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Marty Leenhouts
866-444-6996
www.MyChipCarving.com

In our next lesson we will carve the edge and apply a finish!

In this lesson we will carve the background that surrounds the rosettes you just carved.
If your knife needs touching up, do it now using a flat leather strop or white ceramic stone.
Enjoy this lesson and let me know if you have any questions.

In the next lesson we’ll lay out the pattern on the edge.
Stay tuned!

With the layout of our pattern complete (see Lesson 1), we’re ready to start carving. Before making the first cut, it is important to make sure your knife is razor sharp. CLICK HERE to review the lesson on sharpening.

Now we’re all set to carve the overlapping rosettes on the front of our wine bottle holder. Enjoy the lesson and good luck with your carving! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

More chip carving in lesson 3!

With the wood surface prepared, we’re all set to draw our pattern directly on the wood. Use a soft lead in your mechanical pencil and compass. The soft lead is much easier to remove when your carving is completed.

Enjoy Lesson 1!

In our next lesson we’ll start carving!

Marty Leenhouts
www.MyChipCarving.com
866-444-6996

Marty
www.MyChipCarving.com
866-444-6996

This leaves you plenty of time to sharpen your knife and gather needed supplies. Here’s a list of what we’ll be using:

Basswood wine bottle holder (we’ll be carving a different pattern than the one shown)

Chip carving knife (I’ll be using the My Chip Carving Knives like the one shown below)

Compass
Metric ruler
Flat lying trammel set (not required, but very handy)
Mechanical pencil with soft lead
White plastic eraser
Assorted templates (not required)
Universal sanding sealer
Lacquer, satin, spray

If you need any of these supplies, they are available in the My Chip Carving Store. Basswood wine bottle holders ($8.00) are the last item in the “Household Items” section.

I’m looking forward to seeing you in class.
Email me if you have any questions.

Until then,
Marty Leenhouts
www.MyChipCarving.com

I hope you give this project a try. It’s not too complicated and won’t take long to complete. Let me know how it turns out for you!

159 My Chip Carving – Learn how to easily take great photographs of your chip carvings. 866-444-6996 https://mychipcarving.com/Chip_Carving/Pages/chip_carving_free_eletter.htm

To make it more chip carve-able, I was thinking about not drilling the large holes in all the squares and then chip carving those surfaces. That along with the cut off corners would make a really cool piece.
What do you think?

Step-by-step instructions are found here –
http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs/projects/archive/2012/01/03/ws-wiffle-ball.aspx?utm_source=AWNL&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AWNL_20120105

Here’s the view from the road. Is your driveway longer than mine? :-)

Here are the steps to finish your plate.

1. Remove all leftover pattern lines. The following video shows you how this is done.

2. Lightly sand and remove the dust with a vacuum cleaner. Apply one coat of sanding sealer. You can brush this on as it will soak into the wood and not pool in the bottom of your carving. Lightly sand and remove the dust after it has dried (1-2 hours)

3. SPRAY on 3 coats of satin lacquer. Lightly sand and remove the dust in between coats. 1 hour dry time in between coats. DO NOT brush on this finish. If you do it will pool in your carving and make a good carving very ugly.

4. With a small brush, carefully apply a gel stain in the carved areas. Wipe off any excess stain that gets on the surface using a clean cotton rag. Don’t over brush the stain. Just make sure to apply an even coat. Let it dry overnight.

5. Carefully reapply gel stain to areas that are lighter than other areas. Usually this is the with the grain areas of your carving. Let it dry 24 hours.

6. Spray a final top coat of satin lacquer. Let it dry. You’re done!

Dimensions: 36” x 12” x 2”, basswood

I know basswood isn’t the best exterior wood but seeing as it will be painted, I figured it should last many years as long as I give it proper care and maintenance.

I created the pattern on my computer. Each letter stands 3” tall. The font used is Engravers.
I applied the pattern to the wood using my Pattern Transfer Tool.

I’m using my standard chip carving knife for the carving. The letters are too big and the chips too wide and deep to remove them in one pass, so first I carved out the center of each large chip.

I’m carving on the floor where I can get my upper body over the top of my knife to get as much force as possible. This was not easy carving. Some parts of the basswood were harder than others which made it even more challenging. But by the end of the second football game, I had the sign carved. I was satisfied seeing as it was pretty tough carving.

In a sign carving book I read, the author recommended three coats of primer. I used an oil base primer. A large brush applied most of the primer and a small brush did the work in the letters to make sure there wasn’t any puddling.

Next step: apply 4-5 top coats of paint. With each coat taking 24 hours to dry, this will take awhile.

!!

Here’s the lesson:

Next lesson: Carving the border