Wood Carving begginer

[darklar]

I would like to carve a bangle/hoop for my girlfriend but have no idea what sort of wood I should use, or how I ahould actually go about it - can anyone help advise me so I can start.

Thanks

[mrbarrytone]

After a bit of searching, the bangles I have found tend to be made from Mahogany, Black Walnut and Beechwood. What type of wood you choose really depends on what you want it to look like in terms of colour and grain pattern.

As for the actual carving, the best idea is to make a plain ring from a slab of wood big enough. One site I found suggested that their inner diameter of their bangle fitted most people at 65mm. Don't be set on that size though.

How to cut the ring depends on what equipment you have available. If you have access to a pillar drill and a selection of hole cutters, your best bet would be to cut a circular peice of wood to your intended external diamiter and cut another hole inside at your intended internal diameter.

If you don't have access to any kind of machinery, you can draw out a circular shape onto the piece of wood and cut it using a coping saw (a hand saw designed for cutting lines other than straight ones). To cut out the centre and make it into a ring, draw your inner circle, drill a hole somewhere in the middle, detach the blade from the saw, thread it through the hole, re-attach the blade to the saw and proceed to cut the inner shape out. Once you've cut it out, detach the blade again so you can get it out of the ring.

Now... Carve your design! If you're goign to be removing large pieces of material, be sure to use a knife with a strong blade (a scapel / craft knife blade will just snap) such as a VERY sharp pocket knife. For removing less material, use a scalpel / craft knife. Make sure the whole thing is sanded till it's VERY smooth. Especially the inside. You don't want your girlfriend to get splinters I'm sure!

Other than that, if you want a finish on it such as varnish, stain or wax: do a test piece using the left over wood, first. Some finishes can just look horrible!

Good luck!

[Narolines]

If you're a complete newcomer to carving and don't have proper carving tools (razor sharp!), you might find Black Walnut and Beech a little on the hard side. You also really need to be somewhere near a good timber merchant who specialises in supplying carving and turning woods; Poplar, Holly and Hornbeam will carve satisfactorily and are not too hard, and there are a number of tropical hardwoods that will give good results - your timber supplier should be able to advise.  The wood of choice for carvers is Lime, but it can be very plain in appearance and I'm not sure how it would stand up to wear and tear as a bangle.  I concur with the advice on knives - carving tool blades (both gouges and knives) have quite heavy blades made of high-quality steel that will take a razor-like edge; trying to carve with a too-flexible or flimsy - or worse still, blunt - blade is asking for trouble.

Best of luck - let us know how you get on!

[darklar]

Thanks very much for your help so far. I have a few suitable tools... I just havnt tried anything yet. My girlfriend has very small wrists so she can never find anyhing that fits her properly. . I will keep you posted

[Kleonna]

Wooden bracelets are not some new fashion trend, they have come a long way from ancient times, and nowadays they have occupied a special niche in the wood carving projects. Often, wood is combined with some semi-precious stones or minerals, and it can also be combined with rare metals. But most often wooden bracelets are made with leather inserts, these materials have long been available to all segments of the population.
To make your first bracelet from wooden beads, you should be very careful when choosing a tree. It is easier to get started using soft woods, these include:
Linden;
Alder;
Aspen;
Cedar;
Cherry.

[Kleonna]

Try not to use parts of a tree with knots in their structure, they are considered very fragile and can quickly break. Also, experts of [url=https://beavercrafttools.com/news/wood-carving-patterns/]wood carving project[/url] do not recommend using small branches, their structure is porous and inconvenient to work with.

Although a tree is suitable for any person, its different varieties have different effects on the body.

[Kleonna]

By and large, everyone can make a simple bracelet made of wood with their own hands. This area can be conditionally divided into two directions. The first and simpler one is carved and inlaid bracelets with an open solid texture. The second direction is https://beavercrafttools.com/news/wood-carving-patterns/