Wood Sculpting Techniques

Basic Tools

• Depending on the type of wood sculpture, you will need various carving tools. The most important tool is safety goggles to protect your eyes from wood chips and dust. A carving knife with a 1-1/2 inch blade makes small cuts for precise carving. The V-parting tool creates channels for design work. Gouges have curved blades that cut round shapes, while chisels comes in many sizes to form straight lines. You also need a sharpening stone to keep the tools from getting dull.

Wood

• Selecting the best wood will make your carving project enjoyable and simpler. Carve with the grain, the natural direction of the wood fibers, which is easier than against it. Butternut, tupelo and basswood are soft enough for whittling. Chestnut is similar in color to oak but cheaper, and mahogany has a straight, reddish grain that darkens with age. Both are good for wood chipping and relief carving. Pine is a good choice since it is cheap and if the carved piece will be painted. For more intricate carving, use maple or oak for their beauty.

Whittling

• The oldest form of wood sculpture is also the simplest -- whittling. A folk art, it only requires a carving knife and a piece of wood or a stick. Common projects are a walking cane, a stick figure or a statue, and animal shapes and toys. Hold the wood piece in one hand and shave it with the knife blade by moving the knife away from the body.

Wood Chipping

• Wood chipping is a coarse technique that cuts rough, triangular chips from the wood to create a design or image. Wood chipping typically lacks fine detail of other techniques, but has an abstract appearance with a handmade, folk appeal. Jewelry box lids and wood frames make good wood chipping projects for beginning and advanced carvers.

Relief Carving

• Relief carving, the most difficult and intricate wood sculpture technique, takes years to master. The design is chiseled away from a solid piece of wood, leaving a raised or 3-D image that requires many hours to complete. You need a variety of tools to make a relief carving, including hand-held powered drills and bits often used for etching glass. Frequent projects include masks, wood plates, and signs and hand-carved furniture.

Chainsaw Carving

• Using the power of a chainsaw to make carved wood pieces results in creative and even delicate forms. Chainsaw carving began in the U.S. Pacific Northwest in the 1950s, and it requires great skill with the chainsaw to produce art works safely. The most common shape is a statue with designs of animals, mythical figures and Indian totem poles. Chainsaw carvers normally prefer larger pieces of timber, tree branches or logs.