Wood has been an important part of every civilization since its time. Wood is used for tools, weapons, adornments, buildings, furnishings, cosmetics, pottery, etc. Woodcraftsmen have made amazing things with wood. Woodworking is an art that involves using various tools to make things out of wood, like jewelry, chairs, tables, storage chests, bird houses, etc.
Wood carving is one of the most beautiful craft in the category of Woodworking. Wood carving is a type of handicrafts or art where the wood artist carved beautiful images or patterns out of the wood. Wood carving is done by hand and there are many types of wood used for this purpose. Wood carving is done on a table, shelf, window pane, etc. The images or patterns carved out of the wood are usually a part of the culture or the heritage of the place where the wood carving took place.
Wood is highly figured because the natural grain makes it possible to carve intricate designs with it. Wood is a natural material that has a lot of natural strength. Wood is able to be highly figured due to its density. A thin slice of wood is more than enough to make a highly figured design. Wood is considered very much like cardboard as far as the strength of a board is concerned, but due to the high factor of density of wood, it cannot be easily moulded. Wood is not very malleable as compared to other materials.
In carving a piece of wood, the process starts at the cutting of the piece. Wood is cut into pieces depending upon its size. Each piece of wood is put through a series of processes to make a finished product of the desired shape. One such process in carving wood is called butt jointing. Butt joints are made when a piece of wood is placed between two opposing curved blades.
Butt joints allow space between the blade and workpiece so that the working piece can be slid through the slit. Wood is first placed into the slit with the flat side facing up. The workpiece is placed inside the slit and the blade is placed on top of the wood piece. A small amount of wood is cut from the opposite end of the blade so that the workpiece can slide inside the slit. The wooden piece of wood is held in place by a slotted screw that fits into a slot cut into the wood’s top side.
Wood is also cut into parallel cuts with parallel sides. These cuts are known as cross cuts. A chisel is used to cut these parallel cuts to produce a hollow workpiece. The chisel may be hand or power; powered depending on the use of the chisel and its quality.
Cuts are also produced by hand or with a machine. These cuts are referred to as fore and back cuts. When the wood is being cut for a particular item, many factors are taken into consideration. The size of the piece, material to be used, the weight of the material, the angle of rotation of the piece, how the piece is to be finished, the material used for the finish and the diameter of the hole to be drilled are some of the factors that decide on the cutting sequence.
Wood carving is done in several ways. The most common is the miter saw. Miter saws come in different shapes and sizes. Some have one blade while others have two or more blades. Power tools used for woodcarving include: table saw, mitre saw, circular saw, band saw, crosscut saw and planer.