Carving help/advice needed... Please!

[TylerD]

Hi folks,

As the post says, I need some carving help... mainly because I'm crap at it!
I'm attempting to make an "Odin's Hammer" pendant, and before I mutilate a fine piece of bone or horn I thought I'd practice on a random off cut of wood from when I threw a gate up to stop my dog from bolting up the side of our house.
Sadly, this "prototype" looks like its made from bizarre coloured play-dough, I even tried to cheat with the finer detail by using a dremel type tool, but that went down the pan too, and now it just a messy bit o'wood.

So, any of you fine ladies or gentlemen care to share your wisdom?

Ta

 

[Stanleythecat]

Hi TylerD

I should have thought the most ideal thing would be to find a nicer piece of wood to practice on. If you are using knotty, or splintery wood and you have yet to hone your skill you might find it harder work. Try to find some nice seasoned close grained wood to work with, with sharp tools you should pick up an understanding of how to work with the grain of the wood and before long be making more out of rougher pieces if you have to.

I would imagine that bone is a quite different material to work with altogether, tho to some extent easier in the sense that it has no grain to speak of?

Leo

 

[Tadpole]

Have away to your local tip, or junkshop, and find a busted chest of draws, chances are the front of the old brown chest of draws will be a fairly decent hard wood like Mahogany.

 

[TylerD]

Cheers for the tips, folks

 

[Front Room Woodlander]

Draw a number of designs from front, side and back.
Try out your design with play dough or a bar of soap. Practice big and work down to the real thing in size.

 

[TylerD]

Bar of Soap, eh?! That's fantastic! I'd have never thought of that, ta very much I'll bag a value pack tomorrow and get started.

 

[shaggystu]

wax is good to practice on as well, you can get some really big candles and you can always burn them when they go wrong! the nice thing about candles is that they tend to be round, just like wood.

cheers

stuart