AngelSanta.pdf

S ANTA

Whether you’re eight or 80,

relief carve Christmas ornaments

with ease

rnaments never seem to lose their popularity,

especially ones carved from wood. The angel

design, which I modified, originally came from an

old magazine. The Santa was a piece of commercial art in a

gift catalog. Working up patterns is time well spent since I

copy them repeatedly to generate very welcome gifts or use

them as teaching aids.

handtool cut, whether the result is flat,

curved or V-shaped. But most important,

power carving requires much less physical

effort. The handpiece common to flexible shaft

machines and micro motor tools is doing the bulk

of the work, such as removing wood or finishing up

with an abrasive. The equipment is particularly beneficial for

those with arthritic conditions who find it difficult to

manipulate a knife or other edge tools.

Most handtool carvers probably don’t realize how easy it

is to learn power carving. In many cases, when doing projects

like these ornaments, the technique involved is comparable

M OST HANDTOOL CARVERS

PROBABLY DON ’ T REALIZE HOW EASY

IT IS TO LEARN POWER CARVING .

Powerful Issues

Most readers know me as a power carver. While I am not

opposed to whittling or traditional sculpting methods, I find

that power tools offer many benefits. For one, I don’t have

to sharpen the rotary bits I use. When they become dull, I

simply discard them and buy replacements. For another,

these same bits don’t offer the sharp cutting edges of

traditional handtools, which, of course, must be constantly

touched up, honed and even resharpened. And given the

variety of bit sizes and shapes, I can virtually duplicate any

to using a pencil or pen on a piece of paper. Young children,

in fact, adapt very nicely to the equipment and will turn out

simple relief carvings with ease. Introducing an eight-year-old

to carving with a knife is a route I prefer not to take. Still,

with any equipment that grinds, cuts or abrades, safe

practices are a must (see sidebar).

84 Wood Carving Illustrated • Holiday 2003

Angel and Santa

A NGEL AND

S ANTA

By Jack Kochan

Photography by Roger Schroeder

Materials

For the hair, apply Yellow Light mixed with a small

amount of Vermilion.

& TOOLS

MATERIALS:

Wood:

Basswood, tupelo or pine 1 ⁄ 4 in.

thick; 3 ⁄ 8 in. thick if carving both

sides

Power Tools:

Flexible shaft machine or micro

motor tool

Bits:

Cylinder-shaped diamond bit

with (grit-free) safe end

Long bud stump cutter

Needle-shaped diamond bit

Ball nose abrasive stone

Slightly tapered or cylindrical

diamond bit

5 ⁄ 32 in. -diameter ball-shaped

diamond bit

Flame-shaped abrasive stone

Tapered white abrasive stone

Experiment with a mix of Raw Sienna and Titanium

White for the face and hand. More Titanium White creates a

lighter skin tone.

Accessories:

Tapered sanding roll on a

mandrel

Sanding stick

ScotchBrite disc

Old toothbrush

Small eye punch

Screw eyes

Use Colony Blue for the trumpet.

For the wing, apply a basecoat of black gesso or Carbon

Black. Liberally brush on Silver. Dry brush the recesses with

black gesso.

Santa

Brighten the beard, hair, mustache and eyebrows with

Titanium White.

Finishing Materials:

Acrylic paints

Flow medium

White and black gesso

Lacquer

Lacquer thinner

Acrylic varnish

Coat the hair areas with a very watery wash of Raw

Sienna without the matte varnish. The Raw Sienna pigments

settle into the recesses and provide depth and shadow to the

carving.

For the fur trim on the hat, use a watery mix of Titanium

White with a bit of Raw Umber. The result is a light gray

appearance.

Use Napthol Red Light or Napthol Crimson for the hat.

The more coats applied, the greater the intensity of color.

Painting by the Numbers

After both carvings are finished, I seal the wood with a 50:50

mix of lacquer and lacquer thinner and let it dry thoroughly.

Since the sealer tends to raise the grain, I de-fuzz with a

ScotchBrite disc on a mandrel run at low rpm. If unwanted

scratches or rough areas turn up, some touchup sanding is

required. The smoother the surface, the better the painted

finish will appear. I then seal the re-sanded areas with the

lacquer-lacquer thinner mix.

Priming the wood is next. I use a 75:25 mix of gesso and

flow medium. Two or three coats may be required to achieve

the degree of whiteness I prefer for the basecoat. A hair

dryer will make the gesso “dry to the touch” in minutes, but

a longer time is needed for the primer to cure or set up.

After the gesso has cured, I de-fuzz the wood once again, this

time by scrubbing it with an old toothbrush or soft bristle

rotary brush in a power tool.

Many acrylic paints, which dry quickly, are available for

the ornaments, but I prefer Jo Sonja’s Artists’ Colors. As a

wildfowl carver, I find these paints ideal, and they work

nicely for the angel and Santa. Paint names listed below are

those used by the company. I add a small amount of matte

varnish to all the colors for two reasons. For one, it provides

a semi-gloss finish. For another, it acts as a binder for the

paint pigments, making the colors more durable.

I recently came across Jo Sonja’s Silver. Applying it to

one area of the angel, I was delighted with the results. The

overall look is one of pewter rather than shiny metal. I may

well put aside the other colors and use Silver on an entire

angel in the near future.

Apply Green Oxide to the holly leaves and Napthol Red

to the berries.

For the flesh, experiment with a mix of Raw Sienna and

Titanium White. Highlight the cheeks, nose and lower lip

with dry-brushed Vermilion.

For a glossy finish, spray the piece with an acrylic varnish.

Power Carving Safety Tips at a Glance

• Wear a dust mask or a respirator or use a dust

collection system. Power carving, in almost all cases,

produces dust. All wood dust is harmful to the

respiratory tract.

• Safety glasses or goggles are a must. Chips often fly

off the wood erratically and dust will affect the tear

ducts.

• Wear close-fitting clothing and tie up long hair.

Rotating bits don’t discriminate between wood and

other easy-to-catch objects.

• Invest in a footswitch. If the handpiece gets tangled or

dropped, release your foot instead of having to hunt for

the motor’s on/off switch.

• Power carve when you feel fresh. All work and

safety-related surveys indicate that most accidents occur

when fatigue has set in.

. Brighten the gown with Titanium White. Dry brush the

recesses with a small amount of Colony Blue added to the

Titanium White to create shadows.

Angel and Santa

Wood Carving Illustrated • Holiday 2003 85

Angel

The angel can easily be done in multiples with only one pattern

required.To make four cutouts that are to be carved on only one

side, use a piece of tupelo, basswood or pine at least 1 1 ⁄ 4 in. thick.

Before slicing the wood, drill a hole for the open area between the

arm and face.

Draw some basic reference lines using transfer paper or do them

freehand. Most of the details can be done by eye.

Relieve wood on the lines made in the previous step using a slightly

tapered or cylinder-shaped diamond bit with a safe end, meaning that

it has no diamond grit on the flat tip. Power the bit with a flexible

shaft machine or micro motor tool.When the bit is held at an angle,

it cuts much like a V tool.

Taper or round the edges of the robe, trumpet, face and hand with a

long bud stump cutter, although almost any cylinder or tapered shape

will do the job.

For details on the face such as the eye cavity, then the hair tracts and

the hand, use a 3 ⁄ 32 in.-diameter ball-shaped diamond bit.

Outline the fingers with a needle-shaped diamond bit. Divide the

width of the hand in half and then in quarters for the four fingers.

86 Wood Carving Illustrated • Holiday 2003

Angel and Santa

STEP

A small ball nose abrasive stone creates the grooves on the robe and

upper portion of the wing. Used here is a CeramCut Blue stone. It

not only makes the grooves, but it also polishes the wood.

Use a tapered sanding roll to smooth and touch up recesses

and corners.

A sanding stick is ideal for smoothing narrow grooves.

Use transfer paper or draw freehand the primary details on the

Santa cutout.

Relieve the primary details using a slightly tapered or cylindrical

diamond bit. Separate the mustache from the cheek, the nostril

from the nose and the eyebrow from the forehead. Also shape

the eye cavity.

Round or taper the front of the beard, the face and hat with a long

bud stump cutter.

Angel and Santa

Wood Carving Illustrated • Holiday 2003 87

STEP

For the beard, make the grooves fairly deep. Make sure to hold the

tapered or cylindrical diamond bit at an angle to the wood of

between 30 and 45 degrees.

To simulate the look of a wool pompom, use a 5 ⁄ 32 in.-diameter

ball-shaped diamond bit.

Create the fur tracts of the hat trim using a flame-shaped abrasive

stone. A CeramCut Blue stone is a good choice. Run at a high rpm

to burnish the wood.

Use a tapered white abrasive stone to detail the head hair, mustache

and eyebrows.

Outline the holly leaves and berries with a needle-shaped diamond

bit and use a safe end diamond cylindrical bit to give final shape to

the prickly margined leaves. A small eye punch more quickly outlines

the berries.

Sand both convex and concave areas with a tapered sanding roll on

a mandrel.

88 Wood Carving Illustrated • Holiday 2003

Angel and Santa

STEP

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