Which Wood Carving Tools Do You Need

                                                       

By Jim Hingst

For most people, buying an entire set of  wood carving tools is a waste of money, even if they are on sale.  In many cases, the bargain set will include many tools, which you will neither need nor use. 

How many wood carving tools will you need? It depends on what type of carving you do. The great British woodcarver, Grinling Gibbons, had a collection of hundreds of gouges that he needed to execute his remarkably realistic and intricate Baroque sculptures.

You will be much better off passing up the tools on sale and only buying the tools you need.  A novice carver should just start with few basic wood carving tools.  I listed some of these in this article.  If you are just carving incised letter, you can probably get by with a v-parting tool, a couple of straight chisels and a couple of either #2 or #3 gouges.

 

You should also pass on the deals that you might find on e-bay. There’s nothing wrong with shopping on the internet. But if you buy used tools, sight unseen, you will never know what you are getting.

According to Butch Anton, you can, however, find some good deals at flea markets.  “Many times people sell quality tools, which they have inherited, with no idea of their value,” says Anton.  “Just inspect the tools carefully, before buying.”

He cautions to look out for wood carving tools that have been haphazardly sharpened on a grinding wheel before being put on the market. Grinding often overheats the metal, changing the temper of the steel.  Unless the steel is tempered again, the blade can never hold an edge.

Brand new, high quality tools can be moderately expensive. The advantage is that you won’t be buying someone’s junk.  If you want to know what type of tools that you will need to equip your shop, ask an experienced woodcarver.  

“I first learned to carve from a master craftsman,” says Francis Lestingi. “I figured, if the Pfeil brand was good enough for him, it was good enough for me.  Although I have tried other tools, this is the brand that I have stuck with.”

Whether you are buying tools on the internet or at a woodworking store, such as Woodcraft, only buy name brand products. Dastra, Henry Taylor, Pfeil, Two Cherries and Stubai are some popular brands of high quality chisels and gouges. You would not go wrong buying any of these brands of tools.  One way to determine your preference in tools is to purchase chisels and gouges in each of these product lines and judge for yourself.  

“Woodcarvers develop very strong brand loyalty,” notes Butch Anton. “Generally when someone starts working with a particular brand of tools, they stick with.”

If you are studying the specifications for a line a chisels, the most important physical characteristic is the hardness of the steel.  The hardness is rated on the Rockwell scale.  The steel should not be too soft, nor should it be too hard, but just right. Soft steel won’t hold an edge. Hard steel will be too brittle and prone to chipping. The right hardness is anything above 58 and below 63. 

Chisels. The cutting edge of a straight chisel is perfectly flat. There are a variety of these chisels to choose from.  Most of the one used for wood carving have a double-bevel blade, while others have a single bevel. In carving incised letters, straight chisels are primarily used to smooth the rough cuts with gouges.  Another type of chisel, which is has little use in sign carving applications, is a skewed chisel.  Its blade has an angle, while allows you to reach into tight places.

Gouges. Gouges are a type of chisel with a curved blade. Available in a variety of shapes, gouges are designed to scoop out large bits of wood.  The curvature of the blade is often referred to as its “sweep”.

Gouges are assigned a number, which describes its sweep.  Those with a low number, such as a #3, have a slight curve. The higher the number, the more curvature the blade has.  The more curvature that the blade has, the more wood that can be removed with each scoop.  For sign applications, the most frequently used gouges are #3, #5 and #7. 

In a perfect world, the number system would be the same for all gouge makers.   That, of course, would make life way too easy.  Just so you are aware, the English numbering system differs slightly from all of the other European manufacturers. 

Gouges are also available in a variety of blade widths.  Since most of the high quality chisels and gouges are manufactured in European countries, such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the widths are indicated in millimeters and not in fractions of an inch. 

V-Parting Tool.

A V-parting tool (or just called a parting tool) is one of the most versatile chisels and is an absolute necessity for any woodcarver.   Most people describe it as two chisels in one tool.  V-parting tools are available with blades at different angles.  Typically a 60º tool is used for carving incised letters.  But other 45º and 75º parting tools are also available.

In carving incised letters, sign makers use a V-parting tool to cut a groove down the center of is the stroke of a letter.  If you do any relief carving, you will also use this tool to outline the design as you start to carve.   In cleaning up the edges of your carving, you can also use it to give your work crisper definition.

Veiner.  

U-shaped gouges, called veiners, were given that name because they are used to carve the veins of leaves as well as fine lines in decorative molding.   

  

Other  Woodcarving Tools.

While straight chisels and straight gouges comprise the majority of the wood carving tools required for sign carving, an assortment of other types of gouges are also available. Spoon gouges, which have a bend shaft, are essential for reaching concave or recessed areas. Fishtail gouges, which feature a narrow shaft and a flared blade, are popular for cutting in tight corners.

Your choices don’t end there! Many manufacturers offer hundreds of different chisels and gouges in their product lines.  You can very easily spend a fortune on tools, if you are not careful. So only buy a new tool, when you determine that you absolutely, positively must have it.

Tool Recommendations

Below is a list of basic wood carving tools that you might consider for your collection. Since you may not be familiar with the metric system, I included the English equivalent (approximate) in parentheses.

• 8mm (5/16”) v-parting tool
• 12mm (1/2”)#1 straight chisel
• 24mm (1”) #1 straight chisel
• 38mm (1.5”)#1 straight chisel
• 12mm (1/2”)  #2 gouge
• 12mm (1/2”)  #3 gouge
• 20mm (3/4”) #3 gouge
• 6mm (1/4”)#5 gouge
• 12mm (1/2”)#5 gouge
• 4mm (1/8”) #7 gouge
• 12mm (1/2”) #7 gouge
• 12mm (1/2”) #9 gouge
• 4mm (5/32”) #11 gouge – veining tool

Mallet.   A mallet isn’t essential for wood carving. Some wood carvers, such as Dr. Lestingi, simply push their carving tools with their hands or tap on the end of the handle with a palm mallet.

Other carvers feel that for controlled cuts, a mallet indispensible.  While mallets are available in a variety of styles, weights and materials, most carvers prefer a simple hardwood variety, and keep both a large and small sizes on hand. Bronze-clad mallets, while being very attractive, are too hard and tend to mash the ends of chisel handles.  Don’t try using your framing hammer either.

Thinking Outside The Traditional Tool Box

When roughing out a shape, sign artist Chris Maylone (Christopher Maylone Studio, Chicago, IL) uses a variety of power tools, rasps and shavers. “There’s nothing sacrilegious about using power tools to rough out a job,” says Maylone. “They save valuable time, which I can devote to carving the detail work.”

Maylone also uses a number of tools designed for furniture and cabinet making. His studio is next to the shop of master furniture maker, Jeff Miller. Along with making custom wood furniture, Miller has authored several furniture-making books and teaches woodworking.

“Jeff has introduced me to a variety of woodworking tools, which I have used in carved signs,” says Maylone. “Some of my favorite woodworking tools are micro planes, Japanese saw rasps and spokeshaves.” A spokeshave is often described as a plane with handles.  In furniture making, it is typically used to shape the spindles of chair.  “If I am carving a dimensional letter,” he continues. “I use a concave spokeshave to round the edges.”

Once the carving is roughed out, Maylone uses an assortment of plaster chisels and gouges and rifflers for the detail work.  Rifflers are double-ended miniature rasps and files, which come in a variety of shapes. They allow you can to reach into tight places, which you can’t get at with a gouge.

 “A good set of rifflers and files are essential for shaping contoured designs,” says Maylone. “These tools provide fine control for removing a precise amount of wood with little chance of any tear out.”

To carve fine details and add surface textures to his carving, Maylone also uses an assortment of Italian plaster chisels.  “I learned about these tools when I went to art school in New York City,” he recalls. “Many of these tools I use “as is”. But I also have modified a number of them to suit my needs.”  

For really intricate detail, Maylone recommends using a flexible shaft carving system.  With a variety of micro bits, he can cut and texture a surface with much greater detail than is possible with gouges. 

WOODCARVING TOOL RECOMMENDATIONS

PFEIL "Swiss Made" 6mm (1/4") #7 Sweep Fishtail Gouge

PFEIL "Swiss Made" 10mm (25/64") #7 Sweep Fishtail Gouge

PFEIL "Swiss Made" 6mm (1/4") # 12 Sweep V-Parting Tool

Wood Is Good 170-1012 12-Ounce Mallet

● Essential tool for making precise cuts.

● Features durable urethane head.

POWER CARVING TOOLS RECOMMENDATIONS

Foredom 5400 TX Motor, Woodcarving Kit

Set of 5 – 1/4" Shank, Ball Nose, Cylinder, Flame, Sphere, Coarse Grit, Green – End Mill, Carbide Burr Bit by Saburr Tooth 

Set of 5, 1/4 inch Shank, Ball Nose, Cylinder, Flame, Sphere, Extra Coarse Grit, Orange - End mill & Carbide Burr Kit by Saburr Tooth

Set of 5, 1/4 inch Shank, Ball Nose, Cylinder, Flame, Sphere, Fine Grit, Yellow - End mill & Carbide Burr Kit by Saburr Tooth

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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 485 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

Slides of Jim's Artwork

© 2015 Jim Hingst