Chisels @ gouges

[Nate McKenzie]

Some where on this site I ran across a list of recommended chisel and gouge sizes. I've tried the search feature and can't seem to locate it. May have been put on by Acer. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

[Acer Saccharum]

Problem is, Nate, I can't remember either. There is some mention in the relief carving tutorial I did, but that doesn't cover the tools needed for inletting. I thought this was a pretty recent topic.

Help!

My mind is going as fast as Nate's.......

Tom

[b bogart]

I thought the gentleman that makes the exquisite wenders either had a list on here or at his site. Geez I wish I could remember the name.
SORRY
Bruce

[Jim Kibler]

Nate,

Let us know what you are trying to accomplish and I'm sure someone will be able to help.

Jim

[Acer Saccharum]

Yes, Jim, what your goal is determines the tools you need. I forgot that, too. Been a long day.

[Doug Cline]

Nate, There is a list of carving tools on the old site/archives in the tutorials section that David Price provided and Gary Brumfield has a list on his site that he uses for the Bowling Green classes.
Doug

[WV_Mountaineer]

On the old site, there is a page: http://www.americanlongrifles.org/WorkShop_frame.htm.  If you select 'Tools List'' on the left hand side, there is a list of gouges and chisels along with alot of other tools.

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

Nate, for carving I like the Dockyard Micro chisels from Woodcarver Supply in FL. 
http://www.woodcarverssupply.com/Micro-Tools/products/103/

I bought the 1.5 mm and the expansion sets.

Also a Pfiel  1S-5 Skew, 9/7 gouge, 9/5 gouge and 1/8e straight chisel, 12/6 Vparting tool --I use these for the larger inletting relieving backgrounds etc..  I found them too big for the decorative carving.

Hope this helps

[Nate McKenzie]

All this helps. Thanks. I'm just looking to replace and expand my carving tools for incised and relief carving in the Pa. rifle style. The list on the old site looks familiar. That might be it.

[Acer Saccharum]

Nate, I have found that just a few tools suffice. These are the tools I used to carve this rifle. Simple Kentucky carving doesn't need much in the way of tools. If you like to use a knife, add one to the set.

across bottom:
Pfiel fishtail #3 sweep x 16mm wide; parting tool, Pfiel 16/1, 60 deg 1mm wide; parting tool, 90 deg, 5mm wide; fishtail #3 sweep, 5mm wide.

top row:
palm tool #11 sweep, 4mm wide; then assorted homemade scrapers.



wrist, same tool set


The tendency is to think that buying an expensive set will improve your carving. Only practice will do that, combined with a few of the right tools. The right tool is determined by the kind of carving you are going to do combined with your personal style. By style, I mean this: I outline with a parting tool. Bill Shipman uses a knife. Allen Martin uses a dremel.

Might I add that a long handled tool would be better in place of the palm tool, but this is what I have.

Tom

[Jim Kibler]

While I agree that having a large tool kit doesn't mean you will be able to produce good carving, in some cases it really helps.  While the number of tools Acer used in his example obviously worked well, for a more sophisticated design having a wider  aray of tools would be beneficial.  And yes, this includes some examples of American longrifle carving designs.  With enough skill, a person can create relatively complex carving with a very limited number of tools, but efficiency will suffer and the end result will probably not be quite as good if more tools were available.  What it really comes down to is what type of carving you would like to create.  At one end of the scale, simple incised work could be created with just a parting tool or knife and at the other end of the scale, more sophisticated carving with strong Eurpoean influence would be best created with a relatively large tool set.  A hands on class might be beneficial  for someone just  getting started.  I know I learned a lot at those I took at WKU.  Ian Pratt and I will likely be holding another carving class this summer at the Log Cabin Shop, so if anyone is interested, this may be an option.  Hope I helped at least a little and didn't confuse things further!

[Acer Saccharum]

I agree with you 100%, Jim.

My thinking was that a real basic number of tools will get you started.

Eventually I would make another carving, more sophisticated, along with the tools I used, and document the tools and photo the carving. Then you can look at the various carving pictures and decide if you like a certain style of carving and want to add to your toolbox or not. Submissions from other carvers welcome.

My tool bins have a surprising number of chisels that I don't use..... I got them on a whim, or thought they'd be handy, but they didn't work out. So my thought with this series of pictures is to help guide you in your tool purchases when you are just getting started.