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Thread: Carving Tools Help

  1. #1

    Carving Tools Help

    Hello ,
    I am new to carving and wanted some help with tool selection.
    I recently bought "carving 18th century american furniture" by Tony Kubalak and
    "Classic Carving Patters" by Lora s. Irish. I am looking for tools that i need for those type
    of projects i.e. (newport shell , ball and claw foot , etc....)
    They mention things like ... #9 5mm gouge , but when I check for carving tools online , they just say 1/4" gouge.
    What do the numbers mean (I assume its the angle and width , but not sure) ?
    What tools do I actually need?

    I bought these from amazon:
    Woodstock International D2227 Steelex Carving Chisel Set - 12 Piece
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...00_i00_details

    But they don't seem right.

    Thanks
    Last edited by jamie guerrieri; 12-30-2011 at 7:06 AM.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by jamie guerrieri View Post
    Hello ,
    They mention things like ... #9 5mm gouge , but when I check for carving tools online , they just say 1/4" gouge.
    What do the numbers mean (I assume its the angle and width , but not sure) ?
    Thanks
    Well the first number #9 is the sweep or curvature of the gouge, a #9 is pretty curved, a number #1 is straight.. Now to complicate life further there are two different 'standards' for carving tools, the Sheffield and the European standards.. The second number is the width of the gouge in millimeters, a 5mm is about 3/16"..

    The Swiss made (Pfiel) are good tools to buy, they are available at Woodcraft in the US.. The best way to buy carving tools is buy the tools for the project, also buy full sized tools...Good luck

    Edit: I just checked the link that you supplied and the description does look a bit lame, doesn't use the normal nomenclature.. 'SET INCLUDES CHISELS: 6 mm Straight, 12 mm Straight, 10 mm V-Tool , 6 mm Right Skew, 6 mm Double Skew, 10 mm Gouge, 14 mm Gouge, 8 mm Gouge, 6 mm Spoon Bit, 6 mm Beading, 6 mm Round Nose, and 6 mm V-Groove'
    Last edited by Robert LaPlaca; 12-30-2011 at 5:44 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Chattanooga Tennessee
    Posts
    58
    I hope I am wrong but I am afraid you will be disappointed with that set of tools. They average a little over $4 each when most of the better tools will average $20 - $30 each. Check out http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/forum/
    There is all kinds of great information about tools and how to sharpen them as well as carving tips.
    The older I get, the better I was.

  4. #4
    Thanks Everyone

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    santa cruz ca. transplant to ga.
    Posts
    164
    got some of those some time ago soft cheep steel. I'm waiting to make some as the price is high, but so is the quality.

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