Thanks again for your reply. Balsa looks like a good match for him at this stage in his carving. I will hang on to the bass wood for when he is a little older. We LOVE your videos! We sooooooo appreciate all of the time you have taken to make them for people like us!
Butternut and Pine are nice woods to learn on. If a young child is learning you can try balsa wood. Its very light and soft but another viewer told me that her son enjoyed carving that wood. Safe carving - Joe
Hi Steven, thank you for the comment. Really brings a smile to face to hear that your son is starting at such a young age! I wish my parents let me start at that age. Feel free to email me with any carving questions. Splinters85@hotmail.com Safe carving Joe
Hi Thanks for the reply. When I wrote you the first time I completely forgot that I started out this hobby using Balsa and an exacto carving kit. I used it for a year or so then I moved onto pine wood, then discovered basswood around 1989. I'm happy to hear that its working out for him and will recommend Balsa wood for the young carvers out there! Please feel free to email me any questions that he may have. Safe carving - Joe
hi Jason - Thanks for the comment! Hopefully by the end of the year I will release another How to video: How to wood carve a hound dog from scratch. safe carving - Joe
Thats a nice knife. Thanks for watching and safe carving! If you pick up the Summer 2012 Wood carving Illustrated magazine I have a 5 page how article on a more detailed owl. The magazine will hit book stores soon.
I would recommend taking a piece of graph paper and laying out the 1"X1"X2" owl with the measurements provided in the video. Then using a photo copier you can increase or decrease the blueprint. Using a ruler remeasure the guidelines. OR in Wood carving illustrated I have an article on carving a larger more detailed owl. Its in their summer 2012 issue (see my website for some pictures) Hope this helps ! Thanks - safe carving -Joe
hi - Welcome to wood carving! I find that basswood is the best wood to carve with. You can purchase at most art and craft stores and all wood carving supply companies would sell it. some stores that sell on line are: wood craft, wood carvers supply, and sugarpine woodcarving. Hope this helps - safe carving -joe
Hi - Yes I do, but I feel thats the best test to help new woodcarvers understand how sharp their wood carving tools should be. Thanks for the comment - safe carviig Joe
Thanks ! Sorry for the delay in responding. Basswood (also called linden or lime wood) is perfect for carving any project. Also pine wood or butternut are good carving woods. You can get at online carving supply stores. Thanks and safe carving -Joe
Thanks for the comment - Glad you enjoyed. If interested I take this carving to the next level in wood carving illustrated magazine summer 2012 issue. I show how to carve a sleepy owl. Safe carving and happy holidays ! -joe
Hi - yes, I find basswood the easiest to carve. Its also reasonably priced, readily available, holds detail very well and easy to paint. For woodcarving stay away from Balsa wood. Balsa is too soft for woodcarving but awesome for model building. Hope this helps! Safe carving - joe
I have a question. Do know any websites that sell carving tools for beginners and cheap? Also any name brands that sell cheap but efficient tools for beginners? Thank you
Hope I didn't scare you when I mentioned the Flex cut set costs around $175-! wood carving supply stores sell sets priced in all different price ranges. The tools I used to carve the owl would cost around 20- for knife and 20- for a #11-3mm gouge. also recommend you to wear a carving glove and safety glasses.
Hi thanks for the comment. I'm just confused, when did I say 180 degrees? was I talking about making a stop cut? if so then making a stop cut is when you hold you knife 90 degrees to the wood project and cut into the wood fibers. Then taking your knife you carve up to the 90 degree stop cut. If you can point out where I goofed I will correct by putting a subtitle. Thanks again -Joe
@TheChippyt456 Hi - for this project I would recommend using 1X1X2 block because the owl will look a little distorted. I also sent you an email regarding your question under your RU-vid user account. Thanks for watching!
Hi Thanks for the email - Is your teacher using my owl video to teach the students carving? because many high schools around the U.S.A. and a couple in Canada are using my video. The students seem to enjoy it. Thanks again and safe carving ! - joe
Hi Joe, loved the video! It's a little off topic, but I was thinking of making 10 little presents for my friends for Christmas, including simple things like the Tampa Bay Lightning Logo, a Cat, etc., probably out of 2x2x2 basswood cubes. As a newbie, do you think I could get that done in under a week? Thanks!
Hi thanks for the nice comment. Wow! How are you working under pressure:) seriously I think you can pull it off If you make each carving simple. I would recommend you make the items from 3/8inch thick basswood. Art craft stores should have that. Also would recommend that you google The images to get ideas. Also a coping saw would help cut out the designs. If you view my snowman ornament video (part one) you will see how to use a coping saw and other techniques on cutting out your project from basswood, hope this helps happy holidays Joe
Hi Chloe - I hope your still carving. I'm noticing that my subscribers are not getting alerts when I post new videos. I currently have 20 videos on my channel.
Most woodcarvers feel basswood is the perfect wood to carve because its very easy to carve (with sharp tools) holds detail very well (due to its tight close grain) and holds paint very well. Its also reasonably priced. Others types of wood that you can use is, Butternut, walnut and mahogany but again your tools must be sharp. Stay away from BALSA wood. Its good for craft work, model making but not carving. Safe Carving ! Joe
I enjoy watching this i am still trying to persuade my mum to let me wood carve please reply and so I have proof and just say somthing like wood carving is safe if you keep the gogeles and gloves please reply so I can show her am on my knees this is my fav vid on RU-vid and I have seen over 500 vid on RU-vid but this and part 2 are my fave
Hi Chloe - Thank you for the nice email - Im so sorry it took so long to reply back. My emails were being sent to my gmail account instead of my Hotmail account so I didn't realize you sent me a comment. I can understand why your mum is concerned. My Dad wouldn't allow me to start carving until I was 12 (I REALLY wanted to start when I was 7). But please tell your mum that if she's concerned that you can start off carving using bars of soap (Instead of wood) and use a plastic knife or butter knife instead of a sharp carving knife. BUT yes as long as you are wearing a carving glove on the hand that you are holding the wood in and wearing safety glasses and with your mums supervision I feel you will be safe. Just remember take your time, don't force the knife into the wood - gently push it into the wood. If your mum would like to email me with any questions please feel free-I will recommend to her the tools to order. Also I started teaching my son when he was 7 years old with carving tools. Good luck and let me know what she says! Safe carving - Joe
Thank you. I'm native American, the owl is a sacred animal to my ancestors. A week ago my little cousin (21), passed away. I attempted the owl carving once before using the guide you have provided and it didn't come out the way i wanted.. I'm attempting it again to offer as a gift to my cousin at services. Thank you for giving me the information I need to create the owl. Your work is much appreciated...
Dear Mandylynn, thank you very much for the message. I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin.knowing that im able to help you make this gift means a lot to me.if you feel you need some help with your carving, please take a pictures of the carving and email me them. I will try to guide you in creating the owl Regards, Joe spilinters85@hotmail.com
Hi-sorry for the delayed response.Can the knife that hes using slice through a piece of paper(like the sharpness test in my videos?) if not then changing to balsa wood actually would make it harder to carve because balsa is softer. How old is your son? if hes under 7 I usually recommend the kids to carve a bar of soap(like Ivory)using a butter knife. I believe woodcraft sells sharpened carving knives for around 20.00 I hope this helps and please make sure he wears a carving glove.Thanks
Sometimes I use found wood, but most of the time I purchase kiln dried wood from woodworking supply companies like: Woodcraft or wood carvers supply in Florida. Do you subscribe or purchase woodcarving illustrated magazine or carving magazine? if so, they advertise lots of carving supply companies. Feel free to email me anytime(just be patient with my replies - I get alot of emails) . Safe Carving - joe
Hi - yes i would consider a carving knife razor sharp. I would not recommend that you you do this BUT I'm able to shave the hair off of my arm with my carving knife. As long as your knife can slice through a piece of paper or carve the end grain of a block of carving wood then I would say your knife is sharp enough to carve. Safe carving ! - Joe
@yuyupb hi just want to let u know that I started filming a how to carve a ball into a block of wood. I still have about 8 hrs left of work (filming/editing) but it should be posted in a month or so. Hope your still wood carving!
Hi - any online woodcarving supply store like woodcraft or woodcarvingsupply or the woodcraftshop also you can do a search for wood carving supply stores in your area safe carving -Joe
Thanks so much. He is 10, almost 11. He has a good knife, but it probably needs to be sharpened again. We do not have a good sharpener, but a neighbor has offered to sharpen it for us. However, even when the knive was paper-cutting sharp, it was hard for him to carve bass wood. He prefers wood to soap. Today he tried a piece of balsa for the fist time. It was easier, but you are right about the knife needing to be as sharp as possible. He wears a glove. We appreciate your experience!
this is a fun one i have made several sense i have seen this. i drive a truck over the road and i have a lot of down time when my truck is being unload. thank for this one
I want to start carving but I dont want to spend 100$ buying knives or waiting long for online order to come so is there a quick way to get tools for me to get started? Could I buy an exacto knife from a store and use that instead? Thanks a lot! I have some balsa blocks to get me started and then I want to use some harder wood once I am good to make a small dragon.
Thanks I really whant to start carving neat desineis into wood I have this natural urge to start! I was wondering if the knives come in packs so I did not have to buy them seperately pleas response in this carving vid or at my channel thanks : )
Using a 1"(25mm) X 1" (25mm) X 2" (51mm) 5/16"=8mm 7/8"=22mm 1-1/16"=27mm 1-1/4"=32mm 1-7/16"=36mm 1-3/4"=44mm Using a 2"(51mm) X 2"(51mm) X 4"(102mm) block - from the base to the top of the owl: 5/16"=16mm 7/8"=44mm 1-1/16"=54mm 1-1/4"=64mm 1-7/16"=73mm 1-3/4"=89mm Hope this helps, plus I have another owl design in wood carving illustrated summer 2012 issue (Fox chapel publishing) Safe carving - Joe
The palm gouge is cheaper (less material used to make the tool) is easier to control for beginner carvers. The standard size can be used for larger work because you can use it with a mallet. I prefer the normal size gouges because I carve projects that vary in size. Ex: just carved a large (12") Easter bunny which was easier to carve with the standard size gouges. hope this helps - safe carving -joe
Hi - they do sell carving tools in packs. The company FLEX CUT sell a bunch of basic carving tool sets which consist of a carving knife, strop, compound and a bunch of palm size gouges. I think that set sells for around $175- also if you contact woodcraft or woodcraftshop or sugarpinewoodcarving im sure they sell carving sets for beginners. Hope this helps ! Safe carving - Joe
Hi-thanks for the reply. I agree I used alot of tools for the WCI version and was afraid that I would turn people off from carving the owl.I'm also a tool collector for over 25 years so I have quite a big inventory. I feel using a carvin jack, #11-3mm gouge and a #11-1-1.5mm gouge you will be able to carve a nearly neat version. You can use the sides of the 11-3mm gouge to carve wider concave cuts (for example when carving the center of each feather. Have fun and safe carving!-joe
sure I used mahogany, butternut, pine, and walnut. Butternut and pine carve just like basswood. Mahogany and walnut is a little harder to carve. Make sure your tools are sharp. - Safe carving -joe
sorry don't think I answered your comment because it showed up as spam. The perfect way to test if your knife is dull is by trying to slice through a piece of paper (i show it in the beginning of the video) or you can try carving the end grain of a block of basswood. the end grain is the part that shows the annual growth rings of the wood. I think I show it in my how to carve a snowman ornament part one. Thanks and so sorry for the delayed response !
Hi - I never soak the wood to soften it, but while attending carving seminars I have seen other carvers do that. They would keep some water in a spray bottle and if they come across any hard spots to carve they would shoot some water in that area. I buy kiln dried basswood from online carving supply stores. So far all the wood has been a pleasure to carve with sharp tools. Thanks for the good question ! -Joe
Thanks for the comment - I plan on making more videos in the future. Currently my plate is full with my full time job and my family. I hope to have a snowman ornament how to video in the near future. If you check out Wood carving Illustrated magazine (fox chapel publishing - Summer 2012 issue) you will learn how to woodcarve a more advanced version of the basic owl . Thanks and safe carving !
@MisterSplinter Due to health problems, I had to cancel our scheduled visit to complete Mr. Splinter's 2nd tutorial. We'll get together soon, so thanks for your patience and continuing support. Safe carving, everyone.
Hi - I don't remember receiving your comment -it showed up as spam. I'm happy to hear that you saw my WCI article. I'm really proud of it ! How did you make out carving the owl from maple? Thats a hard wood to work with ! also not sure if the hunting knives are sharpened at a good angle for carving. It would be better if you invest in a carving carve like the Richard butz carving knife that woodcraft sells. I think it sells for around 25- (that includes them sharpening it for you)
Hi _ sure you can go to your local art/craft store and purchase an exacto knife or kit. If you plan on carving the owl project, just make sure you get a knife that has a blade length of at least 3/4" It will make it easier to carve the head and body. Just be very careful with exato blades, if you apply too much pressure the blade can snap so please wear safety glasses and carving glove - Happy holidays - joe
Hi - I would recommend FLEX CUT tools. they are reasonably priced, well made, come razor sharp and have great customer service at their headquarters. I think they are based in PA, USA. I would do a Google search for carving stores that sell flex cut tools. Woodcraft stores definitely sell their products. Safe carving - Joe
Hi Stefanie - Thanks for the emails and for subscribing ! I feel if you have a sharp knife and follow the steps, you will carve out an awesome looking owl. In wood carving illustrated summer 2012 magazine I have a 5 page how to carve a sleepy owl article. Its a great project to try after you master the basic version. Please feel free to email me any questions and be safe ! Thanks again for the comments :-)
Hi thanks for the nice comment. Did you find my you tube tutorials after seeing my WCI article? Have fun making them and please let me know how you do carving the WCI version. Thanks again and safe carving ! - joe
Hi - Thats awesome ! Thanks for the nice comment. I have a 5 page how to carve a sleepy owl article in Woodcarving Illustrated summer 2012 issue. I think you will like that design as well. Safe Carving - Joe
@mgacki Hi - Thanks for watching and for the positive feedback! Sorry I couldn't talk to you longer my ride was getting a little impatient!! See you at the next meeting. Bring your woodcarving questions with you.
Hi Joe, yes I checked out your site after seeing the article and was pleased to see the basic owl tutorial. I have made several of the little owls and am starting to feel confident enough to possibly give the WCI version a try. The list of tools is a little intimidating though. I have been carving thus far with only a Flexcut Carvin Jack
Thanks so much for the comment.I really enjoyed making the videos and hope to make a lot more.I'm in the process of another video:how to carve a simple snowman ornament but work and family stuff is getting in the way.I REALLY hope it will be completed by Nov 2012 so all can view for the 2012 Holidays.I think your son would enjoy wood carving illustrated magazine and/or carving magazine. They publish 4 issues per year.Sometimes WCI releases a special issue. Thanks and safe carving!-joe
Thanks for the great easy to follow video tutorial on carving a basic owl. I was able to follow along (with a few pauses) and have a finished carving at the end of part 2. I'll make a few more of these and then try and tackle your Sleepy Owl from the latest WCI issue.
