# First Attempt at Chip Carving



## cowboyup3371 (Nov 10, 2017)

First, thank you to those who recommended I pick up other forms of woodworking while I wait for my leg to heal. I received the okay to start gradually weight bearing again on 21 Jun and of course I ran back to the shop to start making a clock for my Aunt and Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. Part of that project will obviously be the mount for the clock face which I decided will incorporate some chip carving. It's not perfect, is a very basic piece, and I need to sand off the marks I made to ensure I didn't cut those sections. But with all of that, I don't think this turned out too bad. I know I have a lot more practice to come but that will happen over future projects as I won't have time to get to perfection before the end of July.

I would welcome and beg for any constructive criticism anyone is willing to provide.


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## ClaudeF (Sep 22, 2013)

Pretty good for a first attempt. Look at the upper right corner and the lower right corner. 
The bottom of the "hole" has part of the wood of the chip remaining in it. Careful cutting with a really sharp knife should be able to clean up the bottom of those two holes… then check all the others for clean bottoms.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Looks pretty nice Cowboy! Glad you are getting some shop time  I'm not a chip carver, more of a whittler, so I can't offer much in the way of criticism. The only thing I see is that some of the stop lines aren't as sharp as is typically seen in professional chip carvings. But we aren't pros are we?  I wouldn't hesitate to gift it to a family member if I could do it that well. And it's very likely that the resolution on this site makes it look worse than it actually is. Kudos on a great first chip carving!


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Great first attempt! I couldn't do it.

On a side note. How do we know that photo isn't sideways?..................


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

> Great first attempt! I couldn t do it.
> 
> On a side note. How do we know that photo isn t sideways?..................
> 
> ...


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## RickBarber (May 26, 2019)

I still have the first chip carving that I did. It was a very basic piece. If you find a starting class I would recommend it highly. I found one a Woodcraft years ago and the main thing I learned was how to sharpen a knife, My first attempts were bad and I actually put the knifes away until I took the class.

When you lay out the lines use a pencil or carbon paper. Then erase the lines rather then sand it. It will be more crisp and it is OK to re cut a chip to get them to match. I have actually glued a chip back in when I cut it wrong and re cut it.

Your work looks quite good so far.


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## SlimYoung123 (Dec 7, 2021)

I just got into chip carving recently. Your work is way ahead of my skill so far but a person has to start somewhere. 
Looking forward to seeing more chip carving threads in this site as I joined here.


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## SlimYoung123 (Dec 7, 2021)

I just got into chip carving recently. Your work is way ahead of my skill so far but a person has to start somewhere. 
Looking forward to seeing more chip carving threads in this site as I joined here. Sorry for the double post.I am not sure how to delete one of them .


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## SlimYoung123 (Dec 7, 2021)

I just now noticed the crisscross lines in your patten between the triangles . I have the same patten on one of my practice boards and was having a heck of a time trying to carve them between the triangles . Are they actually carved on yours or are they just the applied patten . If they are just the patten , will you be sanding them off or leaving them as is. Personally ,I like the looks of them being there either way .


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## cowboyup3371 (Nov 10, 2017)

> I just now noticed the crisscross lines in your patten between the triangles . I have the same patten on one of my practice boards and was having a heck of a time trying to carve them between the triangles . Are they actually carved on yours or are they just the applied patten . If they are just the patten , will you be sanding them off or leaving them as is. Personally ,I like the looks of them being there either way .
> 
> - SlimYoung123


That was to mark where I didn't want to cut and was since sanded away/erased. The final project was done in July of that year to be this:


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## cowboyup3371 (Nov 10, 2017)

I also did another clock for my other Uncle using that pattern later that year


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## SlimYoung123 (Dec 7, 2021)

That clock turned out very nice and now I know why I was struggling with cutting the center part just because it was on the practice board pattern I was using. I had not realized that part was to be erased.


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