P.Paces - Woodcarving Projects (V5)

Welcome to Peter's

World of Woodcarving...

"woodcarving ain't easy!"

Woodcarving Projects

All the carvings are in lime-wood / linden / basswood (natural or stained)

Send me an e-mail to

for demos, a carving chat...

This introduction is available as a download in the PDF format - to download to your computer, right-click on the link below and select "Save Target As....." and specify the folder you want to download the file into, usually "Documents" or "Downloads". You may then peruse the file off-line at your leisure using a "pdf" viewer (such as the Adobe Acrobat):

>Download Perfecting Intro.pdf<

alternatively read on:

Perfecting the ……

('Carve something simple' woodcarving projects by Peter Pačes)

These projects are aimed at woodcarvers who wish to 'have a go' at creating relatively easy yet attractive carvings.

Some of these projects are as simple as they get, yet they result in presentable creations, provided the carver has enough self discipline to see the project through. If nothing else, they may serve as sources of carving ideas.

It is not uncommon to see people taking on projects far beyond their capabilities and never really finishing them. Invariably this is due to the wrong type of subject (usually too ambitious), to the lack of adequate preparation and artwork, to the choice of wrong timber, to inadequate tools etc.
Here I offer to help with some of these problems: the idea, the artwork, the wood.

Note that the projects with the difficulty rating of 1, 2 and 3 are suitable for beginners.

What is on offer:

Perfecting the ......

N^o	Difficulty		W x H x D		PC Kit	CD Kit	Extra blanks	p&p
01	Proboscis	2	125mm	5"	£7	£7	£4 ea.	£2.50 min.
02	Pony	3	80x180x25	3x7x1"	£12	£12	£6 ea.	£2.50 min.
03	PPPenguin	3	100mm	4"	£12	£12	£6 ea.	£2.50 min.
04	Piggy	3	70x 80 x100	3x3x4"	£11	£11	£5 ea.	£2.50 min.
05	Pussycat	3	60x 90 x70	2x4x3"
06	Pretzel Meister	4	175mm	5"
07	Palomino	5	80 mm	3"
08	Prod	5	50x120x150	2x5x6"
09	Puppets	5	300mm	12"
10	Paw	4	175mm(75%)	7"

To make life a bit easier, partially prepared lime blocks (blanks) are available from the author.
These are made to various stages of "readiness" :

         Stage 1 - a plain lime block of the correct size with an outline drawing.
         Stage 2 - (reliefs) - lime blocks with pre-drilled "depth" markers in waste areas.
         Stage 2 - (figures)- basic cut-outs of the main outlines; these are not rough-outs!
         Stage 3 - other (further) stages are available on request.

Notes:
1. only the Kits with their prices shown in the table above are available at present; others will be available soon;
2. PC Kit = a printed copy of the carving guide with relevant sketches and pictures
                + one "Stage 2" blank
3. CD Kit = a PDF version of the carving guide on a CD
                + one "Stage 2" blank
                Note that there is a number of extra relevant pictures included on the CD.

Good luck!

Brief descriptions of the projects

Perfecting the Proboscis……

Free standing, life-size human noses to be used as holders for reading or other spectacles. One of the few practical items in the woodcarving universe! The designs range from the almost realistic to the stylized and humorous.

Difficulty	2
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available
Size	125 mm high (5”)

Perfecting the Pony…….

A picture-style relief of a stylized seahorse, suitable for hanging on a wall.

Difficulty	2
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available
Size	75x175x25 mm (3x7x1”)

Perfecting the PPPenguin…….

This is the people’s favourite, a stylized free-standing penguin. Mount a few on a rock to create a pppenguin colony!

Difficulty	3
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available (includes the hardwood beak)
Size	100 mm high (4”)

Perfecting the Piggy…….

A stylized porker with floppy ears and a cute curly tail. A Definite Dieting Debacle!

Difficulty	3
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available
Size	100 mm long (4”)

Perfecting the Pussycat…….

A half-bust of a cat watching the world go by. Free standing or hanging.

Difficulty	3
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available
Size	90-100 mm high (3.5"-4")

Perfecting the Pretzel Meister…….

A half-bust of a self-satisfied cook, dreaming of perfectly boiling another egg. Free-standing or hanging.

Difficulty	4
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available
Size	175 mm high (7")

Perfecting the Prod …….

A walking stick handle.

Difficulty	5
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available (includes the hardwood horn inserts)
Size	50x120x150 mm (2"x5"x6")

Perfecting the Palomino.….

A free-standing, chess-style bust of a horse’s head.

Difficulty	5
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available
Size	75 mm high (3”)

Perfecting the Paw.….

A free-standing human hand giving the " I love you " gesture in the sign language.

Difficulty	4
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available
Size	175 mm high (7”) 75% life size

Perfecting the Puppet…….

A variety of articulated puppets such as clowns, pirates, fiends, monsters, knights, princes, princesses, witches etc. is offered. These projects are perfect for learning how to carve body parts, as everything is made separately. And nice looking puppets are created in the end!

A brief outline on clothing the figures is provided, too. The puppets look attractive just “sitting” around or may be “wired up” to be used as marionettes.

Difficulty	5
Lime Blanks	Stage 2 available *)
Size	250-300 high mm (10"-12")

*) Note that the hand and esp. the leg cut-outs vary according to the puppet but the bodies are similar for most of the puppets. Also note that the head cut-outs have minimal face details.

An example of a project sheet……

Perfecting the Pony…
“Carve something simple” by Peter Pačes

This straightforward carving project yields an attractive relief of everybody’s favourite – that of a seahorse. The accompanying pictures can be easily scaled up or down on a photocopier to alter the size of the carving.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Select a suitable limewood block – 75 x 180 x 25mm (W x H x D) is used here.

Note that the grain runs along the longest dimension, i.e. vertically.

2. Transfer the outline (Fig.1) to the wood either by copying (use carbon paper) or, alternatively, make a cardboard template of the outline and trace the picture onto the block. The latter option is useful if more than one carving are to be produced. Furthermore, it makes it easy to create a mirror image of the horse, by simply turning the template over.

3. Mark the depth of the relief by drawing a line around the perimeter of the block at approx. 13mm from the top.

25. If required, stain the carving with a light brown stain. Once dry, rub it down with a clean stiff shoe brush in order to remove any fuzz raised by the stain.

26. Finishing the surface …. there are at least three options (I usually go for c):

a) Use a few coats of clear spray varnish(gloss or matt); rub down gently
between coats, until spotless. If required, follow with c).

etc.

Hang on a wall and enjoy! Good luck!

: : : : : : etc.

Fig.1

: : : : : etc.

Fig.5

Notes:
The PC Kit for this project consists of a 5-page project sheet with pictures, one pre-drilled blank (Fig.1) and costs £12+pp.
The CD Kit for this project contains a PDF version of the project sheet, one pre-drilled blank and costs £12+pp.
A number of additional photos is also included on the CD.
Specify which Kit you require.

Two versions of the blank are available - with the horse looking to its left or right.
Specify left or right when ordering.

Additional pre-drilled blanks (Fig.1) cost £6 ea.

05-Aug-2008 (V5)

First created in April 2000 by Peter Paces (with a li'l help from FrontPage)