Kindel
Furniture specializes in carvings for furniture. And the
majority of those seem to be acanthus leaves or shells. So tonight, I decided to re-familiarize myself with the age old favorite from the old architectural carving files. However! Instead of working in a piece of scrap oak or pine, I decided to purchase a small piece of Maple to work on.
( Hey! It was on SALE!) It was a small piece( so I can take it with me to the interview) I had to elongate the pattern so it would fit on a 1.5 inch section. ( rather smaller than what I usually do) Well, the first attempt, I tried to play it with no power tools, just chisels. It didn't like the results and it seemed to take a LONG time. The next one,
I used the router to set it down 1/4 inch and I think it turned out much better. I know I still have to clean it up a bit in the corners and background, but I like it. I'm not sure if they sand it smooth or just leave it with the chisel finish. One thing is for sure. I need to resharpen my chisels!
I lightly touched them up for the tree carvings, however, when dealing with smaller detail, I can see that they are not as sharp as they once were. So I'll probably be slaving this weekend to get them micro keen. It's always good to have scary sharp chisels anyway. Enjoy!
Furniture specializes in carvings for furniture. And the
majority of those seem to be acanthus leaves or shells. So tonight, I decided to re-familiarize myself with the age old favorite from the old architectural carving files. However! Instead of working in a piece of scrap oak or pine, I decided to purchase a small piece of Maple to work on.
( Hey! It was on SALE!) It was a small piece( so I can take it with me to the interview) I had to elongate the pattern so it would fit on a 1.5 inch section. ( rather smaller than what I usually do) Well, the first attempt, I tried to play it with no power tools, just chisels. It didn't like the results and it seemed to take a LONG time. The next one, 
I used the router to set it down 1/4 inch and I think it turned out much better. I know I still have to clean it up a bit in the corners and background, but I like it. I'm not sure if they sand it smooth or just leave it with the chisel finish. One thing is for sure. I need to resharpen my chisels!
I lightly touched them up for the tree carvings, however, when dealing with smaller detail, I can see that they are not as sharp as they once were. So I'll probably be slaving this weekend to get them micro keen. It's always good to have scary sharp chisels anyway. Enjoy!
3 comments:
There's something about these established designs that always look good to me. Thats why they 've been around so long I suppose. We were looking over the tomb of the kings in Pafos a few months ago and the art there looks good to me. Its not my period, mediaeval, but pre Christian Greek and Roman . I suppose what looked right then looks right now.
Now your chisels, send them over here Allen, I've just got a Sorby Proedge sharpenening system. Even at my first clumsy attempts it gives a good edge.
On second thoughts let me spoil a few of my own chisels till I get the hang of it.
ds great! I personally hate sharpening. Sometimes i think I make them worse than before! So I constatnly read up on ways to "speed up" the process. And When i finally get that lovely edge that slides through wood, I try not to mess with itOR it becomes my new favorite tool and I use it all the itme!
I never knew the name of the acanthus leaves. I have seen them used in decorating so many things in old houses but didn't know there was an actual plant that they were based on. Thanks for sharing.
Post a Comment