than I thought, but I wanted to do it and I'm stubborn. Wife told me that if I didn't enjoy the process of making the ball to quit. She was right, I had to learn to relax and enjoy the process. Which I finally did, and it helped me understand why artists spend long hours creating. Watching the creation of your work is very satisfying in a selfish way. Learn patience, don't rush it, let it develop. Last and best advice is to consider buying a couple of dedicated fixed blade whittling knives. Got these from Lee Ferguson (no relation), they are W2, inexpensive, and well worth it if you are serious.

Good luck, have fun.

 

[billym]

Thanks for the post Chief.

 

[Stich2442]

I like sheepsfoot for straight lines and marking, coping for detail, and pen and spey for the belly. Some day I'll buy this Boker carver

Until then

But out and about any knife will do.