Thread: Books or DVDs for beginners

G'day Clint.
Try this site Chris Pye Master Carver
Down the left hand side click on Carving workshops.tv
I hope it is some help.

Terry

Two quick comments that may help...

Regarding the palm tools vs longer handled chisels... I think it would probably be fair to say that most people who get into carving don't always know at the start, where the hobby will take them. For that reason the general advice is not to go overboard and buy heaps of chisels until you get the hang of what you want to do, then add them a few at a time as you discover the need. However it can go the other way too. Longer handled chisels can be used like palm chisels, but the reverse is not true. Keep your options open. You may not see the need to go beyond palm tools now but you never know...

Secondly, it is hard for books to give you everything you need to know. Even the 'step by step' books, while they can tell you what needs to be done, struggle to tell you exactly HOW it should be done. There is no substitute for someone experienced at your elbow advising you of the subtleties. Once you have the basics, then books become much more useful.

ClintO: Your description suggests "relief carving." Big or little/intricate/delicate? Even so, the diversity of tools is as broad as Whittling observes. That becomes an economic issue, with tool buying.
1a). Good tools are not cheap. That means they are of good steel and hold a "carving-sharp" edge longer than cheaper tools.
1b). I have big hands, many factory tool handles are too thin = all kinds of ways to bulk up the handles.
2. You run out of steam very quickly as the tools become dulled by the work. That implies that you have to learn how to sharpen carving tools. Butcher knives they ain't. Without face-to-face instruction, I never, ever, would have figured it out.
3. Start making noises = looking for relief carvers to see how & what they do. I do OK with books for many things. BUT for carving, books would have killed my interest. Watch it, do it, and I sucked that up like a dry sponge.
4. Then there's the fun business of selecting the wood, learning the wood.

Thanks for the comments
From memory there are woodcarvers at the Sydney WWW show, I may seek some face-to-face experience before outlaying anything on tools