Wood Carving - An introduction & videos

I guess you could describe many methods you do as wood carving from using a gouge to a die grinder or a carving disc on an angle grinder.

I love my hand tools as you will know from my earlier videos but when I got my hands on the Makita cordless die Grinder I knew instantly that I was about to really mess up some very nice hard wood.

I dont mean do a mediocre job, I mean I was about to let the Kutzall burrs do as much damage as I could in one battery cycle. And I did.

The Results

After turning a board of Sapele into shavings and splinters I had learnt one or two things from maybe one hundred that you need to learn to be at least an average wielder of a powered carving tool. But importantly I had learnt that this has a place in my making process. Not for every build but definitely for builds where I want to create something unique and, if I am honest, something less than planned and controlled.

The box you see being made in the video below is one that I was commissioned by a close friend to make for his brother’s 50th birthday. The only real brief I had was 2 contrasting woods and enough space to hold cigars. Not quite a humidor but more or a box to keep them in. Thank you goodness, because I read about humidors and not only are they made from a specific wood but the process requires more planning and accuracy than I feel like I currently possess.

I titled the video ‘square boxes’ because being a YouTuber and a woodworker I have to try and decide what title and thumbnail gives it the best chance of success but I truly believe that the most interesting part of the video is the grinding of the floating Sapele that makes the lid.

Take a watch and see what you think. And dont get me wrong, I have tried to work through a beginners guide to square boxes and I think I have found a very good blend between making it attainable and also relatable to those who don’t have every tool at their disposal. So I hope it ticks both boxes in a way.

If you watch the video and are intrigued I will reiterate the advice that I gave on the carving tools page. Take your time when picking your gear. I went cordless and have to say that the battery life will be an issue. Slowly build up your collection of burrs. Buying 10 at once will be fun at the time but it is an expensive investment if you decide that this is not for you. Like anything in woodworking I guess, buy what you need for the project you are doing. And then there is the biggest advice I can give from one beginner two another. Never let the grind move in then direction the burr is spinning. Like a router you have the most control when you are moving into the turn. I hope that this makes sense and check back soon for more carving videos.

I hope you enjoy making a mess because you will. For sure. But with a smile on your face. A great big smile.

PS Sapele is not the best wood for this. The box lid took 7 hours of scraping and sanding to clean up. I will let you know when I have a better option. Dont bet against Black Walnut as that seems to be the best for every Youtube based project.