Tips for Carving Wooden Gifts: Avoiding Mistakes on the Back and Base
Hey everyone, this is Wooden Smile. When it comes to carving the outer outline of a wooden gift, a lot of people run into some issues. Today, we’ll continue using the little wooden figure as an example to help answer those questions as we go through the carving process.
How should we carve the back of the wooden figure?
We’ve talked about how you need to separate the head from the body. One thing to watch for is whether the figure’s clothing includes accessories like a hood. For example, if it’s wearing a hoodie or has a thick collar, make sure to leave room for that. The figure we’re working on doesn’t have a hood, so we can go ahead and carve off the back.
Is it better to carve off big chunks all at once, or go slow?
We recommend carving gradually when making wooden gifts. The goal is to slowly thin out the body of the figure. If you’re not totally sure what you’re doing, it’s better not to remove too much wood at once—that way, you give yourself some flexibility.
Why are there some spots where the wood just doesn’t cut well?
Sometimes, you’ll run into little bits of wood that are just tough to shave off. Whether you go at it from the front or the side, it doesn’t feel quite right. In these cases, try carving perpendicular to the wood grain and slowly thin it out. Whatever you do, don’t force it or try to pry it off.
Since we need to separate the head and body, what should we do with the base of the figure?
Same idea—we need to separate the feet from the legs. So, about one centimeter up from the bottom, make two stop cuts to create that boundary.
I’m afraid I’ll mess up and ruin the wood. What should I do?
Actually, it’s okay to be bold. Being overly cautious can hold you back. The key is to stay confident. Don’t be afraid of messing up while carving wooden gifts. If it breaks, it breaks—it’s just a piece of wood. We say this over and over again: if you’re too afraid to try, if you never mess up a block of wood, you might never improve.
That’s it for Wooden Smile’s answers to the common problems you might run into while making handcrafted wooden gifts. In the next post, we’ll continue carving this little wooden figure, so stay tuned and join us as we finish creating this one-of-a-kind piece together!
