---- Chris Pye: WOODCARVING - NEWSLETTER ---- December 2005 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com "Dedicated to the teaching, learning and love of woodcarving" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is an opt-in newsletter and you should only be receiving it because you requested it from the website, or were sent it by a friend. Subscribe or Unsubscribe easily on the home page here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/ or using the link at the end of the newsletter. ****Back issues here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/intro/pastnews.html including zipfiles for 2001, 2002 & 2003, 2004 & 2005 newsletters ============================================================ Hello Everyone! Many, many thanks to everyone who has forwarded this email to friends and family. Please keep passing it on and getting them to add themselves to the distribution list. CONTENTS: 1. Quick Carving Questions 1. Lettering Question? 2. Sore Flesh 3. Sharpening Machines? 2. Learning to Carve II Part 9: Two Attitudes... 3. Free Ebooks in the Offing Website Bookmarks at the end. List of Slipstones Woodcarving Manuals Teaching Dates ________________________________________________ 1. QUICK CARVING QUESTIONS ________________________________________________ **** QUESTION 1: LETTERING QUESTION? **** "Do you ever turn lettering upside down so you can get at the serifs?" **** ANSWER **** I do indeed; not often but it's always an option. Normally when you carve, you try and use the same tool for as long as possible and not continually fiddle with the position of the workpiece. This sort of time, in which carving is not happening, is DOWN time, and we should try to minimise this when we are carving for money. However, if flipping the carving round gives you a quicker, better result, then do it. On the other hand, you must be careful when you invert lettering: there is a danger of not reading the letters right and putting serifs in the wrong place. =================================== **** QUESTION 2: SORE FLESH **** "I get sore wrists from them rubbing on the carved wood, and sore fingers from the corners of the carving tools. Any suggestions?" **** ANSWER **** It's true that as we get older, our skin gets thinner and its ability to grow calluses diminishes quickly, but these are problems every carver will experience at times. Carved facets and grooves in the surface of a carving can lacerate the skin, and sides of tool blades painfully sharp. On this last point, feel free to round sharp sides on your grinder or coarse benchstone. Alternatively, wrap tape around where your thumb, say, presses. I frequently wear light but tough cotton gardening gloves from which I have cut the thumb, index and middle fingers - around the first knuckle joint - leaving ring and little fingers. These protect my hands very well from chafing on sharp wood, and serve also to keep sweat and off the surface, thus keeping the freshly carved wood clean. Cohesive bandage is an alternative, wrapped around your hands or wrists. I heard this called 'Wimp Wrap' in Canada... But carving should be a pleasure, definitely, and you must be kind and look after your body and hands. So do whatever you need to. =================================== **** QUESTION 3: Sharpening Machines? **** "I'm getting more tools and find it taking me longer and longer to maintain them on my benchstones. Should I buy a machine to help?" **** ANSWER **** It certainly sounds like it. I think it very important that beginners learn to sharpen their tools well so that not only are they sharp but they cut with maximum efficiency - and the best way is to learn it 'the long way', by hand. Then, when you really know what you want, what you are looking for, you can bring in some power to help. The essential point is that you keep that level of quality you achieved on the bench and slipstones, except that you achieve it quicker. As an aside: the best honing wheels are very hard. Softer wheels are fine for the inside bevel but will round over the outside very easily, thus raising the cutting angle above what you want. ________________________________________________ 2. NEW SERIES: LEARNING TO CARVE II Part 9: Two Attitudes... ________________________________________________ I thought I had finished this series, but there is just one more thing to add, briefly: In my 'Elements of Woodcarving' I asked Gino Masero, the mastercarver who started me off, what he thought were the most important attitudes a newcomer to carving could cultivate. He said his answer was twofold: COMMITMENT: sincere and positive, to your carving TENACITY: a determination to hang on despite problems and distractions I think these are great qualities: commitment and tenacity. They will take us far in any enterprise! And that's definitely it for this short series! I hope you have found these thoughts helpful. ________________________________________________ 3. NEW & FREE EBOOKS IN THE OFFING ________________________________________________ Just a quick note that in the new year I will be making The Accomplished V Tool free to you. The only condition will be my asking you to make a donation to charity: I'll suggest one, but you will be free to choose what you like and the amount you give. I won't be monitoring in any way - it'll be an issue of conscience. I'm doing this rather than having ebooks sponsored (trying to recover the effort it takes to do write and these things) because it seems one simple way I can, through you, give back some of the bounty and good fortune I have experienced. And we all win! I'll also assemble the Learning to Carve II articles as an ebook and make it available in the same way. Let me know what you think of this idea. ================================================= I wish you all (4600 of you!) the very best for solstice season, however you celebrate it, and the coming year. Joy and success in your carving! Chris Pye ------------------------- PS: One for the bench: "To love is first of all to accept yourself as you are." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh ____________________________________________________________ SOME WEBSITE BOOKMARKS ____________________________________________________________ ----------------- SLIPSTONES WOODCARVING MANUALS Help yourself! Full list and details: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/index.html * Quick Carving Questions - 1 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/qcq1.html (Sponsored by Tools for Working Wood: http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/) * Quick Carving Questions - 2 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/qcq2.html (Sponsored by Classic Hand Tools: http://www.classichandtools.com/) * Quick Carving Questions - 3 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/qcq3.html (Sponsored by Preferred Edge Carving Knives & Supplies: http://www.preferrededge.ca/) * Quick Carving Questions - 4 http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/qcq4.html (Sponsored by The Japan Woodworker: http://www.japanwoodworker.com/) * The Accomplished V Tool 1 - Free evaluation copy http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/v1.html * Learning to Carve - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/learncarving.html * A Guide to Safe Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/safecarving.html * Mistakes and Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/mistakes.html * Fundamentals of Woodcarving - Free eBook http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/fundamentals.html *Slicing, And The Value Of The Inside Bevel With The Chris Pye #2 1/2 Finishing Gouges From Ashley Iles - Free pdf http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/slipstones/slicing.html ----------------- TEACHING * UK (1-TO-1 PERSONAL TUITION) Full details here: http://www.chrispye-woodcarving.com/tuition/t_custom.html Single day: £150 3 days: £360 5 days: £495 Lunch included. Local B&Bs, or possibly staying with myself, hear Hay-on-Wye ('The Town of Books') in a very beautiful part of England, near the Welsh border... * USA (CENTER FOR FURNITURE CRAFTSMANSHIP, MAINE) 2006 June 19 - 23 Wood Sculpture June 26 - July 7 Relief Carving July 10 - 14 Intermediate/Advanced Carving Details on the website: http://www.woodschool.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright (c) Chris Pye 2005 Chris@chrispye-woodcarving.com ----------------------- -----------------------