Step 19
Now that the circle around the tree is finished, it’s time to start on the leaves that adorn the corners. The same technique used on the circle
outline works well here too. Since the lines can be a little tricky to see, I go over them lightly with a pencil first. Then I make a shallow
incision with a carving knife all the way around and then another pass to deepen the cut. Next, I use a veiner tool (micro V gouge), to deepen
and widen the cut slightly. This is the rough cut.
Since I need the lines to be more deep than wide, I use a rotary tool with a very narrow, pointed bit to deepen
the lines smoothly. Running it at it’s slowest speed and holding it at a very shallow angle seems to work best for me.
After I deepen the lines a bit, I use an orbital sander with a triangular shaped face to lightly sand the entire
surface outside the circle around the tree. Using this type of sander gives me good control and I can stay with the grain and get right up to the
edge of the circle.
Once the sanding is finished, I go back over the leaf lines with the rotary tool to further
deepen the lines and to clean up any edges. The final leaf looks like the picture to the right. It’s important to keep in
mind that once a section of wood has been sanded, it’s not a good idea to go back over it with a carving gouge. Sandpaper
debris and the finely honed edges of metal gouges don’t get along too well.
The leaf pattern is very versatile and can be slightly modified so that it can be scrolled, chip carved, or burned
into the wood.
After all four leaves are finished, I go over the entire carving, front and back, to ensure every edge is clean with no burrs,
loose chips or fuzzy edges. This is especially important in areas where branches meet.
The last step in the carving process is the bark, and that will be in the next installment.
Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 |
Step 4 | Step 5 |
Step 6 | Step 7 | Step8 |
Step 9 | Step 10 |
Step 11 | Step 12 | Step 13 |
Step 14 |
Step 15 |
Step 16 | Step 17 | Step 18
Step 19 | Step 20 | Step 21 |
Step 22 |
Step 23 | Step 24 |
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