Bama's carving tools

[bama]

This is my carving set. I sorted the set by maker and in doing so I realized I had as many Marples as I do Swiss and Henkel's. Some are used more than others as you can tell by the dark handles but I use all at some point in time.

The blue handle Marples are my work horses for roughing in work and barrel channels. I use all the gouges in setting in the carving. The various flat's are used in background removal and the V-tools are used more for chip carving than anything else.

The small set of hand made tools have many uses from setting in carving to inlay work to wire work. I placed the carving knives in with is picture.

I picked the brown handled Marples up at a yard sale for $15 bucks. I always keep my eyes open for good chisels.

[ironwolf]

Wow!

[Acer Saccharum]

Don't be scaring us with all those tools!

[gumboman]

Bama,
Very nice tools. They look familiar to me. Is it possible that I have used some of those tools on a project you are helping me with? My Isaac Haines build has seen some of those cutting edges I suspect. Unless I am terribly mistaken, you are my coach. If I am wrong please ignore my remarks.
gene

[A.Merrill]

     I don't know what I would do with that many tools...    AL

[Topknot]

Bama, you sure do have a vast array of tools. How long has it taken you to collect them and do you actually use them all? Also, which tools do you find yourself using the most? Your favorites?

                                              Thanks in advance,

                                                                     topknot

[P.W.Berkuta]

A man can't have enough tools or guns -- or cool cars, or fly rods, or ------  !

[Jerry V Lape]

Nice collection.  I would only add for the newcomers to wood carving that nothing near this extensive is required to do best quality work.  Bama may be a hoarder - wonder how many cats he has in the house?   

[Acer Saccharum]

This photo illustrates that a vast selection of tools is not needed for carving your gun.  I used but a handful of tools for this style of carving:



If your carving gets more complex, you may want to acquire more tools to make the job easier, or for a better outcome. Keep in mind that much antique American rifle carving is simple, and not very refined. This is no reason for you not to aspire to greatness, but the reality is most of these guns were tools with decoration on them.

[Darrin McDonal]

Acer, what do the flat fish tails do for you.I don't have any with that shape but I have been thinking of getting a couple, but not flat ones.
Never mind Acer. I saw your older tutorial and I saw that they weren't flat but #3 sweeps I believe. That's what I am considering purchasing.
Darrin

[Acer Saccharum]

I like the fishtails because they cut across the grain, even when it's curly, without tear-out. I suppose a straight gouge of same curvature would work just as well. But I like the fishtail for sneaking around curves a little better, and the narrow shank doesn't hide as much of the work.

I think a #3 sweep is the flattest you can buy unless you can get a dead flat, which I don't want. Maybe I could makes some of flatter curvature, like a #2 or a #1 1/2

[Joe S]

Ask and ye shall receive.  I believe these folks will swap chisels for zucchinis.  At least that’s what I’ve heard.

http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/IL-CP-212.XX

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020464/22403/pfeil-Swiss-made-2-Sweep-Gouge-5-mm-Intermediate-Size.aspx?keyword=brandpfeil_Swiss_made_and_adwords_labelsIntermediate_Size&refcode=10INGOPB&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CMnCrq3A7b0CFYdFMgod6XkALA

[bama]

Gunbowman you are correct i am your coach and we have used these on your project.

I use all of these tools at some point in the building process not all are used for carving. I use gouges setting in the design i do very little carving with them. I do most of the relief work with the flat chisels some are double bevel a some are single bevel. One of the main chisels i use for relief is the double bevel Swiss that the cutting edge is on a 45. I use the various flats for leveling the background and cutting moulding lines and relieving.

I do agree the you can make do and use less tools to do carving. A few of my chisels are dupicates but not to many. I like to have what i think is the proper tool for the job. Like the scoop chisels, i use those to cut in round patcbox cavities. I dont use them much but i have them when i need then.

It has taken me nearly 40 years to collect these so don't be scarry.

[eagle24]

Jim,  Regarding the Marples chisels, I have a question.  Do you (or anybody) know if the quality of the newer Marples chisels is as good as the old vintage Marples?  I believe Cooper Tools owns the Marples name and markets it under their Irwin brand.

[Jim Kibler]

I'm not familiar with the older Marples tools, but I have a set of the blue handled tools and find them to be pretty good.  Not top of the line, but I use them for stocking on a regular basis and find them to be very adequate.  Mine are probably twenty or so years old.

[bama]

I am going to assume that the brown handled Marple chisels are older than my blue handled Marples.

As Jim K said the blue handle chisels are not meant to be a carving set but more of a work horse for heavy duty wood removal. They have heavy shanks with heavy bevels and a handle material that can withstand a lot of punishment.

The brown handled chisels seem to have good steel in them as they sharpen to a very good edge, but again I use the Marple flat chisels for heavy work, like barrel channels, and some of the gouges for removing lots of excess wood in the initial stages of taking excess wood off of the blank. Particularly on the butt stock around the cheek rest areas. I also use the gouges for setting in the carving design.

I use the Swiss to do most of the carving and relief work. I do not carve with all the chisels shown, a lot of them are used during the stocking process. I guess I should just show a picture of the chisels and tools that I use strickly for carving.

I will try to do that this evening.

[Nordnecker]

A little off topic maybe, but- Years ago, a friend of mine bought a carving set. It was made by Bucher and contained at least 250 chisels, maybe more. I bought one of them, the biggest in the collection. It is a beautifully made tool with what appears to be a mahogany handle. The blades are tang fitted with a brass bolster. The rear of the handle has a brass ferrule with leather in between and about 10 brass pins, equally spaced, inside the ferrule. The blade is smooth as a mirror and you can still see the faint straw color of the tempering. I don't know when they quit making tools out of Cast Steel, but this gauge is sure a testament to fine toolmaking.

[Long John]

I guess I am in the camp of less being more.  Like Acer (sorry Acer, I don't mean to insult you) I find that I use a small collection of about a dozen chisels for 95% of my carving.  I know, my carving looks it!  But you can do good, if not excellent, work with a smaller set if you know how to sharpen and use your tools.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[Acer Saccharum]

My problem is that I bought a lot of tools that I thought I'd need, and then don't use them! I've reduced the number of tools I use by a natural selection process, which is based on the style of carving I'm doing.

Some folks like to have all the gouges needed to make the curves, and some use small stabbing tools for defining their curves. In the photo below, I was able to use some smaller gouges to make the tighter inside and outside curves. The rest of the curves were stabbed with little round nosed sharp tools that I 'walk' around the design.



I would need to buy many new gouges to accommodate all the curves above. This ain't gonna happen, not in this lifetime. If I'd had classic carving education, I'd probably have and appreciate all the tools, but that isn't going to happen, either.

[bama]

Acer I do not argue that you can do a fine job with minimal tools as you have demonstrated. I do this method sometimes myself if I do not have the proper gouge to make the curve. My problem is I get doglegs sometimes when I do this and that just irritates me to no end. I find I have less problems in my layout and setting in of the carving if I use the gouges. To each his own. Now I have noticed that you do not seem to stab your chisels straight in and that your layout tool has a radius to the head that you advance by pushing forward into the design in a rocking motion. I think that I will give this a try to see if it works better than what I am doing by going straight in.

I also have come to think that the gouges have been developed over time to create the scrolls that we all love in the carving designs on the early rifles. So what I have done over the years is to draw a design that I like from an early gun and then buy the gouges that will duplicate that design. Plus I am a tool nut and I like good chisels as you can tell. This is just my way of trying to do my best to recreate the art I love.

You do very nice work Acer and I have admired your rifles greatly over the years. Thank you for sharing with us.

[Acer Saccharum]

Bama, I'm NOT saying that my way is the way, at all. This stabbing tool is inspired by the late Gary Brumfield's little stabbing tool. Your observation is correct in that I push the tool into the work, and rock it forward. This avoids the 'elbows' you speak of.

Jim Kibler posted a while back about the set of gouges for cutting the proper radii, and his is an argument based on a very long history and tradition that I have no argument with. Professional furniture carvers had all these tools at hand, and were proficient at carving. The right gouge saves time, therefore, you were better able to compete.

Jim Kibler sets the gouges in with a rocking motion, as I recall. His gouges are not the deep 'U', but partial curves. Most of my gouges are the deep U shape, so I can't make a partial curve with it. If I ground the legs of the U off, I could use them for stabbing in. But I'm not about to do that.