Wood carving

Carving is a technique primarily woodworking. The term working with wood, ivory, and other materials with knives, chisels and other sharp tools is called. In wooded areas, numerous professions were connected with the activity of carving about Spoonmaker and Schnefler. Schnitzer evidence and sculptures are now increasingly industrially manufactured with CAD controlled copy cutters.

General

The shape of the workpiece is caused by the small-scale removal of material. Methodologically, it is thus the stonemasonry and is similar to other methods, in which the shape is created by assembling individual parts or by plastic modeling. The language used Notwithstanding this and the term wooden sculpture. A modern form of carving is the chainsaw carving.

The job description includes the carvers wood carvers in general and the carver (wood sculptor ) in particular. We distinguish the carving, which refers to the production of works of art by working with wood and the craftsmanship of carving, by which is understood by carving the production of commodities and the decoration ( for example, notch cut).

Tools

Carving

Differ (U - Shape Flat - - Round, V, ) - There are about 1000 different carving (also Schnitzbeitel, carving, carving, or just called iron), resulting in the width ( 0.5 mm 80 mm) and cutting form. The cutting shape is also referred to as a stub. The engraving is of the impression that a carving leaves when it is pressed vertically into the wood. There is iron with straight, curved or cranked blade. Various knives with straight, curved, convex and concave blades are used. Some carvers use very much like the Kogatana.

The carver has special names for his tools.

• Iron ball called the carver iron, a flat, straight edge have. With these curves are carved paradoxically mostly. If you try to cut with a ball iron flat in a block of wood, tear on both sides, in addition to the cutting edges of the wood fibers.
• Flat irons are carving that have a slight concavity. This flat surfaces and curves can be edited.
• Gouges have a stronger cavity and are used to cut grooves and cavities.
• Drills are gouge with a strong cavity, half circle, - U-shaped. With these holes or deep recesses are carved. With this iron also figures are pre- carving, as you can take away hereby very effectively large amounts of wood.

U-shaped carving tools are used to eg To model hair or eyes.

V-shaped tools are referred to as " Geißfuß ". For corners, hair or straight edges are carved. These irons are made of two iron ball, which are at different angles to each other. Are commercially available with a 90 ° angle, 60 °, 55 °, 45 ° and 35 °. Occupies a special position of the curly Geißfuß whose edges are bent to be eg Between fingers carved.

In addition to these cutting edge shapes, there are also special shapes such as channel - Schaller - Macaroni or Backeronieisen.

Another form is the flower iron. This is a tool, in which the blade width is tapered rearwardly and the stem of the iron is forged only thin. These iron requires you to have sufficient freedom of movement in small depressions.

Carving tools are made of high carbon steel. The cutting should have a very high sharpness. The cutting angle is about 20 degrees for soft woods and about 30 degrees for hard woods. The cutting edge of the carving is sanded with an outside bevel. Ball iron are supplied with single page and two bevel, the double-bevel the above cutting angle of the sum of the bevel angle is reached ( eg both sides with 15 ° resulting in a total angle of 30 °).

Sharpening the carving

The carving tools are sharpened by hand on either oil or water stones or with the aid of electric grinders. Attention must be paid to the temperature during grinding. The blades are so thin that the frictional heat in electrical machines quickly burning out the material. That's why many carvers prefer wet grinding machines, in which a slowly rotating stone runs in a water bath. In addition, there are no sparks, which significantly reduces the risk of fire in a wood workshop.

The iron must not be constantly re- sharpened during use. For a long time the blades can be removed ( with very fine abrasives, waxy paste) on a leather with a bit of polishing paste. Only when the cutting fillet by this polishing deduction, ie the blade geometry is no longer optimal, is re- sanded. Professional carvers use for reasons of time buffing wheels for removing the tools. Due to the high material removal cutting the fillet faster, so that's given a higher wear.

Hammer

For larger work of the carver uses a hammer with a round head, the mallet. So that the iron is driven by the wood. Klüpfel traditionally consist of hardwood. Commercially also Klüpfel are offered with playing surfaces made ​​of polyurethane or bronze now. Polyurethane is slightly elastic and easy on the books of the tools. Bronzeklüpfel are to perform very well due to their high mass relative to the size and are therefore well suited for small jobs in hard wood.

Fixing brackets

When working with tools often accidents happen, in particular, working with carving knives always a risk. By the correct fixing of the workpieces, and working with sharp tools, the risk can be reduced considerably. Sharp tools require less force to cut as a blunt.

The workpiece can be fixed with different supports. Wood panels for reliefs are either held on a wooden plate from below by screws or in a sturdy frame with wedges. Figures are kept with the help of a Schnitzgalgens. The Schnitzgalgen consists of two hardwoods which are connected to a movable joint. Traditionally, the gallows is clamped on a workbench. The workpiece gets on the ground a hole into which a figure screw is screwed. The Carver has two different threads. The end that is screwed into the workpiece, is conical, so that it engages better in wood. At the other end is a normal thread, in which a large butterfly nut is screwed on. The Schnitzgalgen front has either a row of holes or a slot in order to secure the Carver. To rotate the figure, the locking nut is loosened slightly, the figure can be aligned and fixed by re-tightening again.

Smaller parts, such as furniture ornaments are glued with an intermediate layer of paper with diluted white glue on a wooden board. After completion of the work, the part may be released with a spatula from the substrate.

There is also the opportunity to carve smaller figures in hand. In this case, normal carving are mainly used. The risk of injury is increased in this type of carving.

In Carved the workpieces are fixed partly on a plate or placed on the thigh. When placing on the thigh of the carver can cause the workpiece with one hand and hold the other the knife at the proper angle. The knife hand is propped up with the thumb on the workpiece, then the workpiece and the blade are moved so that the section runs as desired. The risk of injury is quite low here.

Types of wood

For carving using short-grain, homogeneous wood. The most popular carving wood is Linde. This is detailed, fine carvings can be manufactured. The hard boxwood is also often used for its detailed carvings. When carving also the bright maple wood is used quite often. Pine wood is soft, but it has many branches and darkens with time. But the pine wood gives off a pleasant scent, which many like. Schnitzer, working with a chainsaw, like access also to the brown elm wood, which has a beautiful wood pattern. More Schnitzhölzer are: Poplar, birch, oak, and pine Weymouth and various fruit woods. Many woods require a long drying time to keep the tear inclination as low as possible.

Figure carving

Professional carvers like to use so-called Schnitzrohlinge. It is pre-milled wood pieces. Due to the cost pressure, the wood pieces are pre works in copy milling. These blanks have yet to be completely carved. Depending on the quality of the milling and the details of the work of the carver can so quickly create relatively large number of copies of a work. Nevertheless, for example, applies a figure as " hand-carved " if it has been completely revised with carving knives.

Model Carving

With increased difficulty Model- carving is connected. Thus, a negative is worked into the depth, in contrast to the raised carving of classical reliefs. The additional challenge is that the right and left side of the subject must be reversed in the negative to reflect the original design in the later cookies. It carves a mirror image.

Surface treatment

Carvings are " Colored " or " composure " offered in " Nature " in the trade. To get the natural surface of the wood carving with oils or waxes is treated. These provide a surface barrier that protects the wood from moisture and dirt. Colored, meaning that the color of the timber with paint or etching is changed. The natural structure of the wood is visible. Finishing is also done with wax or oil. Condensed carvings are coated with a special glue and gesso. In most cases when a socket is also a gilt is made. The color design is made with solid colors, so that's nothing more to see the wood.

Museums

The Val Gardena Museum ( Ladin: Museum de Gherdeina ) in Ortisei in Val Gardena in South Tyrol is a rich collection of wood carvings from the 17th to the 20th century and carved wooden toys and dolls from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The German Ivory Museum in Erbach (Odenwald ) has an extensive collection of carvings in ivory and ivory -like materials such as tagua.