Whittling Workbook: 14 Simple Projects to Carve

By James Ray Miller

The ultimate beginner-friendly project guide to whittling flat-plane carvings with a modern twist! Whittling Workbook is perfect for anyone seeking a range of easy wood carvings – all you need is a block of wood and one knife to achieve any of the 14 wood carving projects featured within these pages! From a simple strawberry and a whimsic

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing
• Release date: Apr 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781637410677

James Ray Miller

James Miller started carving at age 11 under the guidance of a supportive Community Education carving group. The members of this group introduced him to the Scandinavian flat-plane style, which sparked his ever-expanding interest in Scandinavian culture as a whole. This interest, and the support of mentors, family, and friends, has led him to become the youngest Vesterheim Gold Medalist woodworker, teach several classes, and demonstrate in numerous small-town events. In 2010, James’ work appeared in Woodcarving Illustrated for the first time as part of the Best Carving Design Contest. Several years later, through the encouragement of Harley Refsal, he submitted an article to Woodcarving Illustrated’s 5th Whittling edition. Since then, he has written several articles for the magazine, and in 2018, he traveled to Norway to meet with talented craftsmen and learn their techniques. When he’s not busy with handcraft, exploring the outdoors, or spending time with his friends, James is at work developing software, where he also happily faces the same challenge he finds in his woodcarving: simplifying and abstracting ideas in unique ways. For more of his work, visit www.facebook.com/jrm.woodcarving.

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Dedication

Dedicated to my little sister, Julia, whose colorful constructive criticism has pushed me to improve from the very beginning!

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all the people who have supported me along my carving journey. The members of my hometown’s carving club were instrumental in providing the instruction and support that I needed as a young child eager to immerse myself in the woodcarving world, and their support continues to this day. Those who invite my trail of woodchips at local gatherings and festivities push me to create more and allow me to share my passion for handcraft with others. Thank you as well to all the teachers and handcraft instructors I have had the privilege of taking classes from over the years. Your passion and love of teaching others has been infectious.

All step-by-step photos in this book are taken by my beloved girlfriend, Allison Cully. Without her, I would have had to bribe one or more friends into wrapping their arms around me and shooting hundreds of photographs with me night after night.

© 2022 by James Ray Miller and Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.

Whittling Workbook is an original work, first published in 2022 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. The patterns contained herein are copyrighted by the author. Readers may make copies of these patterns for personal use. The patterns themselves, however, are not to be duplicated for resale or distribution under any circumstances. Any such copying is a violation of copyright law.

Print ISBN 978-1-4971-0270-5

eISBN 978-1-6374-1067-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021949675

Project Team

Acquisition editor: Kaylee Schofield

Editor: Colleen Dorsey

Designer: Chris Morrison

Page layout: Freire Disseny

Project photography and reference photos: Mike Mihalo

Step-by-step and other photography: Allison Cully

To learn more about the other great books from Fox Chapel Publishing, or to find a retailer near you, call toll-free 800-457-9112 or visit us at www.FoxChapelPublishing.com.

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to [e-mail].

For a printable PDF of the patterns used in this book, please contact Fox Chapel Publishing at [e-mail], with 9781497102705 Whittling Workbook in the subject line.

Introduction

This book is aimed specifically at beginner carvers but will also suit those looking to relive their early days of carving or even experienced carvers looking for simple and relaxing projects that can be completed in a short amount of time. Several of the projects are drawn from my own early days, and, as such, they have given me a wonderful opportunity to revisit the exciting period in my life where I had endless drive but little experience.

I hope to inspire others to use woodcarving as a means for relaxation and satisfaction. When I started carving, larger, more complex projects seemed somewhat intimidating, and did not interest me very much. I found in short order that small, simple projects were not only fun to carve but also great learning tools—each with a valuable lesson. Perhaps most important was the sense of satisfaction upon creating a figure. This sense of satisfaction, which never causes stagnation but which rather promotes further growth, drives carvers to share their work with others and encourages them to carve more.

This book not only presents a wide variety of fun figures to carve, but also mixes in a good amount of tricks and techniques that I have picked up during my carving journey. Through it all, my biggest piece of advice is this: carve whatever makes you happy. If you start a project but find that it no longer interests you, try to think of ways to tweak the pattern to turn it into something you are more passionate about. This is the key to a prolific carving career. Happy carvers make happy carvings!

—James

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Table of Contents

Beginner’s Toolkit

What Is Whittling?

Safety

Types of Wood

Tools

General Overview of the Carving Process

Design

Roughing Out

Basic Cuts

Painting Techniques

Finishing Techniques

Carving Community

Projects

Camping Fork & Spreader

Fresh-Picked Strawberry

Egg-in-Cage

Gentle Hedgehog

Friendly Dinosaur

Wizard’s Apprentice Wand

Sleepy Owl

Stylized Sunflower

Sausage Pig

Curious Martian

Cozy Grandpa & Grandma

Sven the Sailor

Peppy Princess

Enchanted Prince

Patterns

About the Author

Beginner’s Toolkit

Every carver, whether experienced or just starting out, has their own tools, techniques, and preferences. In this section, I give you a sweeping overview of every facet of the carving process, from tools to order of operations. I detail some of my preferences while leaving the possibilities open to what is available to you. There is no perfect set of tools to suit everyone, and the best tool is often the one you are most comfortable with. Nevertheless, carvers often pick up helpful tips and new ideas from other carvers regardless of experience level. So, even if you have been carving for years, you may pick up something new here!

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What Is Whittling?

While dictionary definitions of whittling tend to be quite general, usually just describing carving as a whole, or an aspect of carving, the practical definition I am familiar with describes whittling as a type of woodcarving utilizing one or very few knives, and usually specifically knives instead of other tools like chisels and gouges.

Whittling, being intrinsically minimalist, may not be as widely revered as more intricate and complex forms of woodcarving, but it is nonetheless a global pastime that can produce amazing results. As an art form, using minimal tools offers interesting challenges that force whittlers to draw upon the versatility of the knife when used with various techniques (as well as exercising their own craftiness).

In this book, I will use the words whittling and carving interchangeably, since all carving in this book is whittling.

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A group of figures whittled with one knife.

Safety

Every carver will tell you that a sharp knife is safer than a dull knife. Dull knives require more force, but they do not slice through wood nearly as well as sharp knives. That extra force