Beginner's Carving Chisels?

[OPJ]

Hello everyone.

I've no hands-on experience of carving as of yet but in the pipeline for the near future I intend to have a go at carving the letters on a house sign.

Something fairly simple, in either oak or sapele (I haven't quite decided) and maybe I'll make another after that.

My first thoughts were of how daunting a task this is going to be. But after reading a couple of books on Letter Carving in Wood and Making Wood Signs this is one challenge I'm no longer afraid of (just as long as my tools are sharp - I smell a Tormek on the way... :wink: ).

I'm not entirely sure where to look in the way of getting my first set of carving chisels and gouges, etc. Rutlands seem to have some very nice ones in the catalogue and the prices seem quite reasonable. But these will probably only be for rare and occasional use - do I need to spend as much?

If anyone has any advice or suggestions on where to look and what to go for, I'd really like to hear from you please.

Thanks,

Olly.

 

[Chris Knight]

Olly,

There has been quite a bit of discussion in the past on carving chisels. A general purpose start outfit is mentioned here https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... 818#131818

For lettering a somewhat different set is in order. If you Google for Chris Pye and Auriou you will find a set Chris Pye recommends. They are expensive, but there is no need to buy this brand, I would recommend The Swiss chisels available from Tilgear if buying new.

Cheap sets are likely to disappoint you I am afraid. A good carving chisel requires a well shaped edge and a thin, well shaped cross section - most cheap chisels come nowhere near meeting these requirements.

Different ways of lettering exist and it can be done with a couple of knives - I have a book somewhere (the title of which I forget but will try to find) that describes this. I was taught by Chris Pye however and that is the method I know.

BTW, A Tormek would be a waste of money for carving chisels IMHO (and I own one but never use it for my carving chisels).

 

[wizer]

Sharpening carving gouges is certainly an art in itself. Chris showed me once, yet another occasion where he subtly dazzled me by his skills and drew me closer to the brow of the slope!

Good luck with the letter carving Olly. Please show us your results. Carving is something which fascinates me and I think letter carving may be my next adventure.

 

[mudman]

Olly,

You can find Chris Pye's recommended set for lettering here

It is quite expensive but they are nice tools, I do like the Aurious that I have. If you are just trying it out, then I doubt you would need all those chisels at first. You are unlikely to need all the fishtail chisels at first and maybe not all the gouges but that will depend on the letters you are carving.

I would probably go with Chris's minimum recomendation that I seem to remember him having in his book. Then buy the best ones you can afford. Then expand on this starter set if you get bitten by the bug.

 

[Chris Knight]

drew me closer to the brow of the slope!

The Slope has agents everywhere..

 

[OPJ]

Thanks for the ideas guys.

Unfortunately, the price on Chris Pye's set put it totally out of the questions for me. I defintely can't afford that much, as much as I'd like to spend it! :wink: I had another look in the Rutlands catalogue this week and I'm still tempted by a set of £35 Dakota chisels.

On the subject of knives, I recall reading about this in one of the two books I have (I think one's also from Chris Pye, by the way). It's certainly something else for me to consider. They don't seem to be over-priced in the Rutlands catalogue and I can see the appeal of cleaning up letters with a knife, something I wouldn't feel comfortable doing with a larger chisel. After all, this is pretty finely-detailed woodwork we're thinking of, not an unseen joint.

Chris, can I ask how you would suggest sharpening gouges by hand if you don't think a Tormek is worth the investment just yet? Are there any good books you could suggest (I've only been taught plane irons and bevel-edged chisels)? Perhaps one of David Charlesworth's? I plan on getting in to turning later this year as well, so I may still need that Tormek in the end. But still, I like to learn how to use my hand tools properly, in my own time. The good old fashioned way.

 

[Chris Knight]

Olly,
A good book that describes sharpening well - apart from Chris Pyes's books (Like Woodcarving, Tools, Material,and Equipment -vols 1&2) - is Woodcarving The Beginner's Guide by William Wheeler and Charles H. Hayward.

You can put the initial bevel on with a cheap high speed grinder of the sort that costs a tenner at Machine Mart and the like but the bulk of the work is done on oilstones and with handheld slipstones. Indeed, on small tools I prefer to use a bench stone for the initial bevels too. I stress again that the shaping of the edge is just as important as the sharpness in a carving chisel and it is easier to get a good shape going at it slowly with hand techniques. Subsequent touch up buffings/ sharpenings needn't take too long.

For knives for lettering you could make a couple that would be suitable from large powered hacksaw blades - look at the web for examples of "Mill Knives" - like these for example http://www.rmurphyknives.com/MillKnives.htm

 

[NickWelford]

I use the Ashley Isles sharpening system for my carving chisels, although I sometimes use my Tormek first if there is much to take off - such as in older chisels picked up in car boot sales. The AI buffing wheel and some green stuff brings the edge up a treat. You need to put them on an old or cheap bench grinder - no problem.

http://www.ashleyiles.turningtools.co.u ... rpkit.html