Help for a beginner please

[calexs]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to all this but keen to get up and running. I've been interested in wood craft from a distance for a while but have decied to give it a try myself.

I'm particularly interested in using driftwood and wood burls since I find their forms and natural shapes fascinating.

On to my question: I've ordered a woodcarving set containing

4 x Straight Gouges - 6.3, 9.5, 15.9 and 25.4mm blade widths.
2 x Straight Chisels - 6.3 and 12.7mm blade widths.
2 x V Straight Parting - 9.5 and 12.7mm blade widths.
1 x Spoon Gouge - 19mm blade width.
1 x Spoon Chisel - 19mm blade width.
1 x Curved Gouge - 12.7mm blade width.
1 x Skew Chisel - 12.7mm blade width.

I'm hoping to try my hand at carving (not turning) smallish wooden bowls as I find good examples very beautiful, especially after oiling reveals the grain and natural tones of the wood.

Will the tools listed allow me to do this? I was hoping the curved gouge and spoon gouge would do the trick for the inside bowl shaping. I can't really afford an adze at the moment and don't intend to use huge chunks of wood.

Any help would be hugely appreciated and I apologise in advance for any ignorance on my part!

 

[Baggy]

Hiya

All I see missing is an axe, for the roughing out.

 

[HHazeldean]

That sounds like a great kit! Where did you get it?

 

[Exbomz]

I reckon you'll be able to carve any shape you wish with that lot. To carve a small bowl, a small hook/spoon knife would be sufficient. If you want bigger shapes, then with a wooden mallet and your chisels, you'll have no problem making any shape you want, and not just bowls.

Driftwood may not be kind to the tool edges (sand etc in the grain), so learn to sharpen your tools early and keep them sharp (I notice there is no sharpening kit on your list but you may have that already), and unless you have a good source for burrs, expect to pay handsomely for them - they are very popular and sought after!

 

[calexs]

Thanks for that. Good point about the driftwod, I didn't think of that. And no, I have no sharpening kit so I'll need to get that sorted. I don't have a good source for burrs and have seen how expensive they can be!

 

[Home Guard]

When finishing. A Birchwood Casey stock finishing kit is available from most gunshops for around £20. It contains all the oils and sandpaper and wire wool needed to get an almost mirror finish on worked wood. They also sells a few different styles of beeswax and other oils.