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Woodcarving Illustrated
Keeping Your Woodworking and Jewelry Making Tools in Tip-Top Shape
Craftsmanship is an art form that requires precision, dedication, and the right tools. Whether you’re a seasoned woodworker crafting intricate furniture or a jewelry maker fashioning exquisite pieces, your tools are your greatest assets. However, to maintain the quality of your work and ensure your tools serve you well for…
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Common Soldering Problems and Solution for Jewelers
Soldering can be a fun part of jewelry making but even the most experienced jewelry makers can run into problems from time to time. While it might not always be clear what the problem is, there are a few common culprits that might be causing you problems. Here’s what you…
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Why You Should Be Using USA-Made Wood Carving Tools for Your Projects
Woodcarving is an art that requires quality, precise, and durable tools. However, finding the best wood carving tools is easier said than done — thanks to the convenience of online shopping, there are now numerous outlets where beginning and experienced woodcarvers alike can purchase the tools they need. With an…
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Repost: Making Custom Colors
It can be difficult to find the perfect dye or stain color for your project. Instead of searching the stores or settling for something other than what you envisioned, you can create the exact color you want. In the Spring 2011 issue of Woodcarving Illustrated, Robert Triplett and Technical Editor…
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Repost: Motivated to Create: The Importance of Painting
With distinctive down-home features, peculiarities of figure, and deliberately exaggerated faces, carvings by Phil and Vicki Bishop are designed to evoke smiles and keep us from taking life too seriously. In the Woodcarving Illustrated Spring 2012 (Issue 58), the pair share their story and inspirations. Although Phil and Vicki, a…
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Repost: Extreme Pumpkin Carving
This October, showcase your carving skills with something special for Halloween. Editor’s Note: Carving pumpkins is a tradition for many people celebrating Halloween. In their new book, Extreme Pumpkin Carving, Vic Hood and Jack A. Williams show and tell how to use readily available knives as well as woodcarving tools…
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Repost: Top Ten Underrated Uses for Carving Tools
Tongue-in-cheek take on common carving tools and materials. #1 CA glue: To glue your thumb to the piece of wood you are trying to replace back to the carving. Also serves to glue cut skin back together and glue your thumb to the cut. #2 Bandaids: To cover the CA…
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Repost: Stropping Angle
No matter how you strop, whether by hand or with power, the surface you are working is always face down and out of sight. This makes it difficult to see if you are holding the tool at the correct angle. I use a Sharpie® marker to draw a broad mark…
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Repost: All About Buying Wood
A handy reference guide and inside tips from 30 years of buying carving wood Buying wood—be it pine, basswood, or something exotic like rosewood—can leave you scratching your head wondering about the mathematics and vocabulary. When I first started purchasing wood, I fell in love with a piece of mahogany,…
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Repost: Top Tip
From Joe Savarese (Brooklyn, NY) Whenever you are working with sharp tools, it is important to be organized. I start by color coding my tool handles. For example, I paint a purple stripe on all of my #5 gouges. Then I woodburn my initials or a symbol (I use a…
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