Chris Pye's Woodcarving Course & Reference Manual: A Beginner's Guide to Traditional Techniques (Woodcarving Illustrated Books)

Take a Woodcarving Course with a Master Carver

The first step into a new craft can be overwhelming: Where to start? What tools to buy? What projects to begin with? Thanks to author and internationally acclaimed woodcarver Chris Pye, this guide is filled with everything a beginning woodcarver needs to know.

Chris Pye's Woodcarving Course & Reference Manual is akin to having a one-on-one course with a master carver. You'll learn what to look for in a workbench, the importance of commissioning your carving tools-there's more to it than just sharpening!-and how to make exacting cuts and execute a variety of techniques. Like any good instructor, Pye includes practice exercises to make you comfortable with the tools and techniques so you can build your skills and carve with confidence.

Pye's conversational teaching style will encourage you as you follow the step-by-step instructions and work on a number of motifs, as well as projects for low, high, and pierced relief, and in-the-round.

With the help of Chris Pye, you'll learn to carve:

-    Four types of molding

-    A beautiful koi project in three levels of relief carving

-    A realistic baseball cap in-the-round

-    A charming wren in-the-round

A comprehensive guide for those who want to learn carving, this manual provides a handful of lessons, including how to choose the best woods, safe tool handling tips, making cuts, and executing a variety of techniques.

Chris Pye is an internationally-acclaimed woodcarver and carving instructor. He is the author of several books on the subject including Woodcarving, Elements of Woodcarving, Lettercarving in Wood and Woodcarving Tools, Materials & Equipment. He has written for Woodcarving Magazine and Woodcarving Illustrated. He is a member of the Master Carvers Association When not writing or carving commissioned work, Chris taches at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine and maintains a website www.chrispyewoodcarving.com.

 Herfordshire, United Kingdom

Introduction

SECTION I: CARVING TOOLS AND SETTING UP

*Technical Mastery

Chapter 1: Tools of the Trade

*Your Tools are Your Carving

Chapter 2: Commissioning Your Carving Tools

*Understanding Wood

Chapter 3: Supporting Cast

SECTION II: USING CARVING TOOLS

*Getting to Grips

Chapter 4: Handling Your Carving Tool

*Thin Edge of the Wedge

Chapter 5: The Outcome of the Tool

SECTION III: EXERCISES

*Good Habits

Chapter 6: Simple Moldings

*Surfaces, Lines & Junctions

Chapter 7: Veiner and V-tool

SECTION IV: RELIEF CARVING

*Form Into Space

Chapter 8: An Exercise in Setting-In

*Over the Horizon

Chapter 9: Low Relief

*A Touch of Drama

Chapter 10: High Relief

*Feel the Form

Chapter 11: Pierced Relief

SECTION V: CARVING IN THE ROUND

*Entering Choas

Chapter 12: In the Round: Baseball Cap

*Making It Up as You Go Along

Chapter 13: In the Round: Wren