Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Follow My Carving - Step 5 - Gnarly

To celebrate Heartwood Art carvings being featured in upcoming issue of Woodcarving Illustrated the "Follow My Carving" series was created to give you a an insider’s view on how the art is made.


Cutting with the scroll saw blade can leave fuzzy edges on the backside. These will be removed when the edges are rounded.

Changing direction with the blade can also leave rough edges, or sides that don’t meet perfectly in the tight V areas where the branches converge.

To smooth these areas, a rotary tool with a needle-type bit is used. It acts like a precision sander. For best results, this cleanup process is done from the backside with the tool spinning at low speed. The tip always has to be in motion when in contact with the wood to keep from creating a round indentation in the wood.

In next installment, the edges of the branches will be rounded.

To see more carvings, please visit the Heartwood Art site.

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