Rocking Horse Chip Carving

The Wood Magazine plans for the Woodworkers Fighting Cancer Rocking Horse call for stained details for the mane, nostril and saddle sides before applying the topcoat. Personally, I don’t like the way that pine takes stain, as it tends to turn out blotchy. Instead I thought it would be nice to add some chip carving to this rocking horse to avoid the need for stain.

I chose to chip carve the mouth as well, instead of removing material as called for in the plans. Cutting away the material leaves a narrow section of wood hanging down. I fear that this will be broken off all too soon by rowdy riders.

Another thing to consider is that stain colors cannot be guaranteed to fit in with future generations of decor. This heirloom project is made to be handed down for years, so carving is really the safe bet.

Before you write off chip carving as something old timers do on their back porch and a process that requires expensive knives, let me show you my setup and how the layout will engage your nerdy side.

First the tools

To carve, we need a knife. There are many dedicated chip carving knives available, but why not get started with a more “frugal” option, the utility knife.

Do you think we are going against the grain to an extreme here? I have an uncle in northern MN that would say NO. Using no more than a utility knife, he has paid tribute to his Swedish heritage by embellishing his entire household with chip carved plaques and boxes.

His beautiful handmade boxes validate the utility knife as a respectable alternative.

Using a utility knife also eliminates one of the most difficult tasks, sharpening the blade. When your edge gets dull, simply flip it over to a fresh edge or replace the blade. You are back to carving in no time.

Unless you are planning on doing only freeform chip carving, like I’ve done here on the horse’s mane, mouth and nostril, you will need some layout tools.

A basic compass, a good steel ruler is all that is required.

Note: I will also be giving some shortcuts for those who have a combination square. More so that any other tool you can buy, a combination square will unlock efficiencies in your shop in ways you cannot experience without one. My simple message is GET ONE and get a GOOD one. I’ve been through 3 bad ones and now have a Starrett that will be around longer than I will.

Begin the Layout

The plans call out for 5 stars on the saddle side pieces. I wanted a bit more IMPACT, so I decided to make one BIG BOLD star instead of the 5 smaller ones.

But how do you draw a star? We will get to that in a minute. First we need to draw in some lines to locate the center of the star.

Find the midpoint on the straight edge of the side saddle piece. From there, mark a line perpendicular to the straight edge down through the center of the circle.

Note: Here is where you can save a little time, if you have a square, combination or otherwise. Just use the square to make the perpendicular line and skip this next section.

OK. Compass only, this is easy.

To make a perpendicular line, set your compass to about a 2″ radius. An exact measurement isn’t important here. With the compass point on the midpoint, mark two arc segments on the straight edge.

Now set your compass to about 4″ and from each arc segment, make a mark in approximately the middle of the board.

Where the two arc segments intersect is perpendicular to the midpoint.

OK. Everyone back on board now.

With your compass set to the desired star size (mine was 1 3/4″ radius), set the point on the perpendicular line and about 1/2″ up from the bottom curved edge of the saddle side. Make an arc that crosses your perpendicular line. Now, at that intersection, make the circle that your star will be drawn within.

Now we need a line that  is parallel to the straight edge and that will divide the circle into 4 equal segments.

Another detour for those with a combination square. Set the head of your combination square on the straight edge of the side saddle piece and adjust the ruler to the center point of the circle. Now simply slide the square over to each circle edge and make a mark on the circumference of the circle.

Change your compass for a larger radius. Put the point of the compass where your perpendicular line crosses your circle edge and make a mark outside the circle on both sides. Do this from both ends of the circle.

Now draw a line connecting your arc segment intersections. This line should be parallel to the straight edge of the saddle side. The circle is now divided into 4 equal sized quadrants.

At this point, it becomes easier to show the steps than to attempt to describe them. Below is a quick video showing the star layout steps. It goes kind fast, so pause at each step and rewind if necessary to understand what is happening.

How to Draw a STAR!

Basically, the first few steps create a line that is 1/5 the circumference of the circle. With this distance established, set your compass for that radius and then step off equally spaced marks around the circle. Connect those points up and, as they say, a star is born.

Many polygons can be created using similar “Compass and Striaghtedge Construction” techniques. Visit this Wikipedia page for more examples.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass_and_straightedge_constructions

To see how to use these layout techniques to expand your chip carving, I recommend the authoritative text on chip carving “The Complete Guide to Chip Carving” (Amazon Affiliate Link). Within the pages, Wayne Barton gives simple instructions on how to layout multi point “Rosettes”.

Design Reuse

The job of an engineer is to create that which did not exist before. But that doesn’t mean that we have to recreate our engineering feats from scratch every time. This is where design reuse comes in to save the day.

Once we have this star drawn once, we can copy it to tracing paper. This way we don’t have to unnecessarily repeat the layout steps above.

As you create more and more chip carving patterns, you will develop your own library from which you can pull details in the future.

To reuse your patterns in the future, a simple sheet of graphite paper and an embossing tool will come in handy. It is better to use graphite paper versus carbon paper because the graphite paper leaves a less wavy surface, which is more friendly towards finishes.

Find these items and more to get started chip carving in The Lumber Lab Amazon aStore.

You can only carve as precise as your layout lines.

This is the most important lesson I have been taught by that most effective and ruthless of teachers, experience. I can’t stress it enough that your pencil lines should be thin and crisp, but light. Too dark and/or too deep of a line will lead to excessive sanding and erasing during the cleanup stages, dulling the sharp edges of our carving that we worked so hard to maintain. An easy way to make crisp light lines is to use a pencil with hard lead. Mechanical pencils are typically in the HB range. I like a 6H artist pencil for very delicate lines.

This being a mostly straight line pattern, I recommend marking only the points of the star with the embossing tool. It is too hard (for me at least) to draw a proper straight line without a ruler. Once the points are defined, you can remove the transfer paper and draw in the straight lines with a pencil.

Carving technique

Marty Leenhouts from My Chip Carving is another great champion of chip carving that can help you develop as a carver. He has taught many people to carve at his Red Barn Retreats. Marty was nice enough to feature my work in his newsletter back in early 2011.

Gripping the knife with your ring finger and its neighbors. Make a tripod with the thumb and the knuckle of the pointer finger and the tip of the knife. The cutting motion should move the knife back towards the space between the thumb and the knuckle. Move the knife through the wood by gradually closing the hand.

Knife angle

I just want to touch lightly on this topic. You will get a feel for what looks and works best as you work, but as a general rule-of-thumb (which engineers are encouraged to ignore), a total angle of 60 degree gives the best balance between chip depth and shadow developed. Do your best to maintain this angle by gripping the knife with your three fingers at a consistent place.

Tip for Deep Chips

For all chips, I find it best to make a light scoring cut along the pencil line first. This is especially helpful in a wood like this pine with extreme density changes between the early and the late wood.

Although your chips will look best if taken in one stroke of the knife, sometimes that is just not possible, or safe. When taken in a single stroke, the walls of the carving will be a single facet. If your design has deep chips, like this star does, score the line multiple times. Just try to keep the knife angle consistent. You can clean up the facets after you get the chip out.

Have Fun!

Chip carving is a fun a quick way to personalize your projects. If you’re sick of using your lathe to crank out quick one piece projects, take a look at chip carving as an alternative.

On this project in particular, the chip carved elements will fulfill the aesthetic requirements of defining the mane, nostril and mouth features. Chip carving will give your horse a timeless look. The details you add today will be a long-lasting testament to your skill and care as a craftsman.

David

Additional Resources

For a great look into a master chip carving class, as told by the always entertaining Village Carpenter, check out this blog post.

http://villagecarpenter.blogspot.com/2008/11/chip-carving.html

To take a closer look at the tools and materials I’ve suggested here. Visit the Chip Carving section of The Lumber Lab aStore.