How to make a wood carving tool. Full characteristics and purpose of hand-held wood cutters for a lathe Do-it-yourself wood cutter

Wood carving is one of the oldest types of applied art, which has not lost its popularity today. Artistic carving is a very labor-intensive and complex, but very exciting activity, which requires special tools - wood cutters.

There are a large number of types and shapes of these tools, designed for different cutting methods, depending on the specific areas of the relief of the wooden workpiece. The cleanliness of the carving depends on their quality no less than on the skill of the carver.

Types of incisors

All wood cutters necessary for manual work have the same design and consist of a metal blade with a shank on which a wooden handle is attached.

To cut simple geometric patterns on a flat surface, you can get by with a couple of simple cutters, but to create complex volumetric and openwork works from wood, you will need to use a large number of special cutters.

The most widely used types of these instruments are:

• jamb knife - a tool like a shoe knife with a short triangular blade, the bevel angle of which can be different, which makes it universal and suitable for a wide range of jobs;
• The chisel is the most common type of wood cutter. It performs the bulk of the work when creating most carved products; it has a smooth blade with a cutting edge at the end, which can be straight, oblique, semicircular or angled in the shape of the letter V;
• cranberry - a tool similar to a chisel, with a blade that has two bends of one hundred and twenty degrees (so that the handle does not catch the plane being processed when working). With a variety of cutting parts - semicircular, bracket, straight and others;
• spoon cutter - a cutter for cutting spoons and other utensils, made in the shape of a ring or half ring with a sharpened side edge;
• a hatchet is a knife that looks like a slightly beveled ax blade, which is a fairly universal tool, the corners of which can make cuts both towards you and away from you, and with the middle of the blade you can cut off bulges.

For those who are just starting to master the technique of wood carving, at first it will be enough to buy 5-6 cutters - a jamb knife, a flat chisel and two semicircular and corner ones with different radii and bending angles. But you need to take high-quality, professional tools, despite their rather high price. Cheap kits for beginners are made of poor steel, they become dull very quickly and working with them will not bring pleasure to the carver.

Experienced craftsmen prefer to make wood cutters for themselves. Making them is not very difficult and can be done by anyone, even at home.

DIY making

When making these tools, you cannot do without an electric sharpening machine (electric sharpener) with a set of abrasive wheels of different grain sizes. In most operations, it can be successfully replaced by a grinder with cutting and grinding discs.

Wood cutter blade

To make a tool blade, any used high-quality steel products are suitable - springs, drills, scalpels, rasps and even bearing rings.

For knives, the easiest choice is a hacksaw blade. Manufacturing consists of cutting it into pieces of the required length, forming the desired blade shape and sharpening.

The best option for chisels is a circular saw blade, the thickness of which is very suitable for this purpose. The carbon steel from which it is made holds an edge for a long time, even when processing hard wood. Cutting strips of the required size and grinding them to obtain the required blade shape is done using a grinder or an abrasive disc of an electric sharpener.

An old punch is perfect for a semicircular chisel - it already has the desired shape. It is enough just to cut off the excess metal from it and sharpen it.

During intensive grinding, the metal heats up, which causes a tempering, making it softer and unable to maintain an edge for a long time. Therefore, after giving the blade the desired shape and sharpening, hardening is required. To do this, you need to heat the cutting part using a gas or kerosene burner until it turns crimson and lower it into a container with machine oil.

Lever

Oak is considered the most suitable wood for the handle. Well, where it does not grow, it can be quite successfully replaced by birch, which, being burnt black with a gas burner and sanded, does not require any coating and is very comfortable to work with.

For wood knives, the handle can be made in the following way:

• cut two bars about 12 centimeters long and 12x22 millimeters in cross-section;
• attaching the shank of the blade to the block, circle it with a pencil;
• Use a chisel to select wood to the depth of the blade thickness;
• apply wood glue (PVA or EDF can be used) on the surface of the bars, connect the structure and tighten it with clamps or clamp it in a vice;
• After the glue has dried, plan the handle or grind it on an electric grinder and sand it.

For chisels, the handle can be turned on a lathe or cut from a whole block. Then drill a hole to the size of the shank and, having first put a crimp ring on the handle, which protects the wood from splitting, carefully place it on the blade.

Sharpening wood cutters

The final stage in the manufacture of wood cutters is the formation of the cutting part and sharpening. The main part of the metal from the cutting edge can be removed on the abrasive wheel of an electric sharpener or with the sharpening disc of an angle grinder.

The sharpening angles of the chamfers of all types of cutters are approximately the same and lie in the range of 18-25°, and the length of the sharp part is about 20-35 mm, depending on the total length of the cutter. During the processing process, it is necessary to constantly cool the blade in a container with water.

Further work is performed manually in the following sequence:

• sharpening on an emery block, which is recommended to be periodically moistened with water;
• sharpening on a thinner block or on sandpaper placed on a hard, even substrate;
• final editing and polishing of the cutting edge on a leather belt rubbed with GOI paste.

During the operation of a cutting tool, its blade inevitably loses its sharpness. Regular thorough sharpening of wood cutters is a necessary condition for comfortable work of the carver and high quality of the carved product.

Wood turning tools

A turning cutter is a tool designed for manual processing of a workpiece rotating in a machine. Such tools, unlike handmade wood cutters, have a long handle. It is necessary so that the turner can hold the tool comfortably. The presence of such a handle allows you to control the blade without putting much effort into holding the cutter.

The blade of all types of turning tools is also longer than that of hand tools, since the turner needs to clasp it with his left hand when working.

Most types of wood turning on a lathe require only two types of cutters: reuter and meisel.

Reuter is a tool with a cutting part in the shape of a semicircle, which is used for roughing, initial processing of the workpiece. With the help of a rater, the workpiece is ground to give it the approximate shape of the future product.

Meisel is a cutter designed for finishing a piece of wood to obtain a finished product. The blade of this tool is a plate with a beveled cutting part, similar to a jamb knife.

For making the blades of these cutters yourself, old files are most suitable, and the process itself is no different from that described above.

In the process of gaining experience, the beginning carver will determine for himself the most convenient types of cutters, their shapes and sizes. He will learn to create excellent tools and beautiful wood carvings, and this activity may become a lifelong hobby for him.

Today's video is about making a homemade wood cutter or chisel from bearing steel. General principles will be shown on the basis of which other instruments can be made. Chisels and wood cutters are not a cheap pleasure, so using bearings you can profitably make the tool that you need.

A German bearing with an outer diameter of 22 mm was used as a donor. The bearing is not running, it worked for a long time, for 30 years it has neither worn out nor played. Here we can say for sure that the bearing is very good and of high quality. The first thing we will do is disassemble the separator, remove the balls and we will only need the outer race. From this clip you can get a workpiece 65 millimeters long. This will be enough for the cutting part and a little will be left to insert the wooden handle.

The workpiece is ready, now we will straighten it. But after it has cooled, you can separate it using a regular hammer. The length turned out to be 63 millimeters, quite enough. It is not necessary to straighten it completely. It already has a small groove for the balls; it needs to be enlarged using a drill. Diamond dental discs will be used. These are diamond coated discs.

We have obtained a semicircular inner surface for our future incisor; there is no need to make it the entire length. Now you need to make the outer surface semicircular. This should be done using a sharpener on a small stone. Now there is no need to worry about overheating, because we still have hardening to do. Now give a small finish using a fine abrasive disc. The most important thing is to treat the inside well and you can start hardening.

Hardening of bearing steel

Read more about how to harden metal for... In order to harden the bearing steel that we decided to use for a homemade cutter, we need to heat it to a temperature of 830 - 860 degrees and cool it in oil. The temperature will be determined by the color of the metal burning. It should be bright red. You can find metal heat colors online. For normal hardening, only the front part of about 10 millimeters needs to be heated. If you heat it evenly along the entire length of the workpiece, it will simply burst. You should also take into account that while you are carrying the metal to the oil, it has time to cool a little. Therefore, it is advisable to first slightly overheat it, bring it to the oil, and when the metal has received the desired color, dip it into it. The workpiece is hardened, this is done very easily.

Now, out of curiosity, let's check for hardness. To do this, we will use a file to sharpen the chain. This is a very good hard file. Let's try what we have on the cutting edge. The file does not take this steel. If we take the shank, then the file is a wonderful material.

Tempering of metal workpiece

Despite the fact that the blank for the future wood cutter is hardened, it is not finished yet. The cutter is very strong, but very fragile. If you work with such a cutter, it will definitely break. It is necessary to perform a tempering, which reduces brittleness without reducing hardness. Vacation is carried out at a temperature of 150-160 degrees. There is a slight difficulty in this, which lies in the fact that tarnish colors, for example, when heated, start from 180 to 200 - 220 degrees. This is already the temperature at which we cover the steel and its slight tempering occurs. It loses its mechanical properties, its hardness degrees.
How do we understand these 150 degrees? We'll need a piece of polypropylene that starts to sit at about 140 degrees and starts to melt at 160 degrees. We will use a regular iron for the holiday; we will produce it within 2 hours.
Using a clamp, secure the iron in a vertical position and plug it into a power outlet. We will add heat until the polypropylene begins to settle and leave small marks on the sole of the iron. This roughly corresponds to a temperature of 150 degrees.

1. Definition
2. Types of tools
3. How to do it yourself
4. Chisel from a milling cutter
5. Semicircular chisels
6. We use a file
7. Files
8. Angle chisels

Any craftsman who works with wood has carpentry chisels in his arsenal. This hand tool helps in processing wooden workpieces; a well-sharpened blade of various shapes is used for carving of any complexity. You can purchase ready-made sets of tools; experienced craftsmen prefer to make wood chisels with their own hands - these turn out to be perfectly adapted to a specific carver.

Definition

What is a chisel: this is a professional tool for a carpenter or joiner, which is used to prepare wooden blanks for processing, for chamfering, and applying carving patterns by removing excess layers of wood. The design includes a plastic or more often a wooden handle and a sharpened blade of various shapes.

Types of tools

A wood chisel in different designs helps the craftsman process wooden blanks and decorate products. For these purposes, tools with different blade shapes are used. Types of chisels for wood carving:

The presented types are used by craftsmen in different quantities. Their modifications can also be different: flat can be wide or narrow, angular - wide-angle or narrow-angle, round bend flattened or radial. Ready-made kits contain tools in different configurations, which are not always complete or necessary for a particular master. Therefore, many joiners and carpenters prefer to make chisels for wood carving with their own hands. The quality of work with such devices is no different from using factory tools.

Application for wood carving

Any woodworking professional should know how to work with this tool.

A wide chisel with a straight blade is suitable for primary processing of wooden workpieces. With its help, coarse fibers, knots, and other irregularities are removed. The tool can be used as a chisel to knock out holes using impact pulses.

The device is used to remove chamfers, the ends of narrow edges, and to machine recesses.

The tool is universal in use: it can be held at a right or sharp angle, depending on the desired effect. The lines are drawn by hand or using a ruler; for this it is better to use a metal one.

Curly chisels are used as needed in the same way: the tool is placed on the working surface and excess wood is removed using pressure movements. The impact force will allow you to get deep cuts and clear shapes.

How to do it yourself

Making a quality tool begins with the right choice of materials. For the blade you can take:

• Metal cutter. Among other blanks, this one has sufficient rigidity and holds an edge well.
• Metal drills will become the basis for narrow mini-chisels.
• A semicircle can be easily obtained from a used punch.
• A chisel for corners can be made from any profiled tool.
• The file will also be an excellent source for a carpenter's chisel.
• Needle files become the basis for creating a thin tool.

To make a mini chisel, you can take a small piece of metal as a blank. At home, it is more convenient to create small instruments.

For the handle, take a wooden beam. It is much more reliable than plastic, and it sits more confidently in the hand.

On the market you can find forged chisels for wood carving. They are made from durable carbon steel, they are resistant to wear and keep their shape and sharpness longer.

We will look at ways to create professional chisels from scrap materials.

Let's prepare the tool:

1. Metal cutter;
2. Pliers and forceps;
3. A container of water to cool hot metal.

Chisel from a milling cutter

A do-it-yourself chisel is made very quickly using the following algorithm:

In this way you can make straight or beveled mini chisels. Instead of a disk, any part made of durable steel will do.

Metal drill tool

How to make a chisel from a drill is not difficult:

• The tip is flattened with an impact load or cut off;
• Give the knife the desired shape. A drill makes excellent marigolds or rivets;
• Using the given algorithm we make a handle.

Chisels from drill are widely used in carpentry practice: they can be made easily and quickly, and most importantly - according to the required, thinnest sizes and shapes.

Semicircular chisels

The most common semicircular chisel for wood carving is obtained from a punch - the workpiece already has the desired shape. All that remains is to cut off the excess metal and sharpen the blade.

How to make a semicircular chisel:

1. Take a punch of the required diameter.
2. Use a saw to cut off the excess part of the radius.
3. While the metal is warm, it can be given the desired roundness, for example, a semicircle can be slightly flattened to obtain a semi-oval.
4. Sharpening the blade.
5. Let's make a handle.

We use a file

A file chisel is made on a grinding wheel. This is how thick straight cutters and chisels are made. It is necessary to sharpen the file at the desired angle and insert the workpiece into the wooden handle.

If desired, you can turn a corner chisel from a square file. To do this, you need to stock up on a good abrasive for a metal wheel.

Files

A thin needle file will make an excellent tool for cutting any shape. Moreover, you can do it right in the kitchen over the gas stove.

Angle chisels

For their production we use any profile product made of durable steel. Using the methods already described, we cut off the excess metal and sharpen the workpieces at the desired angle.

The tool can also be made by bending a workpiece of any shape, although this is not suitable for cutting hard wood.

How I make wood cutters. Homemade cutters

Actually, I’m a bit slow with mentoring, but I’ll try to tell you about professional production of wood cutters with your own hands. It makes sense to get into this business, I’m not afraid of competition, but every game should be worth the candle. Of course, making your own cutters is somewhat expensive and a lot of hassle. It is much easier to purchase one or two sets from a specialist for 10 USD. That is, without any prepayment. But if you have a desire to start your own business and some money to “promote” it, then read this material, evaluate your capabilities and... go ahead.

I offer the most simplified option for organizing a workplace for making wood cutters with your own hands. First of all, you need to have an anvil, preferably weighing about 100 kg, smooth, not broken, and securely mounted on a massive block (Fig. 1), dug into the ground or concreted in the ground. An anvil on a table or chair, as well as random pieces of iron or pieces of rail - all this is not serious, and even unsafe.

You will need a pair of forging tongs 0.5 m long. The easiest way to make tongs is from a steel rod with a diameter of 12 mm (Fig. 2). To bend workpieces, you can use round nose pliers and ordinary pliers with machined semicircular grooves in the jaws.

Rice. 3. Stationary forge with brick umbrella: 1 - water tank; 2 - hearth.

The forge is also required; its device is hardly worth describing. Let me remind you that a forge is a table with a hearth, that is, with a forge nest for heating workpieces. In the center of the hearth there is a tuyere through which air is supplied to the hearth from below, ensuring intense combustion of coal. Good examples are presented in the Do-It-Yourself almanac No. 1 for 1990 (in the article “Hephaestus’ Heirs”). One of these forges is shown in Fig. 3.

Our forge (Fig. 4) is simpler than the forge shown in Fig. 3. Its frame is welded from angle steel with a flange width of 40 mm, and roofing iron panels are mounted on the frame with rivets. The hearth is based on a steel plate 18 mm thick.

A rectangular hole measuring 80x150 mm is milled into it for a steel lance, also 18 mm thick. To prevent the tuyere from falling into the hole, the walls of the hole have a slight taper. Holes with a diameter of 5 mm in the tuyere - as many as possible.

The ash storage box is welded from 4 mm steel and welded to the plate under the tuyere (Fig. 5). I also note that on the pipe for supplying blast, instead of a gate-type air damper, you can successfully use an inch water (steam) tap. An inch pipe for supplying blast is also sufficient. Our forge, closed on three sides, has an exhaust pipe with a diameter of 250 mm and a height of about 4 m. We close the dampers on the chimney at night in winter.

A vacuum cleaner is suitable as a blower, but it is better to install a small centrifugal fan, as we have done. Any coal is suitable (even charcoal), just not very coarse. “Weeding out” will also do. It is advisable for the coal to be slightly damp, as such coal burns more evenly. It is preferable that the container with quenching oil be located in the forge itself - the air will be cleaner and more convenient.

The metal for cutters is usually selected as sheet metal, without shells. We also polish it. It is better not to use ordinary carbon steel for cutters: it is difficult to form a cutting edge, and if the workpiece heats up during sharpening, all the work will go down the drain. Good cutters come out of frame saws with a thickness of 2...2.5 mm; for small cutters you can cut an old hacksaw for wood. In general, it is very important to decide on a specific grade of steel, for example, make a supply of 9KhMF steel (it is not in short supply) and work only with it. At the same time, in the process of work, select the necessary hardening and tempering modes for the steel (at random or according to a reference book) and not suffer in the future with different steels from scalpels and bearings. After all, when working with steel alone, you will be confident that the product you make will turn out to be of high quality.

The metal from which woodworking tools are made (circular saws, frame saws, knives from thickness planers, tape blades, etc.), as I already said, are well suited for our cutters. Their working surfaces are smooth and polished. After all, what wood is meant to cut is what it's supposed to do. And besides, as a rule, the steels from which these tools are made have very similar hardening and tempering regimes.

To cut metal into blanks you will need powerful scissors. It's good if someone has access to the guillotine, but this situation does not always happen. An autogen petrol cutter is a bad helper in this matter - it makes splashes when cutting, the workpieces get uneven edges, and microcracks form in the metal. And alloy steel does not like such treatment - it warps and breaks. We have a tabletop eccentric machine for cutting sheet steel; it is at least 100 years old; they don’t make them like that anymore. With this machine, the effort of one hand is enough to cut a sheet of steel with a thickness of 5 mm or a rod with a diameter of up to 10 mm. When there was no machine, but it was bought in cooperative times, and very expensively, they got by using the old-fashioned method. An ordinary frame saw made of steel 9ХМФ, 9ХФ, 9ХС, etc. was chopped on an anvil with a chisel made from a drill with a diameter of 25 mm (sharpening angle - 90°). The metal was marked with a scriber and the sheet was cut through almost half its thickness in several steps. Next, the sheet was turned over and on the reverse side (the chisel marks were visible) blows were applied along this mark with the sharp toe of a plumber's hammer. As a result, the metal split like glass, and a fairly even split line was obtained. You just have to take into account that metal, like wood, has fibers along which you should cut. It is more difficult to cut across the grain. The work is hard labor, noisy and dangerous, as pieces fly in all directions. But people still use the cutters of that time and are not going to exchange them for the German “Solingen”. They don’t look as nice, but you can’t sharpen them with a file, in a word, not “bourgeois” things for six months of intensive work. Later we purchased a machine, brought it to mind, improved a few things, and things became more fun. So, the blanks are ready. You can now give the blanks the desired shape.

If you want to form a semicircular chisel for hand carving, then a strip of metal of the required width with a total length of 110...150 mm is placed in a forge on heated coal and the entire workpiece is evenly heated to approximately 1150 ° C (until a straw-yellow color). It should be noted that alloy steels really do not like extremes of heat treatment: underheating leads to cracks, overheating leads to coarse grains. The heated workpiece is very quickly transferred to the matrix, placed in the desired groove and, using a punch and hammer, the workpiece is given the shape of a groove. Now it should cool down on its own. No water or other forced cooling. When forming the shank, the end of the workpiece that you like less is again heated in the forge to the same temperature (up to 115°C), then its end part, 30...40 mm long, is flattened to a thickness of 6...7 mm. Flattening is carried out either in a small vice or on an anvil with a hammer (the latter method is not so accurate). Next, the shank is sharpened using sandpaper in the form of a cone, the working part of the future cutter is trimmed and sharpened at an angle of 20°. Hardening is ahead, but for now let’s look in more detail at the design of the dies and punches.

As you know, the matrix is ​​a part of the stamp that has a recess that matches the shape (or contour) of the part that needs to be produced. Another part of the stamp is a punch, which presses on the workpiece located in the matrix. One of our first matrices is shown in Fig. 6, from which it can be seen that the matrix is ​​a thick steel plate with several longitudinal recesses of different profiles. Any milling machine operator can make such a matrix. A 4-sided block is welded to the bottom of the matrix, with the help of which the matrix is ​​secured to the anvil. True, now we do not use a similar matrix for the manufacture of cutters of different profiles. It turned out to be more practical to make a personal matrix for each chisel of a particular profile.

As for the punches, for semicircular chisels they are made from round metal rods, forming a platform (flat) along the entire length of each rod for striking with a hammer. Knife-shaped plates of the metal used are used as punches for “stamping” narrow cutters. To form angle cutters, large triangular files are often used, in which the notch is ground off. But in mass production, a more “serious” steel than U7 is desirable for such a punch.

But let's get back to hardening. Here again it all comes down to the grade of steel. If you come across some kind of “exotic” product, then you need to find a reference book and dance around the heat treatment modes indicated there. If you prefer to torment a domestic frame saw or your grandfather’s hacksaw (not very old, since they used to be made of carbon steel), then again, please heat the cutter to the same 1150°C. Only this time, do not heat the entire cutter, but only its working part 20...30 mm long, then quickly immerse it in the oil, stirring vigorously. That's all the hardening is, if you don't take into account the almost glassy fragility of your masterpiece. So the hardened cutter is clearly not ready for work, and it still needs a vacation. If your “batch” of cutters consists of only one copy, you can release it on a candle. It is enough to clean the convex side of the cutter to a metallic shine and heat the inner surface of the working part of the cutter in a candle flame. Heating is carried out from the periphery of the working part to the cutting edge up to 300°C, that is, until a cornflower blue tarnish appears. In any case, try to spend a similar vacation. The activity is fascinating (Fig. 7).

Well, if the batch of cutters is large and there is no thermal furnace with an eternally inaccurate thermometer, they act differently. Prepare a container with mineral oil, load the tool into it and heat it in the usual way until boiling (which is the same 300°C). That's all. An excellent, soft and smooth vacation is guaranteed.

Next, the cutters are washed from oil, cleaned of scale, sharpened, brought to perfection, and handles are attached. Our handles are quite versatile; currently we use Manchurian walnut wood for them. The handles are beautiful, light, durable, and since the wood absorbs sweat from the palm well, the cutter does not slip in the hand. Wax mastic emphasizes the beauty of walnut wood texture.

We still make the crimp rings on the handles from brass; there was an opportunity to install iron factory ones, but we didn’t want to. They may cost us more, but the incisors have their own face, recognizable on the TV screen.

Wood has been and remains one of the best materials for interior decoration. Being completely natural, wood does not emit substances harmful to health either during processing or during use. Wood is practical, wood is beautiful. Using a simple tool, you can create a unique carved decoration: a panel, a box, a figurine.

Wood carvings are the best decoration for your own home and an excellent gift. Carving is not difficult, anyone can become a wood carver, you just need a little talent, a lot of perseverance and, of course, good wood carving tools.

What a beginner carver can't do without

Anyone who is lucky enough to be in the workshop of a real master of wood carving will be horrified - he uses so many different tools. My eyes just widen. The master will easily determine how to perform this or that stroke, what is best suited for this or that detail. Choosing the right carving tool largely determines the quality of the product.

A novice carver does not necessarily need to purchase a full set of tools; to make entry-level products, you can get by with a few of the most versatile knives and chisels. This will give you the opportunity to gain work experience, develop your own style, and then acquire exactly the instrument that will really be in demand.

Blunt knives

The most common knives for wood carving are jamb knives. They are used by both seasoned professionals and beginning carvers. Knives of this type have a beveled blade, making them convenient for creating small recesses. Their use is justified both for flat-relief sampling and for creating volumetric compositions.

A separate type of joint is a flag knife. It looks like a triangle, one corner stuck into the handle. This knife is universal; all areas of the blade are used in work.

Blunt knives differ in the angle of the cutting edge and the width of the blade. Based on the type of sharpening, a distinction is made between single-bevel and double-bevel. A beginning carver's toolkit should have several of these knives: at least three of different widths.

Geometric thread cutters

When making relief panels, you cannot do without another common carver's knife - a cutter knife. Thanks to the longer blade, this knife is ideal for creating ornaments in the shape of geometric shapes. They are convenient for processing curved shapes and roundings. So, triangles and other shapes are cut out with a hatchet knife.

In addition to creating flat reliefs, cutters are widely used for three-dimensional products. In skillful hands, a small cutter can be compared to an artist's brush.

Bogorodsky knife, “Tatyanka”

The phrase “Bogorodskaya toy” is familiar to many. This is a handmade wooden figurine. Almost the entire carving process, from preparing the workpiece to smoothing out small irregularities, is performed with a special knife, also called a Bogorodsk knife. Such a knife should definitely be in a carver's workshop.

A modification of this knife, popularly called “Tatyanka,” is widespread. When cutting soft wood, the full cycle of work can be completed with one tool. It is excellent for power carving; thanks to its comfortable handle, it ideally transfers force to the blade.

Chisels for wood carving

It is convenient to make samples of various configurations using chisels. Carvers use a variety of tools, but the most common are:

• straight chisels;
• semicircular or radius;
• cranberries, semicircular chisels with a bend at the cutting edge;
• stapled, having a U-shaped profile;
• corner

Unlike knives, the use of wood carving chisels allows you to make a groove of the required depth and profile in one pass. When working with soft wood, the chisel is pressed in by hand; carving on hard wood requires a striking technique. Here a wooden hammer or mallet will come to the aid of the master.

In addition to differences in profile, chisels also differ in size. There is a tool with a working edge from two millimeters to several centimeters.

In addition, there is another type of tools for engraving and wood carving - a graver. They can produce beautiful artistic works.

Other necessary tools

A carver cannot do with knives and chisels alone. It is necessary to acquire another tool designed for processing wood. The list can be very extensive, it all depends on the qualifications of the master and the list of products that he plans to produce. In any case, you will need:

• hacksaw or electric saw for cutting the workpiece;
• hatchet for roughing;
• plane and rasp for preparing the surface of the board;
• a set of patterns for transferring an image onto a workpiece;
• drill, manual or electric;
• nichrome wire for burning thin elements;
• sandpaper of different grain sizes for final finishing of the product.

It would also be a good idea to worry about safety when carving with a sharp tool. To fasten small products, a carpenter's vice or several clamps are needed. A protective glove made of steel wire will help protect your hands from injury; this is especially important for beginning carvers. If the work involves multiple movements of a sharp knife towards yourself, it is worth purchasing an apron made of thick leather.

Tool sharpening

For wood carving to be enjoyable and the created masterpieces to be pleasing to the eye, the tool must be sharp. If during work you feel an increase in the resistance of the material, you need to take a break and sharpen the tool. This will allow you to avoid using unnecessary effort when carving and guarantee the excellent quality of every stroke, every groove.

Sharpening should begin by leveling the working surface of the tool. To do this, use a coarse abrasive. It quickly and efficiently removes burrs and creates an ideal cutting edge.

Note! When working, it is important not to spoil the sharpening angle of the wood chisel and the geometry of the knife blade.

When working with emery, you need to be careful, you must not allow the metal to overheat; sudden temperature changes can “release” the cutting edge.

After large irregularities have been removed, they move on to fine-grained abrasives. During grinding, roughness that arose during rough sharpening of the carving tool is removed. The last ones to use are sanding mixtures applied to a felt base. They create a perfectly flat surface, reducing friction between the tool and the material to a minimum.

Selection and purchase

A novice carver naturally has a question: where to get a carving tool. Nowadays this is not a problem. The industry offers chisels and knives of all types and modifications. You can purchase several knives and one or two chisels, or you can buy a set of tools, guided by your own taste and financial capabilities.

Oddly enough, the wide range of carving tools makes the choice much more difficult. It's difficult to navigate and buy a really good thing. It is not difficult to become the owner of a “disposable” tool that will last for several hours of work.

Before purchasing a tool, you should definitely ask:

• grade of steel from which the tool is made;
• manufacturer;
• country of manufacture.

An instrument is an individual thing. When choosing a knife or chisel, the right thing to do is to hold it in your hands, check how convenient it is to use, and only then buy it. It would also be useful to communicate on thematic forums, where experts share their own experiences; they will be happy to give practical advice.

DIY knife

Many professionals do not accept purchased tools and prefer to work with ones they made with their own hands. This makes sense, because every knife, every chisel is perfectly adjusted to the master’s hand. This tool is convenient to use, your hand does not get tired, and it is easy to control the pressure.

This is a reasonable approach. Having experience working with metal and good steel, you can start making a universal Bogorodsk knife for wood carving or a hatchet knife. To do this, you can use a broken blade from a mechanical hacksaw with a thickness of 2 mm. A powerful electric sharpener is sufficient for the tool.

The outline of the blade is transferred to the workpiece and carefully processed along the contour. During operation, the workpiece must be periodically cooled by dipping it in a container of water.

For a person familiar with woodworking, making a handle will not be difficult. An ideal handle can be made from a cast made from plasticine held in your hand. A wooden block of suitable size is marked and clamped in a vice. Using a hacksaw (it is better to use a hacksaw for metal) remove excess. For final finishing, use a rasp and sandpaper.