Chip Carving
Create Stunning Surfaces with Simply Carved Chips
Chip Carving may be the simplest form of woodworking. With a single knife and only a handful of techniques, you can create beautiful surface designs that will stop people in their tracks. Safe and easily accessible, chip carving can be done almost anywhere you have a work surface or a chair to sit in. A craft deeply rooted in history, you can create designs ranging from the traditional carving patterns of ancient cultures to wholly modern designs of your own making. This book contains everything you need to achieve elegant —and seemingly complex—carved patterns in wood.
Inside, you’ll learn:
Three simple cuts that form the basis of every chip-carved surface.
How to create crisp, clean designs and top them off with the perfect paint or finish.
Sharpening and honing advice to keep your knives gliding smoothly through wood.
How to create intricate designs by following a logical process and steady workflow.
Step-by-step guidance to help your technique and achieve any type of surface carving you can think up.
Beautifully designed practice & carving templates you can copy and incorporate in your own work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Clay’s route to chip carving was a circuitous one, beginning in 2005 when the desire to take a break from life as a professional musician led him to take a position as an apprentice boat builder at the Carpenter’s Boat Shop on the coast of Maine. After stints in timber framing and kitchen cabinetry, followed by a decade in the video production business, he turned his attention to woodworking full time in 2015.
Along the way he taught himself chip carving, first aided by the books of Wayne Barton before engaging in a deeper, ongoing personal study of the craft in its various incarnations throughout the ages and around the world. He has written about chip carving for Fine Woodworking Magazine and also travels and teaches chip carving at venues around the US. Daniel designs and makes custom furniture, home decor items, and artwork, many of the pieces featuring his carving.In addition to woodworking he enjoys photography and making videos of his work process. You can keep abreast of what he’s up to by following his Instagram account @danielclay.
Daniel lives and works in Knoxville, Tennessee.
