Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Doing Detail Work when Wood Carving

By Jason Larrsohn


When using wood carving tools to shape a piece you are working on, detail is key to finding success. While most people who start out with this hobby tend to go with rougher projects in order to improve their skill set, more skilled people will want to work on details.

While seemingly simple to pick up, this is a craft which takes a lot of time and practice to truly get good at. The great thing about this craft is that everyone has something different which they can contribute.

There are two main ways that practice can improve on the results which people get. First of all, there is the process of learning about the ways that things work, and how to apply technique to the wood carving process.

Wood carving tools will achieve better results when they are used with skill and technique. Therefore, one of the most important parts of any process is going to be learning all of the ways to consciously apply technique to your work.

To begin with, raw muscle memory is a very important part of being able to use wood carving tools effectively. Muscle memory is something that people develop with a lot of repetition and practice, and will become instinct after a while.

Gently grasp the wood carving tools and use very small movements when working on the details. Do not go too fast or dig a tool in too deep with any one movement.

It is better to slowly create an effect over the course of any hour than to risk messing up by going too fast in the course of half an hour. Learn to carve in small repetitious movements, essentially whittling every piece- but on a very small scale.

The other way that you will get better with wood carving tools is through the buildup of muscle memory over time. When people are using tools, they have to trigger muscle impulse in order to move things and to shape them.

While this is an instinctive process, it is one which requires precise bursts of muscle activity in order to get the best results. Muscle memory is the process of the human body getting used to an activity and being able to perform amazing motor control by reflex.

Being able to call on muscle memory is essential to being able to perform complex tasks and to ensure accuracy and overall quality of work. Therefore, practice is essential for developing this essential skill.

Simply put, building up your skills over time is a matter of practicing and making every effort to learn. There is always more that you can take in and apply in order to get better results.

The crucial thing sis to always remember the love for the hobby, and the beautiful and unique pieces which can be created through it. Do not become frustrated, either- some of the best people out there had to develop their skills through the lessons of many mistakes.




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