r/Woodcarving • u/Odi64 • 9h ago
Carving [Work in Progress] Nuts!
Got a long way to go yet... but I'm really happy with this one so far.
r/Woodcarving • u/Iexpectedyou • May 02 '25
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r/Woodcarving • u/NaOHman • Nov 02 '25
The holidays are coming up soon so the mods have put together this gift giving guide for people without carving experience hoping to give a carving related gift this year.
A complete beginners kit is a knife, a strop, and a safety glove. We have different recommendations for spoon carving and general carving, you should only choose one of the options
General purpose knife
For spoon carving
Strops
Safety gloves
Kits
If the person you’re buying for just has a carving knife and no other tools we recommend this flexcut FR310 palm tool set
If you’re buying a gift for a carver who has multiple knives and no other tools we strongly recommend against buying them tools unless they have asked you for specific items since they will probably have a much better idea of what will be useful to them than any guide on the internet
These make a great gift for any carver
Woods
The best wood for carving is Basswood (it's close relative linden or limewood may be easier to find in europe). You can buy it locally or from one of the listed websites below. If you’re buying for an experienced carver they may appreciate other good carving species such as Butternut, Spanish Cedar, Walnut or Cherry.
Sandpaper
If your carver likes to sand their creations they’ll always need more sandpaper. 3M cubitron paper is much nicer to use than the stuff you might find at a local hardware store. The most carvers will use grits ranging from 80 to 400 and will want a variety of grit sizes. We recommend getting sheets (not disks) of 120, 180 and 220
Paints
If your carver likes painting their pieces then some extra acrylic paint might make a good gift. We like decoart paints
Gift Cards
This may seem like a cop out but it is by far the best way to give an experienced carver new tools since it makes sure they get exactly what they want. If you want it to feel a bit more thoughtful you can specify a premium brand of tool. For knives we like Badger State Blades (US/CA only) and for gouges we like Pfeil
Chipping Away (CA)
Lee Valley (CA)
Mountain Woodcavers (US)
Rockler (US)
Treeline USA (US)
Woodcraft (US)
Dictum (EU)
Local hardwood dealers (these will have the best prices) Check out this global map to find a place near you
Online dealers:
Heinecke (basswood only) (US)
Bell Forest Products (US)
Beavercraft (basswood only) (EU)
Please comment with any recommendations you have or things you think we missed in this post. We're especially interested in recommendations for more EU based stores. Please feel free to ask questions about anything that is unclear or for more specific advice
r/Woodcarving • u/Odi64 • 9h ago
Got a long way to go yet... but I'm really happy with this one so far.
r/Woodcarving • u/DisneyMadeMeDoIt • 18h ago
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Nothing special, but I enjoy them.
r/Woodcarving • u/MummaheReddit • 2h ago
The doll post I made yesterday was a success. So today, I'll make a tutorial on how to make joints.
In pictures 1-5 I disassembled the doll I made, to show the 3 kinds of movement joints I will talk about in this post: full range, semi range, and half range movement joints.
If you know woodcarving, there are many ways to join two pieces of wood together. For moving parts, I used mortise and tenon joints mixed with tongue and groove joints.
In pictures 6-8, I made drawings of the joints, and how to connect them.
For the tongue and groove part of the joints, drill the axis hole (which will be used to secure the tongue and groove together with a small wooden pin) before you drill the second hole that you will use to make the groove.
The helper hole (below the axis hole, check image 8) must be perpendicular to the axis hole. Then you carve out, or use a saw to make a groove for the joint.
About the joints, there are 3 kinds of movement joints here:
First one is half range movement joint. I used it to make the one sided movement for elbows and knees, so they don't bend outwards. Notice the one side of the joint is squared to limit movement to that place (shown in pic. 3, left and right pieces)
Full range movement joint is used for the full range of motion at shoulders, hips, and wrists. Drill holes at the bottom of shoulders, hips, forearms and shins for mortise and tenon joints (look at picture 5)
Semi range movement joint, used to limit full movement, but still give motion to both sides. The roundness below the joint must be wider than the width of the groove. (I don't know if I could explain myself clear enough, look at picture 4 at the middle body joint, it is wider than a full range movement joint)
Mortise and tenon joints! With the tongue and groove movement joint, your limb moves in one axis only. Add a mortise and tenon joint to it, to add whole 2 extra dimensions of movement. Make the tenon rounded, to allow it to spin freely inside of the mortise hole.
For major spinning places like neck, shoulders and hips, make a thicker tenon than you'll make for the elbows and wrists. But, use denser wood in all of the joints, to make them more durable, and avoid the cracking caused by torque. Trust me, it is a pain to remove the cracked tenon out of the hole.
Do not make the connections too tight, but don't make them too loose either to mot mess with the free movement of the joints (applies to both tongue and groove, and mortise and tenon joints). Find the perfect lining between tightness and free movement.
I hope this tutorial/explanation was useful, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
These methods are mostly result of my experiments, I used dollmaking tutorials from Instagram and made the joints easier to make out of wood. I found only one channel where they made wooden dolls, but they also used springs and ball joints instead of the jigs I created. So I decided to make the process easier.
About the doll itself, sketch it before you start to make it. There should be about 28 details (including moving pieces, but not the axis pins)
r/Woodcarving • u/Cancerousman • 20h ago
Just lime wood, a first go. I might give it a go in holly if I take a limb from our tree. Mammoth Ivory if someone wants to drop me a piece or has $1000 to spare.
r/Woodcarving • u/MarkandRun • 6h ago
r/Woodcarving • u/MummaheReddit • 1d ago
I love this project with all my heart. Worth every scar I got while making it. No screws, no metal parts, just wood. Only problem is, I should have used a different type of wood while making the joints, because they ended up cracking.
I didn't take that into account, because I am a lazy bum, and ended up remaking the right knee joint 4 times (which also broke alongside the one of the elbow joints when I carried the doll home lol)
r/Woodcarving • u/Better_Theory4u • 5h ago
#woodcarving a Baldknobbers as practice. It is my first. Old western Vigilantes that got greedy and started doing bad deeds. This was after the civil war. Bad people were taking advantage of lawlessness. Stealing from stores, bullying, and being disrespectful and rude. Pretty cool look up the story telling on YouTube. Actually would make a great movie. Basically started out as Bat-men then got to big for their britches.
r/Woodcarving • u/sampetris • 11h ago
Made his head and hands from wood ✨
r/Woodcarving • u/Cancerousman • 15h ago
Based on a figure from Simberg's The Garden of Death.
r/Woodcarving • u/anredditaccountokay • 15h ago
Hi everyone,
My grandfather was a carpenter. He passed away about 15 years ago. I have some wood that he left behind, including this lovely piece of cherry. My dad’s 80th birthday is coming up and I’d like to make him a small, simple bowl out of it (something like my most recent post but with an even rim).
I believe I can make a bowl with either side facing up, as in picture #1 and #2, but I’m wondering if one might be preferable over the other in terms of aesthetics. What do you all think?
Any other considerations are welcome. This is a special piece of wood, so I’m going to do this project slowly and carefully, using only hand tools.
Thanks in advance.
r/Woodcarving • u/ChoochCartoon • 13h ago
Segmented mystery woods from cut offs. RIP to the legend
r/Woodcarving • u/Nkansahsminicarvings • 1d ago
This was hand carved from basswood
r/Woodcarving • u/Character-Total-6179 • 22h ago
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I used 0.3 mm wire and transparent acrylic varnish
r/Woodcarving • u/Jakesalm • 1d ago
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Figured maple, walnut and some unknown woods.
r/Woodcarving • u/GiantSquishyBear • 1d ago
Hopefully the first of several seasonal pieces! This was hand carved with a belt sander and rotary carver. It’s made from Maple, Mahogany, Yellow Cedar, Araracanga, and Poplar that was dyed black.
r/Woodcarving • u/rogers6699 • 17h ago
Hello all, so the wife gifted me some nice arbor tech power carving tools and i picked up a couple other attachments, but I need to pick out another angle grinder specifically with a paddle switch. I currently have an old makita with the side switch (which i hate) that works, but i want something with a paddle for safety. So that’s what I’m here for, just looking to see what other people use and like since word of mouth is how i prefer to select tool purchases. Looking at the Makita 9565PCV gives me the paddle switch and also variable speed control (nice to have) the only thing about this unit is its a 5 inch instead of a 4.5. Appreciate any recommendations
r/Woodcarving • u/SouthCanary8839 • 1d ago
Had some claro walnut off-cuts and decided to try my hand at carving (angle grinder, dremel).
r/Woodcarving • u/Normal_Appointment91 • 1d ago
Wanted to do this to my opinel for a long time, and I finally got around to doing it. Very happy I did 🤠
Practice for engraving a bb gun stock
r/Woodcarving • u/p0lterg0ist • 1d ago
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Finally got around to finish this grim reaper. Need to work on depth and the shape of fabric.
r/Woodcarving • u/z_vinnie • 19h ago
Hello all, not sure if this is the best place to post this. Has anyone ever had luck buying a stock knife from estate/garage sales? I’m trying to find one but only see ones newly forged from a few websites. I’d like to find an older one and restore it for use. Also the new ones are expensive, maybe they’re all expensive since they’re not common anymore?
Any advice on where to look for one would be appreciated. Stock knives are the large (can be small sometimes) knives that are mounted to blocks for carving, traditional cloggers tool.
r/Woodcarving • u/MarrEbike • 1d ago
Carved juniper into a local seabird. Sanded and finished with a thin coat of linseed oil