Essential Wood Carving Tools Explained

Woodcarving has to be one of the most rewarding hobbies. Creating a piece of art from a stick of wood takes skill, creativity, knowledge and patience. It’s not for everyone, only a small percentage of the population have the right mix. That’s what makes wood carving so unique.

If you are going to get started in woodcarving, you will need to know a little about the tools of the trade.

Essential Wood Carving Tools

A basic wood carving toolkit includes chisels, gouges and V-Tools. Within the three groups, the tools are categorised by the shape of the blade, the width of the cutting edge and the curvature or sweep of the blade. The shape of each blade is given a name that roughly describes the shape, for example, straight or spoon. The width of the cutting edge is in millimetres while curvature is a number with the higher number being, the more significant curve. V-Tools have a number corresponding to their angle between 45 and 90 degrees.

While there are hundreds of woodcarving tools on the market, you will probably use just a few tools most of the time. The three main ones are the chisel with a straight edge, a gouge which has a curved blade and a knife.

Woodcarving Tools and Chisels

Chisels come in three kinds – straight edge, skewed and veiners. The flat cutting edge is the most common type of chisel, the skewed has a blade that is angled to the right or left for cleaning out corners and veiners are for creating deep, round cuts. For making grooves, V-Tools are best.

Below are the most popular gouges and tools:

Straight gouge – a curved cutting edge with a tip that is straight across

V-parting tool – a V-shaped blade that is ideal for outlining and detailed work

Dogleg chisel – the blade shaft drops down at an angle of 90 degrees for paring flat recesses

Macaroni tool – the shaft is in a U shape and is used a gouge or V-tool

Bent-back gouge – a convex cutting edge for undercutting and shaping

Carver’s knife – a small bladed knife for chip carving and relief work

Spoon gouge – a concave spoon-shaped blade for tight spaces

Straight chisel – a flat blade with a sharp bevel for rounding and removing background material

Skew chisel – a flat but angled blade for doing fine detail work

Fishtail gouge – more full at the tip than the base, it’s ideal for cleaning out corners and undercutting

Bent gouge – the slightly curved blade is used for clearing waste from concave surfaces

Fluteroni tool – a U shaped blade with rounded corners on the cutting edge

Look After your Wood Carving Tools for a Long Life

Wood carving requires your tools to be in excellent condition to get the best out of them however you can easily damage them if you aren’t careful. Follow these rules and your chisels will have a long life.

These tools are best stored in a leather or canvas roll. With individual pockets for the tools, the cutting edges won’t be damaged banging against each other. If you don’t have a roll, you can protect the tools’ ends with a thick material wrapped and secured around each tip.

When it comes time to choose the wood for your project, pick a softwood especially if you are new to woodcarving. Not only will it be easier and more enjoyable experience, but a softer wood also won’t risk damaging your tools as hardwoods can.

Try to strike the blade in the direction of the wood grain rather than against it and avoid wood that has defects on the outside.


If you are looking for good quality wood carving tools without the price gouging, check out this wood carving range.

5 Easy Projects to Get Started in Woodworking

Whether you are a teenager starting out on your woodworking journey or you have finally retired from work and looking for a great hobby, you will want some easy projects to begin with. Launching into difficult projects can cause frustration or worse still put you off the craft altogether. The trick is to practice basic techniques with your early projects and build on these skills with each new piece you make.

Woodworking Tools

The appeal of woodworking is you don’t need a lot of hand-tools to get started. If you’re on a tight budget just check that the job doesn’t require you to buy a fancy new tool to finish it. Later on, if you want to graduate to do more complex woodworking, you can add to your collection as you go.

Instructions for Easy Woodworking Projects

There are patterns and instructions all over the internet. Some are paid and have details of all the tools and materials you will need and step by step instructions while other instructions are free. You can follow the pattern to the letter or find one you like the look of and modify it slightly to put your individual stamp on it. Here are a few suggested projects we think make great starters:

Footstool

If you didn’t make a footstool in high school woodworking class, now is your chance. A footstool can come in so many shapes and sizes from a single step or flip-flop stool used by kids to multiple rung stools and step ladders suitable for an adult’s weight. You are sure to find one that fits the bill with 23 foot stool variations to choose from.

Wooden Box

A simple small wooden box is a good starter project because you can use wood offcuts. If you make a mistake that can’t be fixed, just grab another piece and start again. Decide if you want to add hinges or leave it as two separate pieces with a lid and bottom. Check out these Pinterest pics for inspiration then decide on the dimensions you want the box to be. Choosing the type of joins you want to tackle will help narrow your search.

Pencil Holder

If its drill practice you want, why not try making a type of holder. A pencil holder is another favourite high school project, or you could do a make-up, a small vase or toothbrush holder. Choose a nice looking piece of wood that you can varnish so you can practice your drilling and finishing skills on the one piece. Check out this YouTube video of two types of pencil holders being made.

Spice Rack

Another relatively easy project to tackle if you can measure and join pieces of wood together. You can decide how high and wide you want to make it depending on the extent of your culinary spice collection. Decide on your spice rack design by checking out this Pinterest page.

Bird House

Perfect for kids wanting to do a quick and easy project with the help of an adult. A little drilling, sanding and hammering and the kids will be showing off their handiwork in no time. Hang it outside for your child to enjoy watching birds use for years to come. This bird house design is ideal for little hands to make.


If these projects don’t appeal, keep looking for something you will enjoy making and using or pass on your handiwork to someone else. Everyone loves a handmade piece. Even if it’s not perfect, it was made with love. Every tool you need for these projects can be found in this range of quality woodworking tools.

5 Tips for Setting Up & Cutting on your Woodworking Table Saw

The table saw is the forefront of many woodworking shops, however it can be daunting to use. If you don’t concentrate and follow the safety instructions, you could lose a finger. But with some practice, you can master the art of sawing and use your table saw for the majority of your projects. They can make any kind of precise straight cut, just not curved cuts.

#1 Fitting the Blade Safely

There are many different table saw blades you can choose from but the most. General purpose or combination blade; 30 tooth or 50 tooth blade.

Install the blade with the teeth facing towards you. Some blades have an arrow to show you which way to insert into the table. The blade fits on an arbour and is held in place with a washer and nut. Tighten the nut with a wrench. Install the riving knife. It prevents the wood from touching the back of the blade and helps prevent kickback.

Place the insert plate over the blade making sure it’s flush with the table top. An anti-kickback pawl can be inserted over the arbour. If your table comes with a guard, make sure you use it. Most table saw injuries are caused by kickback. A kickback is when the wood doesn’t move smoothly through the blade and twists. At the end of the wood, the blade grabs the offcut and throws it forward. Blades can spin at 3,000 RPM, so if it catches a piece of wood, it can turn it into a sharp, dangerous projectile. Stand to the side of a table saw blade rather than directly behind it. If kickback occurs, you aren’t in the direct line of fire and have some chance of avoiding the flying wood.

Always use a fence or mitre gauge to support the wood rather than moving a piece of wood through the saw freehand. You don’t have enough control. It also helps with keeping the wood square with the blade. Use a rip fence when the wood is longer than it is wide.

#2 Setting up to Make the Cut

If you set up an awkward cut and your gut instinct tells you it isn’t quite right, don’t make the cut. Reconfigure the wood and how you are standing, so you feel safer. Imagine where your hands and body will be while you are making the cut. Think about the beginning, the midpoint and importantly the end when you need to get the wood all the way through the saw, some distance from where you are standing.

#3 Making a Rip Cut

The rip cut is the most common on table saws as it cuts with the grain. To get the right width measure from the fence to the blade’s teeth. If you have marked your wood with a cutting line, make sure you take into account the thickness of the blade (kerf width). Raise or lower the blade so that it sits a little higher than the thickness of the wood. While cutting keep your focus on the fence rather than the edge to make sure the wood is being pressed against it during the entire cut. A push stick or gripper helps keep your hands away from the blade and keep the pressure on the wood both against the fence and the table. Use the push stick on the wood which hasn’t been cut yet. Once the blade has passed, you can’t keep the pressure on the fence.

#4 Making a Cross Cut

If you need to make a cross cut where you cut across the wood, use a mitre gauge fence. Line it up to the place you want to cut then feed it through the blade keeping both hands on the fence. If you are making multiple cuts to give you several pieces of wood of the same length. Screw a scrap of wood to your mitre fence to make it longer and clamp another small piece of scrap to mark the length you need. Butt your wood against the scrap piece and start cutting so you end up with the exact same length. If you are cutting small widths, use a scrap of block wood clamped to the fence as a stop block. This stops the wood from becoming caught between the fence and blade potentially causing a kickback.

#5 Maintenance

To keep your tabletop smooth, apply wax at least every few weeks. You will notice how easily your wood slides over the table. The wax will also reduce oxidation and keep your table looking good. A table saw creates the most mess of all the tools in your workshop. Fine shavings and dust fall on the floor, become airborne and settle in every nook and cranny. If you want to keep your work area and air cleaner, invest in a dust collector.


Check out the range of quality table saws and table saw accessories. 

Gift Ideas for a Woodwork Beginner

You don’t need to spend a fortune if you’re thinking of buying some hand tools for someone who is just starting out as a woodworker. A few basic essentials will help get them started. Here is a shopping list of tools that should be enough to make most simple woodworking projects that beginner craftsmen like to start out on.

Hand tools are much cheaper and safer than the power tools so start with these before moving on. You are far less likely to lose a finger with a hand tool. If your beginner is a child, you don’t need to worry about them using power cords and fast-moving parts. There is also far less vibration and dust which are also health concerns for woodworkers of all ages.

Chisels

Every woodworker needs a set of chisels. There is a broad price range to choose from with chisels, but you don’t want to go too cheap. A mid-range priced set will be easier to use and last you a long time. Buy a set of cabinet chisels with ranges ranging from 6mm to 26mm made from high-quality products. This beginner’s set is is forged from highly alloyed chrome manganese steel and has been hardened using heat treatment. The beech handles are ergonomic to use and designed not to roll off your bench.

Saws

If you are thinking of cutting your wood by hand, you will need a saw. A Western dovetail saw, or a Japanese Dozuki will do the job. The Dozuki saws are popular because they are versatile and can be used as a tenon, backsaw or dovetail. The spine gives the saw its strength so its blade can be kept very thin with a kerf of only 0.3mm. Their cutting efficiency means they are easy to control and cut on the pull stroke, so there is less buckling, binding and breaking of the blade.

Clamps

Most projects will need some clamps, mainly if you are going to be glueing two pieces of wood together. There are so many clamps on the market that you need to start out with a few versatile ones and grow your clamp collection as you need them for different projects. Start off with F-style clamps and bar clamps.

Sharpening Stones

One of the first skills woodworkers need to learn is how to sharpen their tools. To get good at sharpening takes practice. Buy a set of sharpening stones either oil stone or waterstone and keep sharpening your chisels. Take the back of the chisel back to dead flat, and the bevel should be square and flat. With time you will get a feel for when the edge is dull and needs to be re-sharpened. Being able to sharpen quick and effective is one of the best skills you can learn. It’s a technique you will need with every project.

Storage for Tools

If you like the idea of a cabinet to hold their tools, you could help out by giving them the materials they need to make this as one of their early projects. If you think they would prefer to do other projects, organise a peg board or storage containers to keep all of their tools tidy.

Having a set place for tools means they are easy to find at a glance and won’t get damaged rattling around in a toolbox or left on the bench. If their toolkit is limited to a few hand tools like chisels, you could choose a leather or canvas roll. They can upgrade their storage solution later as their toolbox grows.

Woodworking Safety Equipment

Don’t forget to invest in some safety equipment (even if you aren’t mum!). Woodworkers all need a pair of safety glasses and a spare, some earplugs for using power tools and a dust mask, so you aren’t breathing in all the fine shavings. Having a first aid kit on hand won’t hurt either as you always need a band-aid nearby in the early days.

If you are looking for the perfect woodwork tool gift ideas, check out the range of quality tools that will last many years without spending a fortune.

How to Sharpen a Woodworking Handsaw – A Paul Sellers Video

There are many different types of handsaws available for different projects. To get started in woodworking however you really only need one or two saws to do most projects. All saws are sharpened for rip cutting but will also cross-cut unless they have large teeth.

There is a progressive rip cut pattern on most saws with 14 or 15 points of teeth before the teeth change shape.

Teeth Pattern

A passive rake means they are straight up and down then they change to a more aggressive rake then an even more aggressive rake with a perpendicular tooth cut. This provides more power closer to the hand where you need it.

A rip-cut is the most simple handsaw. They usually have 11 points per inch teeth size. You will probably need to re-sharpen this saw most often. It’s inconvenient to send it off for sharpening but once you know how it will only take 10 minutes to do it yourself.

Sharpening Saws

This method is suitable for rip-cut pattern saw which can do both rip and cross cutting sawing.

Saws with 11-15 inch teeth are a good size to sharpen but 20-30 inch teeth become difficult to sharpen yourself.

Paul uses a clamp which is a piece of wood with a slit used for holding the saw in the vice.

It’s a one inch by one-inch piece of wood or buy you can buy a saw holder. Place it in a holder so it’s square.

You can use a 6 sided file or hand saw file but first Paul uses a bastard file to pull across the top of the teeth with one stroke to get a shiny spot on all teeth. You can then see where flat spots are and help maintain level of quality.

Working on the first one inch or 11 teeth. For 1.34 high teeth, the file needs to be over double the size of each tooth. When filing teeth bottom aspect of file is wearing out. Hold file at fore end and also the back end of the file.

Start on the front of the first tooth. Go across with saw file perfectly level. After the eleventh cut rotate the file slightly. After the next 11, the file will be perpendicular to teeth.

Push forward with a couple of light strokes and count the number of teeth as you go.

Rotate slightly then two strokes in each tooth going forward. Remove any flat spots on top of the teeth.

Maintain regular path for file and keep everything the same. You should be able to feel the file cutting the saw. A file should last 10-20 saw sharpening sessions depending on the quality of the file.

You can hear the difference when you are filing outside the jaws of the vice but there should still be enough support past the end of the vice. The last tooth at both ends of the saw will wear away with use so file away any remaining parts of the tooth. It should feel like tiny pin pricks when you touch the tops of the teeth.

Micro Bevel on Back of Tooth

While Paul doesn’t usually bother with micro or secondary bevels on most tools, he believes it’s worth the effort on a hand saw:

With the saw still in the vice, use a flat file and place on the back of each tooth to strengthen the fore edge. Push forward with two strokes maintaining the angle of the file. This will create a small flat on the back of each tooth. By filing, the saw should stay sharp for 2-3 times longer so it’s a worthwhile extra step.

With a micro bevel on the back, Paul has found his saws stay sharper. Small files are cheap and will probably last several years of saw sharpening.

Saw Setting

Before or after final sharpening, you should set the saw. On every saw set there is a barrel and anvil. They work via a plunger moving forward and a hammer anvil connecting on the other side of the saw. Only do every alternate tooth.

Next clamp a hammer in a bench vice with the head facing up to give you a hard surface. Use another hammer to slightly bang back to remove part of the set.

Testing

Test your newly sharpened saw by starting at the tip of the saw then use the second half closer to your hand for aggressive sawing. Feel the difference a sharp saw can make to the job.

About Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers A Lifestyle Woodworker is a popular blog with a YouTube channel that boasts 286,000 subscribers. The UK blogger is a woodworker and furniture maker with thousands of projects under his belt. Some of his popular videos have 1.4 million views.

If you have any queries about the right product for your next framing project, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Making your Woodwork Project Look Good: Sanding and Finishing

You’ve put in the hard yards making sure you get every detail correct in creating your woodwork piece of art. You think you are on the home straight and a quick sand and finish will do the job. But think again. If you don’t put plenty of effort into the final stage of your piece, you will undo all your hard work. People will judge your final piece on its finish. Even if you have chosen a beautiful piece of wood and have spent hours on making sure the joins are meticulous, you can undo it all with a rough finish.

Final Check of your Woodworking Project

Before you sand, look over your project. Fill in any gaps or cracks with wood fillers and sealers. Filler shrinks as it cures, so leave a little extra filler on each hole rather than scraping it down to be level

If you have any dents in the wood, grab a wet rag and a hot iron. Place the rag over the dent and apply the hot iron. The pressure of the steam and the water soaking into the wood will pop out the crushed fibres if they haven’t been severed.

Sanding your Woodwork Piece

It’s not only how your piece looks but also how it feels. If your piece has any sharp edges or rough parts, it’s less appealing. Use a piece of sandpaper to take off any roughness or sharpness. It’s natural for people to be tactile with wood pieces. Wood is one of those materials that is irresistible to run your hand over it.

Remember, sanding is a gradual process. Start with a coarse sandpaper to level out any obvious inconsistencies then work through finer papers to refine. If you have a large piece, using a random orbital sander is fine, just be careful around any edges as it doesn’t take much to accidentally round out an edge. Once you have done one, all the other edges will need to match. Be careful not to tilt the sander either or it will dig in to the surface. You then have to match the rest of the surface or live with it. If it’s a detailed area, sand by hand.

Wipe over the piece with a clean rag and run your hand over again to ensure all parts feel smooth and inviting to the touch. Use the sandpaper again if there is still a rough spot. Applying any kind of finishing product, even a coat of oil, will magnify the imperfections not hide them so you want to make sure you get them all.

Applying Finish to your Woodwork Piece

Being a porous material, wood needs a finish to protect it from stains, dirt and the elements. There are plenty of wood finishes to choose from - paint, stain, clear coat, varnish, lacquer, shellac, polyurethane or polyacrylic.

The first step is to decide on the finish you want for your piece. Paint will completely cover the grain of the wood or if applied very thin, will be semi-transparent. A stain allows the wood grain to show through and add warmth to the wood. A clear coat such as linseed, tung or mineral oil is quick to apply but may feel slightly sticky. Wax can be use on fine wood grains and buffed to a sheen. Varnish will give your project a much shinier look and protect against moisture. Lacquer is a durable, fast drying finish prone to cracking and chipping with time. Shellac is an older style finish with a high luster if you apply several coats and sand between each one. but doesn’t have the same moisture repellent properties as varnish. Polyurethane and polyacrylic are tough durable finishes.

Brush, wipe on with a rag or spray the finish, depending on the look you are after. Use a good quality finish product so your project looks good for years.

With all finishes, practice makes perfect. Find one you like and try to use it as often as possible to achieve the best result each time.

If you are looking for good quality finishing products and accessories contact us online today.

Types of Woodworking Routers and Bits for Beginners

Routers are versatile tools in any woodwork shop. Their uses are endless. You can cut rounded edges, decorative edges, cut holes, do creative carving, joinery and even plane wood.

A router is a motor that spins a bit at a high speed to cut the wood. It’s not considered a specialty tool because it’s used all the time. With a quick change of the router bit, you can achieve a different look and function for your project. A flat piece of wood can have a rounded edge or a beaded detail added in minutes. The edge is suitable for a panel or under a shelf and if you rip off a thin strip of wood, it becomes moulding.

For joinery make a dado and rabbet then put them together for a strong joint. It’s a much stronger join than butting two straight edges together.

Use a router as a drill press to make holes that pegs fit in for shelves. Make you own wood flooring with tongue-and-groove cuts made with a router.

Types of Routers

Three main types of routers include:

A trim router is the smallest kind of router and is ideal for using inside a cabinet to make a hole for an outlet or detail. You can’t use big bits in these routers otherwise you will burn out the motor. However, small bits you buy for a trim router are suitable for larger routers.

A fixed base router is ideal for bigger jobs. If your router has a variable speed motor, use a slower speed with large diameter bits.

A plunge router has a spring-loaded base which allows you to plunge the bit down into the board and then release it to pop up out of the cut. It’s ideal for cutting inlays, grooves and holes.
Router Bits

Bits are available in dozens of sizes and shapes. You can buy them in sets or as individual bits. A set allows you to try a few different bits to find which ones you like but one straight bit is versatile. The cutter size and shank size is different on bits. The shank size needs to match the collet size, usually ¼ inch or ½ inch diameter collets. When you are buying a new bit, always check that the bit-shank diameter matches the router’s collet. However, most routers have interchangeable collets so you can have multiple two collets to fit the range of bits you own.

A straight cutting bit is needed for dados and rabbets.

A Roman Ogee router bit makes mouldings.

A piloted flush cutting bit has a ball bearing that rides along a template to make custom, precise cuts.

Some bits have a ball-bearing which rolls along the edge of the board to control the cut‘s depth.

A flush trim bit has a bearing at the bottom of the bit for trimming a laminated surface flush to the substrate. Some have cutting surfaces on the tip of the bit to plunge through laminate. A template or pattern bit has the bearing at the top so it can cut to the shape of a template.
How to Change the Router Bit

To change a router bit, unplug the router from the wall then push the bit all the way into the collet then pull it out a little so you have expansion space. Now it’s in the right place, tighten the collet using a wrench to secure it. Adjust the depth of the cut you require then plug it back in and you’re ready to cut. Clamp the board so it overhangs the workbench. Put your eye safety glasses on and ear plugs in. Make sure the router isn’t touching the board then push the router into your wood after turning it on. Router in a left-to-right direction, an anti-clockwise direction. This sends the chips out via the front of the router rather than behind the router into you.

If you have any queries about the right routing products and accessories, don’t hesitate to contact us online.