Woodworking

[Haseo]

Well I would like to get into working with wood. Carving, burning, etc. I am clueless on where to begin and would like some advice. I would like to make some of my own things for my alter but I lack all skills required xD Any push in the right direction would be helpful

[Ektor]

Re: Woodworking

I'm interested in that, too!

[Yorin]

Re: Woodworking

Carving and whittling and such I can't really help with~burning on the other hand....totally my forte.

However, what I use is expensive as all hell. Like $300 for the wood burner alone, and thats not talking extra pens. Here's what I would recommend for a beginner who wants to get serious about it:http://www.amazon.com/Walnut-Hollow-...ds=wood+burner

Its got the temperature control needed to do really pretty shade work, but doesn't have the same dent to your pocket. My only problem with them is that the different tips in them don't always stay put, and you have to keep tightening them and they sometimes get stripped really easily. But again, good if you're not 100% sure if you're going to stick with it.

The book I would recommend for beginner stuff is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Woodburning-St...d+burning+book

Its the one I've got and I learned a hell of a lot from it, and was a great starting place for me. If you wanna see some of the stuff you can make from it either check out my photo albums on my profile, or the thread I started with stuff about my studio, or any of the links in my signature will take you to see either different shops or galleries for all of my stuff.

[Haseo]

Re: Woodworking

Thanx Yorin. I was kinda hoping you'd be responding to this I really like your work, however, even if it isnt as good as yours, I still would rather make my own things for my alter. No offense ofc and I am really interested in one of those chests I was also looking at chip carving, but the burning has a certain appeal to it. I do like to have trade skills like this tho so Im still interested in carving. Sculpting is possible in my future as well, I just havent really decided where to begin.

[Monk]

Re: Woodworking

I do a bit of wood working and at my age now have quite a lot of nice tools. But you don't need a lot of fancy stuff to start out with and still turn out nice things for your alter. I started out with a good small sharp knife. This is key to carving and you'll need to learn how to keep your knife sharpened and your fingers out of the way of your blade. Remember to carve away from your body and limbs in case you slip. I don't know your ages so you may have to get permission to have a knife no matter how small. And if your in school please don't take it there no matter what. I get a lot of my carving materials by walking in the woods and picking up what looks interesting to me. Sometimes I work with old dry wood and sometimes I dry it myself. I let it dry for a year or more if it is still green(not dry yet inside)as this will reduce the risk of your carving splitting. All I do is stand it up on end in a corner somewhere inside and wait.
Some different grades of sandpaper is nice to have also but not necessary. Goggle burnishing scrapper and read how they are used, a lot of times you can make your own from stuff laying around a tool bench or a flat piece of metal.
As far as for wood burning goes I often use a piece of coat hanger wire held with a small pair a vice grips and a propane torch. I can't stress this enough BE CAREFUL! Another alternative to a wood burning set is a simple soldering iron to start out.
Don't worry about being as good as others are, very few of us are prodigy's. If you really don't like what you've carved learn from what you did and start over. If you get frustrated put it down and go do something else for a while.
As most wood is cheep and easy to find(as in scraps others find to small to use.)just laying around you should have a lot to practice with. I would recommend you start out with soft woods like white pine or aspen. Have fun and don't worry about what others think about your creations. If it is pleasing to you that is all that matters in the long run.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Woodworking

Well I would like to get into working with wood. Carving, burning, etc. I am clueless on where to begin and would like some advice. I would like to make some of my own things for my alter but I lack all skills required xD Any push in the right direction would be helpful

Try taking an adult ed class at a local high school.

That's what I did to get access to tools I couldn't afford, and I was able to make a lot of the furniture I needed - but also couldn't afford.