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2 chip carved letters and numbers postcards you sent me so others can see.
A big WELCOME to you, Norbert!
Hi Will,
A BIG welcome to the MyChipCarving Community! There are a lot of great folk here that I hope you’ll interact with.
When you have questions about your journey into chip carving, reach out and I’m sure others will connect with you.
Keep in touch!
Marty
Tung oil would be a fine finish for your sugar packet holder box.
Be sure to securely fasten the base to the top before applying the oil. This will keep the base from cupping when oil is added to the wood.
While I prefer a few coats of spray satin lacquer because it is quick and easy, tung oil will work as well. It is slow drying and be sure there aren’t any puddles of oil in the recesses as it sits to dry.
Please post your finished holder in the My Carvings! forum so everyone can enjoy your work.
Hello David,
Good question. (related to Chip Carving Letters Course, new the end of the Old English video)
Here’s an image of what you are asking about…
the red arrow shows the grain direction. You’ll start the cut near the red arrow and cut towards the purple circle.
when you look at the red arrow section of the triangle you’ll see that this is long grain inside the triangle
then look inside the purple circle, the pattern line hooks forming short grain inside the circle.
If this needs more explanation, please reply and I’ll do my best to help.
So glad you are working through this Course. I’ll be interested in your feedback!
Glad you found the Tombow Eraser to be the best when it comes to removing left over pattern lines!
Excellent suggestion, David! I have plans to create a “Start-to-Finish” Course on Carving a Plate and this would definitely be part of the Course.
In the meantime, here’s a quick tip on centering the rosette.
- Use an instant center finder to mark the center of the plate. If you don’t have an ICF, look closely and you may be able to see the center point if it hasn’t been sanded away.
- Use a sharp pencil and poke a hole in the center of your pattern.
- on the back of the pattern make a pencil mark on the element of the pattern you want at the top. I prefer to orient this top point in line with the grain so the grain runs up and down. Cabinet doors, door panels and other wood pieces in a house have the grain running up and down so this orientation makes sense to me.
- push the pencil point into the hole from the back side of the pattern and look underneath so the pencil point is in the center of the plate.
- lay the pattern down and spin it as needed to align the top point you marked straight up on the plate
- tape it down in a few places
- use your Pattern Transfer Tool to apply the pattern.
Hope you find this helpful!
Marty
Hello David,
I hope others will offer advice as well.
Simply put, yes, finish the inside similar to the outside. Reason being, you want to equalize the movement of moisture in and out of the wood. If the inside were not finished the wood would take on more moisture on the unsealed inside of the box than it would on the outside, sealed portion of the box. This could lead to unwanted warping.
The pencil box is small so this might not be a problem, but better safe than sorry.
That said, you don’t need to add coloring on the inside if you don’t want to. Just the clear sealing finish throughout.
I’ll look forward to seeing your finished box posted in the My Carvings! forum!
Hello Joel and welcome to the MyChipCarving Community!
I too started with the WB VHS tape back in 1985. We’re really dating ourselves. I still have that VHS tape. Saving it as a memento 🙂
Please share what you are learning as you work through the Essentials Course. I’ll be interested to read your insights.
Marty
Good tip, Dennis. I’d also suggest when placing the wood in the container to set it on edge rather than flat. This will minimize any warping and even out the moisture content in the wood.
Welcome Fred!
David’s reply is a good sample of the great advice you’ll get in the My Chip Carving Community.
So many kind, caring and talented folk.
You’re in good company!
Marty
Hello Fred! Smoothing the basswood surface with a finishing plane is a fantastic way to get a smooth, flat surface.
You won’t hear me mention this method because most chip carvers cannot use a plane or scraper effectively to get the results you do.
Removing leftover pattern lines in the same way would be quite challenging especially if quite a lot of the surface has been carved.
From your post you know that we don’t want to flatten the tops of the sharp ridges. I recommend using a Tombow Sand Eraser to remove any leftover pattern lines.
They do the trick and break down as they remove the lines so they don’t affect the carving.
Hey Gary,
Very classy boxes! Your carving really fits the style of the box. I can see why they prefer that pattern.
Thanks so much for sharing with us!
