Thread: basic tools and suitable timber

what should i buy and where for a 14 yo withan interest in carving
basic tools, timber etc
astrid

McJing have a 12 piece carving set that is good value for money. It was recommended elsewhere on this site a long while back and I bought one. Jacaranda is a nice timber to carve and readily available.

Cheers
Michael

Who's Mc Jing and where do I get jaccarandah
astrid

i asked the tool questiond a wile back and got little advice but i found some old clay tools that were lying around and started this.



i got some advice from my uncle about what timber to use he is unbelivably good at carving he made this clock out of red cedar i gave him.



he recomends

red cedar
camphor-laurel
mango
tipuana (american rosewood)

Originally Posted by astrid

Who's Mc Jing and where do I get jaccarandah
astrid

type McJing or mc jing or Mcjing or pretty well any variant into google. Jacaranda grows on trees.

I help those who help themselves.

cheers
Michael

Astrid try this link

I have two jacarandas in my garden but i dont think it will season before x mas
astrid

Hi,
I started a bit of carving last year and i bought a FlexCut set of carving tools From Carbatec. http://www.carbatec.com.au/store/ind...80_12000_12020
They are very sharp and I really enjoy using them.

I also bought a Pfiel gouge to hack out more substantial lumps of timber.
I used some McJing tools in a Woodcarving class and they were good to use, too. http://www.mcjing.com.au/woodworking/index.htm

Happy carving!

www.littleshavers.com has an excellent starter set, wish they would have been available when I started! But not sure the shipping wouldn't mess you up? you can check tho.

G'day Astrid et al,
Can't add much to the discussion except to suggest that you look up any Pattern makers that you can, and ask if they have off-cuts or used pieces of Jelutong that you can have, it's an easy wood to work with, similar to the Basswood that is so popular in the U.S. and Canada. You can also buy it by mail through http://www.thewoodsmith.com.au/thewoodsmith/ here in Victoria although it might be a bit costly.

My other suggestion is that you invest in an ambidextrous KEVLAR glove to prevent cuts to the hand holding the work, these can be bought from Carba-tec for around $15......Hope this helps.
John in Victoria

looks like a trip to C-Tec is on.
Need a new pull saw blade anyway.
trouble is, it always brings out my Brighton side. aka shop til u drop.

astrid

The carvers might be hesitating because it depends on the type of carving your daughter wants to do.
Cheap kits can be frustrating if they have cheap metal and badly fitting handles. The ones mentioned previously are good tools.

Many years ago I went to a woodcarving course. The teacher mainly did scrolls and features on reproduction furniture. Lots of work with cedar sideboards.

I ended up with about six chisels. They are about 30cm long.
A good V tool for outlining shapes and sharp lines.
A small diameter gouge, maybe about 3mm diameter.
Two gouges with gentle curves about 10mm wide. These are good for sculpting waste away.
A 25mm wide deep curved gouge for removing lots of wood quickly and forming scrolls.
Another 25mm goughe but a fairly flat gouge.

The combination allowed me to carve a large scroll and carve most larger shapes.
Over time I have added more and especially like the Fishtail small and large gouges for shaping round parts.
I haven't done any fine figure carving but have seen carvers use the Flexcut kit. Most seem to shape their own tools from old files.

Choose any of the softer even grained timbers. Cedar is easy to carve with sharp chisels. Huon can be very finely carved.
Pear and lime are favoured by carvers.
You should be able to find small pieces at timber suppliers.
Radiata is good to practice on because you don't need much force to carve with the grain.

Make sure you get a nice solid round mallet.

I hope this is some help.