Chip Carving Instructions
In the selection of wood for the various articles illustrated in this book, the following considerations are pertinent.
The soft, close-grain woods cut easier than the hard woods, but if subjected to hard usage they do not wear as well. For an article which is used rather intimately and viewed close by, a choice wood is appropriate. Some of the soft woods are pine, basswood, poplar or whitewood, and red-gun; those of medium hardness, mahogany and black walnut; the hard woods, cherry, oak, birch and hard maple. Of course, some trees of any of these kinds vary one way or the other from the average of its kind.
Tho carved wood may be stained or dyed it is generally better to select wood of natural beauty, and to finish it without stain. Color, however, is such an important element of beauty and harmony that one should not hesitate to use the excellent commercial wood stains and dyes which are now available, if thereby the article is made more harmonious with its surroundings.
Before wood is finished it should be smooth and clean. No attempt should be made to sandpaper the actual cuts of a piece of chip carving. The tools should be sharp enough and used with such precision as to leave the surface smooth. If a surface needs sandpapering after it has been carved, the sandpapering should be done carefully with fine sandpaper wrapped snugly about a smooth flat block; and this should be moved in the direction of the grain. Great care is needed not to flatten the sharp ridges of the carving.
For articles which are not to be handled much, a wax or linseed oil finish is suitable. Dull rather than glossy finish should be used.
An article that is apt to become soiled with handling and hence need cleaning at times is better finished with shellac or varnish. Thin white shellac laid on quickly with a soft camel's hair brush makes a good, hard finish. Shellac is not waterproof but turns white in a few hours under water.
A wax finish is easily obtained with the commercial prepared waxes or with beeswax cut with turpentine till a soft paste results. These waxes may be brushed on and then polished after a little time with a brush as shoes are polished. A good durable finish may be obtained in the course of several weeks by the use of linseed oil alone if successive applications of oil are rubbed well with a cloth and allowed to dry thoroughly between applications. Sometimes a week is not too long a time to allow the oil to harden.