Another basic coaster pattern. I use the straight lines to practice my "pull" cuts. The star bursts are done with a stab knife.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Spiral pattern for a chip carved coaster
Just a pattern I've been playing with. Pretty basic approach to a rosette. The outer dimension is 3 1/2" square. The pattern starts with approximately a 10mm border.
Enjoy.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Carving in the living room, and elsewhere
I do some carving when I'm relaxing in the living room, and when I'm out and about. There are a few things that I try to do to contain the chips - because I don't want to get banned! The first and easiest is that I carry around a small terry-cloth towel which I keep in my lap. The little loops catch the chips really well, and it's easy to shake out when it gets full. When I'm in hotels (I travel a lot on my job) there are frequently recycle bins that make great catch trays for the majority of the chips. I've tried to use the small garbage cans, but the mouths make small targets, and I want to concentrate on what I'm carving - not on my aim. (I don't use the hotel towels, because its really hard to get all the chips out.)
When I'm done carving, after I've re-honed my knife, I usually do a quick crawl around to pick up any errant chips. If I'm in the hotel, I do my best to pick out the chips from the carpet and put them in the garbage. If I was using the recycle bin, I'll also empty that into the trash (I know the chips are recycleable, but I don't think that's what they had in mind!). If I'm working over a hard floor, its pretty easy to sweep the chips into a pile with the side of my hand - where they can be gathered up and thrown out. And if I was carving outside, I generally try to carve around plants or the grass - as the chips can be brushed into the mulch. Of course, I do pick up the bigger chips to thrown them away :).
One other thing, when I'm in hotels and basically whittling little things, I'll leave some of them for the staff. I used to be worried about how they'd be received, so I make sure to check at the desk. So far no-one has complained about the gifts.
When I'm done carving, after I've re-honed my knife, I usually do a quick crawl around to pick up any errant chips. If I'm in the hotel, I do my best to pick out the chips from the carpet and put them in the garbage. If I was using the recycle bin, I'll also empty that into the trash (I know the chips are recycleable, but I don't think that's what they had in mind!). If I'm working over a hard floor, its pretty easy to sweep the chips into a pile with the side of my hand - where they can be gathered up and thrown out. And if I was carving outside, I generally try to carve around plants or the grass - as the chips can be brushed into the mulch. Of course, I do pick up the bigger chips to thrown them away :).
One other thing, when I'm in hotels and basically whittling little things, I'll leave some of them for the staff. I used to be worried about how they'd be received, so I make sure to check at the desk. So far no-one has complained about the gifts.
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