# Need some tips



## mike1981 (Feb 28, 2017)

Hello friends,

I am new here.

Please give some tips which are famous for wood carving as a beginner. I found some tips here. But I don't understand is it worth reading??

Give me advice and if you share your own tips it will be great for me.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

Keep your tool sharp


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

Tips:

1. Buy high quality tools (like those Pfeils 
2. Get good quality stones and learn to sharpen well
3. Have a good way to secure the work.

Two sources I have found very useful:

1. Mary May Carving.
2. Chris Pye.


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## ClaudeF (Sep 22, 2013)

The tools you will need depend on what type of carving you intend to do. 
!. Chip carving - basic 3 specialized knives are most of what you need.
2. Relief carving. Various gouges are most of what you will need. A single bench knife is probably the only knife.
3. Carving in the round (3 dimensional carvings) - small - Small gouges, small detail knife as well as a rouging out knife to get rid of waste wood.
4. Carving in the round - large (1 to 2 feet tall) - gouges and a mallet. Detail knife for details.
5. Large carvings (2 feet tall and up) - probably a chain saw, some angle grinders, and some large gouges.
6. Whittling - making things such as ball in a cage, etc. A decent pocket knife is enough.

All must be "carving sharp". You don't need to buy expensive stones to sharpen with - sandpaper does just fine. You would need grits such as 400, 600, 1000, and 2000 to get the basic edge on the tools (lots of videos on YouTube for how to do this). After that, you use a strop. You can buy an expensive leather one, but it's a waste of money. The simplest and most effective strop is a piece of cardboard from a cereal box, glued to a piece of flat scrap wood such as shelving, and rubbed with a stropping/honing compound. The green chromium oxide waxy stick is good, as is the Flexcut Gold compound. The important thing for the compound is that it must be 0.5 micron grit.

As mentioned above, Chris Pye is a good starting point. Another good source is http://www.lsirish.com/tutorials/woodcarving-tutorials/ She has lots of tutorials, and some free patterns as well.

Claude


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