Woodcarver Online Magazine

OK Gang, there's some good stuff this issue, so take a break from making chips, grab a beverage, sit back and pay attention... First up is a contribution from Yahoo Groups via NFTN co-editor Doug Evans.

Hii. I would suggest that you stain seal the sound board before going any farther. this will prevent any stain you use from bleeding outside of the design. also, (i don't know how it will affect the sound quality) you might first an acrylic ( like tandy leather company cova dye) to color the design, and then use of clear acrylic finish to protect the soundboard. i am not a
luthier, but what i have done to decorate some pieces in the past is to apply sanding sealer first to the entire piece. then i print out my design on peel and stick paper, cut out the design, and use the background portion as a mask, for painting the design
on. then i apply two or three coats of finish, lightly sanding with 120 grit glasspaper between each coat. i still wool the last coat, and wipe down with mineral spirits ( to remove any oil residue from the steel wool), and finalize the project with successive coats of a sprayed laquer or varnish. this can also be waxed at this point, if you so choose. good luck, and i would really like to see the finished product when your done.

jack

...And Donna ran with it.

Thanks Jack-
Good idea. I'll seal just the woodburning with Seal-A-Cell before adding color- if I decide to use color. My final coat will be Arm-R-Seal which is my current finish of choice.
Donna Menke

The skew knife is honed to a sharp, long bevel and is used to actually cut away the wedges of wood. The stab knife, on the other hand, is sharpened at about a 45 degree bevel and is not used to cut the wood but to "dent it" making small, wedge-shaped accents that resemble a "T" if you tilt it so that a corner of the tool does the cutting. The deeper you plunge the stab knife, the larger the accent, but you don't generally plunge the tool deeper than its bevel. It makes the small wedge shape by compressing the fibers and does not actually remove wood, thus chip carvers tend to use it sparingly. When exposed to moisture the cuts can close back up.

The skew knife does much the same work as the standard chip carving knife but does it with less of a slicing--and more of a plunging--move, similar to the traditional carver who would use a skew chisel instead of a knife to make chip carved designs.

Ivan Whillock Studio
122 NE 1st Avenue
Faribault, MN 55021

Visit my website at http://www.whillock.com

John G. gave us a view from the chip carving side of things.

Hi Jim
Welcome to the list. I am not familiar with the term "skew" knife. The stab knife is not used for cutting wood. The stab knife acts like a little wedge and just separates the wood fibers. I have been chip-carving for a few years and I really do not care for the "stab" knife. When you use the stab knife you are separating and crushing the wood fibers. I have been told that over time the hole made by the stab knife will tend to close up. I hope this helps

God Bless,
John G.
See my carvings at http://www.PictureTrail.com/jgriscti

Maura apologized for a fast earlier reply...

Thanks for giving the correct advice Ivan and John. I rushed in answering and didn't know what the heck I was talking about. Mea culpa or as the kids say now 'my bad'. I have 2 style chip knives though I don't chip much too much. I guess neither one is a stab knife because both cut wood. Neither one stabs in an impression. Well at least I have learned something today.

And Ivan elaborates that the confusion is understandable...

The term "skew knife" is used to describe a host of different knives, some shaped like a skew chisel, others simply a knife with a skewed blade. I've seen some catalogs that label a stab knife a skew knife, so the terms are seldom exclusive. Mostly, however, the term "stab knife" is used for a pretty specific tool, one used to make a particular cut, a cuneiform-type impression.

Ahhh, to Sand or not to Sand... and If to Sand, How to Sand.

Jeffrey Lyman Asks...

I am a very new woodcarver, I started really carving around Christmas and I have been making a bowl with two levels the bottom level has major undercutting and I am finding it hard if not impossible to reach it with my hands to sand it and my power sander is also to big to fit how do I fit a sanding tool in and what tool should I use and how do I make it/get it?

...And there was a single, very good reply from our MCM (Master Carver from Maine).

Hi,
Welcome to carving and welcome to the "List". I don't do a lot of sanding, but there are some things that just
require a nice smooth finish. I just purchased some radial bristle discs for my Foredom. You can get them as small as 9/16" . You use between 3 and 6 of these little discs on a mandrel, and with the smaller detail handpieces they will reach into tight places. You can see them here, though I am sure a lot of places handle them http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/429356291dAdxvp?start=12

Another thing that works is diamond/ruby burrs in a pin vise. I know that Larry Yudis of the Woodcraft Shop carries these and some very fine grit diamond burrs (up to 600 grit) pin vise
http://www.thewoodcraftshop.com/page=259

Good luck...keep us posted on your progress!

Marcia (aka Mush)
South China, Maine

See Marcia's wood carvings at:
http://www.pivot.net/~whitwood

http://community.webshots.com/user/cahvah

...And a great alternative from Denny.

There is an alternative to sanding for getting wood smooth. It is scraping A scraper is a flat piece of metal that can be ground into any shape needed You simply draw the scraper across the area to be smoothed and it removes small amounts of wood with each pass. Look up "wood scrapers" on GOOGLE and you will get an idea about what I am talking about. A friend of mine does bowls out of burls and he does all his finishing with scrapers. Most of the time he uses pieces of glass from jars he has smashed. He gets a variety of shapes and they can be thrown away when the edge wears off. If you try the glass, wear leather gloves or tape over the edge you hold it by... All the edges are sharp on the glass.

Denny

Personally, I love scrapers, but the glass ones scare me a bit. Be forewarned though, putting a proper edge on a metal scraper is another sharpening skill you'll need to learn that requires something called a burnishing tool. You'll find a great tutorial for using and sharpening them at http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/I-3416.html Just MTCW -Mike B.->

Color Your World... and Wood...

Chris Howard asks...

Has anyone used or know about pure paint pigment, to mix to use on carvings. I am thinking about experimenting a little, its easy to get and cheap plus great colors.
Chris Howard
chrishowardstudio.com

Joe Dillett offers...

Hi Chris,

Are you talking about powdered pigment? I've never worked with that.

The closest I've worked with pure pigment is soft pastels. My understanding is that a soft pastel is largely paint pigment with just enough binders to hold the stick together.

Joe Dillett
The Carving Shop
645 E. LaSalle St. Suite 3
Somonauk, IL. 60552

Chris Clarified...

Joe,

Thanks for reply. The pigment I am speaking of is what can be bought at any Hardware where they mix paint, its a very concentrated liquid that from my understanding can be mixed in water or oil based paint.

Ray Mighels steps in with and an excellent recommendation...

Chris,
I have a pasel of latex pigments in small tubes, they have to be blended with a base white. I never cared much for them, but I don't know a lot about colors. I use analine dye stains in powder form. You can use it with a lot of mediums. I use it with alcohol, lacquer,varnish, linseed oil minwax oil stains and poly. I used it a lot on color matching furniture repairs when I was in the business. It comes in many colors and you get a lot of milage from a 2 ox bottle. In over 30 years i've used about 1 oz of dark walnut. You can also blend these dyes for toning artist oils and probably acrylics. I would seek advice from Lori Corbett. She knows colors.

Best of luck,
Ray M

(I'll second that recommendation. Having set in on one of her presentations at the last Fox/Chapel open house... Lori absolutely knows her colors, paints, and pigments. -Mike B->)

Ivan Whilloch comes in with.

Dry Pigments

One can purchase pigments in a powder form which can be mixed with any base, water, oil, or shellac. You can also rub the colors into the pores of the wood--more often onto terra cotta--and hold it in place with a top coat of sealer or wax. The powder form has some disadvantages because it flies around, being ground so fine. However, dry pigment also gives you some fun options--grading one color into another or sprinkling color into wet paint and blending it on the surface to create a marbled effect, etc.

Universal Pigments

Universal pigments come in a thick liquid, thin paste form, made without a binder and can also be mixed with water, oil, or shellac. One uses universal pigments in a myriad of ways--mixing them into a neutral paint or stain base, adding them to varnishes or stains, toning paint, etc. I have used both and continue to do so, both in finishing wood carvings and other sculpture, and use it to add coloring to casting materials. You can add either the dry or the universal colors to glue, epoxy, wax,--you are limited only by your imagination and your willingness to experiment. Because they are pure pigments, a little bit goes a long way.

...and adds.

Don't want this to sound like a commercial for universal colors, but they can be pretty useful.

1. Add to varnish to make a varnish stain.
2. Add to an existing stain or stain base to alter the color or deepen it.
3. Add to Watco wax clear to create a customized tint.
4. Add to glue to match the glue to the material.
5. Add to wood filler to match the color of the wood.
6. Add to epoxy to create a colored epoxy.
7. Dissolve in water, paint thinner, or linseed oil to create a thin wash, stain or a glaze.
8. Add to Thompson's Water Proofing to make water proofing stains of various colors--good for outdoor signs, etc.
9. Color castings by mixing pigment into the material while mixing it--coloring plaster or acrylic casts, for example.
10. Add color to a plaster mold to differentiate the negative mold from the positive cast.
11. (Dry pigment) Dry brush pigment into the surface to create highlight or special effects.
12. Mix with wood sealer or hide glue to create a stable undercolor (tone down basswood, for example) before staining or painting a carving.

Always experiment a little first, to determine the effects you want or the compatibility of the pigment and the material.

Ivan Whillock Studio
122 NE 1st Avenue
Faribault, MN 55021
Visit my website at
http://www.whillock.com
Visit my Picture Trail album at
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=ivancarve

OK, Gang, you may now resume your chip (or dust) making activities. Keep them edges keen, the chips piled high... and make sure you get your Santa photos to Matt for the Gallery.

For information regarding the various email lists for woodcarvers, visit The Carvers' Companion Resource Files, or click the links below.

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