Getting Started

Photocopy the patterns. Then sand the 3″ by 3″ (7.6cm by 7.6cm) piece of basswood with 220-grit sandpaper. I recommend using this specific size of basswood as it is safer to use a larger piece than the exact size of the pattern. Remove the dust with a tack cloth. Apply a coat of wipe-on polyurethane, such as Minwax®, and allow it to dry. The polyurethane helps prevent an uneven finish when you apply the final coats of finish or stain after carving. Trim the patterns to fit the earrings. Then apply rubber cement to the back of the pattern and center it on the wood. Set up your workspace; I carve against a nonslip mat.

Carving

Carve the pieces according to the patterns. Most of the chips in this project are old-world style. These chips use two vertical cuts and a diagonal cut to create triangles. On the patterns, the dots mark the deep end of each chip. After I carve the earrings, I cut each one out on a scroll saw, cutting just outside of the pattern line. Then I sand them up to the line on a sanding belt to get a smooth edge. I then hold the earring at an angle to bevel the edges. Try to get the bevel angle even all around.

Finishing

Remove any remaining pattern paper. Apply two more coats of wipe-on polyurethane. Use a toothbrush to get the finish into the deep chip cuts. Buff the piece between coats with a soft cloth. Carefully drill a 1/8″ (3mm)-dia. hole at the top of each earring to add the earring hooks. Insert a mini screw eye pin into the hole, using a tiny drop of cyanoacrylate (CA) glue to secure it. Besides earrings, these carvings can be used to make necklaces, keychain fobs, pins, zipper pulls, or enlarged to become a luggage tag. I never thought I would wear large earrings, but these are fun and light. Enjoy!

MATERIALS

• Basswood 3/16″ (5mm) thick: 3″ x  3″ (7.6cm x 7.6cm) square or larger

• Sandpaper: 220-grit

• Rubber cement

• Tack cloth

• Toothbrush

• Clear finish, such as Minwax® wipe-on polyurethane: satin

• Gel stain, such as Old Masters®: assorted colors (optional)

• Acrylic paints: assorted (optional)

• Glue: cyanoacrylate (CA)

• Earring hooks

• Mini screw eye

TOOLS

• Scroll saw with blades: #2/0 reverse-tooth

• Knife: chip carving

• Belt sander

• Drill with bit: 1/8″ (3mm)-dia.

• Nonslip mat (optional)

Jan Jenson lives in Eau Claire, Wis., and Pharr, Texas, and loves to teach chip carving. She has written three chip carving books, Blue Ribbon Chip Carving, More Blue Ribbon Chip Carving, and her third book is available digitally and includes 50 pages of new patterns. Her other hobbies include box-making and quilting. Contact her at JOJenson@gmail.com.

Brush Soap

Brushes should be cleaned well with a good quality soap when you finish painting. While painting, rinse the brushes in water and occasionally dip into an extender such as Jo Sonja’s Retarder to keep the paint from drying in the bristles until you have time to clean them.

Containers for Water

You’ll need two water containers; one to rinse the paint from your brush and the other to pick up water as you paint. Dirty water will change the color of your paint, so keep this container clean. A useful addition to your painting supplies is a brush basin that is divided into two sections with ridges in the bottom. Gently stroke brushes across the ridges to get all of the paint out.

Containers for Mediums, Such as Flow Medium and Clear Glaze Medium

You will need at least two small containers to hold mediums. These can be anything from the cap for a bottle to small candle cups or eggcups.

Disposable Acrylic Palette Paper

Paper palettes are available in pads. These are needed for color mixing and dry palette blending. Make sure the paper you select has one slick side. Pads of palette paper listed for use of both acrylic and oils, which do not have the slick side, may absorb the moisture from acrylic paint too quickly.

Distilled Water in a Squeeze Bottle

Use distilled water if storing your palette of colors in a closed container for any length of time. Some tap water contains mold that may grow and contaminate the paint.

Palette Knife

A plastic, bent-blade palette knife is great for mixing colors and mediums. They’re inexpensive and easy to clean.

Paper Towels

Use inexpensive paper towels to set up your wet palette. Thick paper towels may be used for wiping your brush when painting. Fold them into quarters to save space in your work area.

Pencil and Pencil Sharpener

A #2HB pencil is the easiest to find. Your pencil may be used for drawing or making notes in your sketchbook. The pencil sharpener will also be used to sharpen soapstone (see below).

Sandpaper

Small pieces of various grits of sandpaper are used both for surface preparation and painting. Medium- or light-colored sandpaper will not lose its color on the background. Fingernail files, which are available in a variety of grades, are excellent for hard to reach places.

Sketchbook or Journal

A spiral bound sketchbook or a small journal should be kept for gathering inspiration, color samples, and notes. Glue a mylar pocket from an office supply store to the back to hold small things

Soapstone

Soapstone or plumber’s chalk comes in a stick. It is available at hardware stores in the plumbing supplies. Sharpen the soapstone with a pencil sharpener as needed. This is used to sketch onto the surface of carvings because the lines are easily removed.

Towel for Work Area

An old towel or cloth protects the work surface and provides a cushion for your project.

Wet Palette

A wet palette is used for paint storage and may be set up using any shallow container. A wet palette may be as simple as a paper plate or a foam meat tray. An airtight container for food storage will keep paint workable for several days or weeks. Lay a damp paper towel on top of your palette, and apply the paint on top of the paper towel.

Vicki Rhodes has authored books and numerous magazine articles.

Getting Started

Sketch the top and side pattern views on the block with a pencil, or photocopy the patterns and attach them with repositionable spray adhesive. Cut the top view on a scroll saw, and then turn the piece on its side and secure it in a vise. Cut the second view on a band saw. Note: The side pattern view is too thick to cut on a scroll saw, as scroll saws can typically handle wood no more than 2″ (5.1cm) thick.

You’ll notice that this pattern has an arch shape. Straight hair combs and forks are great, but the arch shape sits around the contours of your head instead of just pressing against them. This allows you to wear it all day without getting a headache.

Carving

Shape the comb. Round over all harsh edges on the blank, including between the teeth, using a rotary tool with a fluted cone-shaped carbide cutter. Widen the space between the teeth, removing a little wood at a time and maintaining a soft arc shape between the teeth. Note: When carving spacing between the teeth, remember to round the arc shapes instead of squaring then off.

Refine the comb’s shape. Use the rotary tool with a sanding disc to smooth and round each tooth completely, tapering the teeth to somewhat sharp points with blunted ends. Then smooth the top and sides of the comb. Do this on the front and back. Add ornamentation as desired; I recommend woodburning, painting, or relief carving. I included a bonus relief carving pattern of oak and gingko biloba leaves, available online.

Tip: It’s All About The Teeth

In order for the comb to slide easily through your hair, it helps to round the two outermost teeth so they face slightly inward. The remaining (inner) teeth can be straight.

Finishing

Finish the comb. As this will be used in hair, a natural finish is always better; I recommend raw linseed oil mixed with a drop of lavender essential oil (substitute your favorite scent here). Over time, each comb will pick up the natural body oils of its owner and take on a glow all its own. If you prefer a clear, glossy finish, I recommend using three to four coats of a spray-on clear enamel, buffing with a fine sanding sponge between applications.

Tip: Go To Gift

Hair combs make wonder-ful gifts for anyone with long hair. Do you ever see women using pens or pencils to hold their hair up? They need a handmade hair comb! I like to leave one for my server when I leave an eating establishment.

Materials

• Hardwood, such as Osage orange or walnut, 1 1/2″ (3.8cm) thick: approx. 3″ x 6″ (7.6cm x 15.2cm)

• Pencil

• Spray adhesive: repositionable (optional)

• Sandpaper: assorted grits

• Natural finish, such as raw linseed oil

• Essential oil, such as lavender: 1 drop (optional)

• Clear spray enamel (optional)

• Acrylic paints (optional)

Tools

• Band saw

• Scroll saw

• Rotary tool with bits: sanding disc, fluted cone-shaped carbide cutter

• Sanding sponge

• Vise

• Woodburner (optional)

Keoma McCaffrey lives in Northern California with her husband, Jeff, and three sons, and a passel of animals. She carves most of her work from salvaged local hardwoods. She is a moderator on the Woodcarving Illustrated message board, woodcarvingillustrated.com/forum.

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Flamingo

Carve: Round the body and head with a 9/32″ (7mm) #11 gouge. Shape the beak by bringing the front of the head to a point. Use a 4mm #11 gouge to form and round the cheeks and neck. Cut in and round the eye area. Round the front and back of the nest.

Paint: Wash the bird with a mixture of light red and white. Highlight the top of back, head, and cheeks with white; blend. Mix Alizarin crimson and light red; add shadows under cheeks and nest. Add features using thinned white and a script liner brush. Paint the beak white near the face and yellow near the tip. Blend in burnt sienna near the tip and black to the end. Apply a basecoat to the nest with thinned raw sienna.

Tree

Carve: Clamp the tree to the bench and round its top. Narrow and round the trunk. Round the outside of the pot. Draw a line to separate the rim from the pot, stop-cut along the line, and carve the pot down 1/16″ to 1/8″ (2mm to 3mm). Slant the pot slightly toward the base. Cut some grooves to simulate leafy edges. Drill a hole in the pot for the tree trunk, but do not glue the tree.

Paint: Basecoat the tree trunk with thinned raw sienna. Paint the lower foliage with thinned light green (mix 1/2 part Payne’s gray and 6 parts lemon yellow). Paint the top with thinned dark green (mix 1 part lemon yellow and 2 parts Payne’s gray); blend. Mix Alizarin crimson with a tiny amount of black for the fruit. Paint the pot with thinned light red. Blend burnt umber under the rim. Paint the “dirt” black.

Flag

Carve: Draw a wave pattern about 1/8″ (3mm) thick on the edge. Carve the flag to shape. Drill 9/64″ (3.5mm) holes in the top and bottom; the holes do not need to go all the way through. Add a thin dowel pole and bead finial.

Paint: Use light red on the edge of the flag and the finial. Highlight the center of each edge with lemon yellow; blend. Paint the center of the flag with black acrylic. Mix raw sienna and white to form brown and paint the tree trunk. Mix light red and lemon yellow, and paint fruit. Use tree light green for the leaves and to dot the corners. Use tree dark green to paint stripes on the flag border.

Pelican

Carve: Thin the neck and round the body. Round the face and head, and then thin and shape the beak. Cut depressions for the eyes with a 4mm #11 gouge, and round the edges of the grooves to soften. Cut off the piece used as a handle and shape the bottom.

Paint: Mix lemon yellow and burnt sienna to make golden yellow and paint the face. Blend a little white at the top of the head, and blend burnt sienna where the face meets the beak. Mix raw sienna and raw umber to make taupe and paint the body. Blend white on the shoulders and tail. Mix light taupe and paint the beak. Paint underside of body with thinned raw umber. Add dark brown to the top of the head, back of the neck, and between the beak and face. Paint the eye dark brown. Drill a hole into the bottom and mount the pelican on a slim dowel.

Telescope

Carve: Round the basswood to resemble a dowel. Draw the top rim, stop cut around it, and narrow the remaining portion. Measure 1″ (25mm) from the rim and carve the area down 1/8″ (3mm). Measure 7/8″ (22mm) from the 1″ line and measure 5/16″ (8mm) from the base. Carve down the area 1/8″ (3mm).

Paint: Paint the telescope with slightly thinned lemon yellow. Add a white highlight; blend. Blend burnt sienna under the levels. Paint burnt umber along the sides of each level and blend lightly. Add “rivet” dots in burnt umber. Drill a hole into the telescope to mount it at a slant on a slim dowel.

Lantern

Carve: Lower the top and center areas. Round the top portion.

Paint: Paint the glass with slightly thinned lemon yellow. Add white in the lower center; stipple to blend. Blend burnt sienna at the top and bottom of the glassed area. Paint the top, bottom, and frame lines black. Add a copper wire hanger.