Tiki Chess Set, Beginner’s Carving Project

Step 16: With your v-gouge cut along the pencil line of the eye lid half-circle. This drops the wood just a small amount. Use your bench knife to lower the wood in the wood surrounding the eye lid.

V-gouges  come in a variety of sizes and angles.  The most common v-gouges found in a beginner’s tool kit are 90 degree angles between the two cutting sides.  A 1/4″ width of the cutting sides is also common.  Micro v-gouges can be a small as 1/16″ for the cutting side.  For a beginner the larger sides are more useable, a large v-gouge can be used to cut both deep and shallow troughs depending on how deep into the wood you set the cutting edge.

For tight corners as where the eye lid touches the side of the nose You can use one corner of the cutting edge of your round gouge to tease out the excess wood.

Round gouges also come in a variety of sizes which vary on how wide the cutting edge is and how arched the curve of the gouge edge is.  Small or tight round gouges may be marketed under the name of u-gouge or veining tool.  Wide open round gouges used to create the cup shape in bowls and Welsh Love spoons is called a sweep.

Follow this cutting stroke with a stop cut with your bench knife to lift the wood slivers.

 

 

 

Lower the wood in the cheek area with a push cut into the lower edge of the eye lid v-gouge trough.

 

 

 

American Folk Art Ice Fishing Decoy Carving Learn folk art ice fishing decoy carving with this in-depth step-by-step project taught by Lora S. Irish. This sixty page e-book includes an introduction to the history of ice fishing decoys, the six basic carving cuts needed to create these fun fish, and two complete projects. Complete your decoy with the painting steps and by creating a simple wire hanger.