Hey, MORE Common Chip Carving Questions 😮

Published: Fri, 08/14/20

Hi ,

My wood is really dry and brittle. What can I do?

The easiest way to increase the moisture content in your wood is to get yourself a cooler with a lid.

Place an open pot of boiling water and your wood on edge inside the cooler. Put the lid on the cooler and let it sit overnight. In the morning the moisture content in the wood will have increased quite a bit and it will carve nicely.

It’s possible to increase the moisture as you carve by spot spraying the wood with a 50/50 mixture of water and rubbing alcohol. This won’t penetrate the wood as much as the previous cooler method but it will help relieve some of the dryness.

For information on other ways to solve this problem, check out this Community Post inside the Wood Preparation Forum.

How long have you been doing this?

While I’ve been chip carving since 1985, it doesn’t take a long time to get good results. With proper instruction, good technique and a sharp knife, you can get good results in a few months. Other styles of wood carving require years of practice and a lot more tools.

Here’s a picture of one of my very first chip carved items. The box is made from pine as this was the wood I had available to me.

How do you get that kind of finish?

The finish shown on this plate always gets a lot of attention and interest. It looks more complicated than it really is.

Step 1: Remove all leftover pattern lines (Tombow Sand Eraser)
Step 2: Very lightly take a few strokes across the surface with 220 grit or finer abrasive.
Step 3: Vacuum off all the dust
Step 4: Spray one coat of clear finish (Satin Lacquer or Matte Acrylic) on the entire carving. Let dry for 45 - 60 minutes
Step 5: Repeat Step 4 and 5 two more times
Step 6: Brush an even coat of gel stain (color of your choice) into the recessed areas of your carving and wipe off any gel stain that gets on the surface using a cotton cloth wrapped tightly around your finger. Let dry overnight.
Step 7: Apply more gel stain as needed to any areas that need more color. Let dry overnight.
Step 8: Repeat Step 4 to complete the process.

How did you learn to do this?

I was first inspired to learn how to chip carve after seeing an article about chip carving in the Dec.1985 Issue of Fine Woodworking. My daughter, Bethany, was born in Dec.1985 so I always know how long I've been carving.

I made my own knife to give it a try and soon ordered a knife and bought the Wayne Barton VHS videotape (I've still got the tape :-)

It wasn’t long after watching the tape and drawing practice patterns on my boards that I was making some decent looking chips.

I’ve been chip carving ever since then apart from a 6 year respite while living in Indonesia. I carved one plate while living there. I turned the plate from a wood similar to Mahogany. I remember dripping with sweat while carving it under the shelter behind our house. That was my one and only carving while living there.

Woods are very dense there and not good for chip carving. Mallets and chisels, yes! Hand knives, not so much. I looked for softer woods but couldn't find any. Ironwood is so common it would be comparable to Ponderosa Pine here in the Midwest.
Ironwood (Ulin, kayu besi) has a Janka Scale rating of 3000 while Basswood has a 440 rating. That rating says it all!

P.S. I'm working on the next Course - Chip Carving Borders. Stay tuned! Check out the other Courses that are ready right HERE!