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I'm new to relief carving. At left is my first attempt, thanks to a tutorial in Richard
Bütz's book
How to Carve Wood. In it are chapters on tools, sharpening, woods & finishes, design, whittling, chip carving, relief carving, wildlife carving,
lettercarving (he uses a different technique than I do), and architectural carving. There are lots of photos and illustrations that clearly explain his process.
All I knew about relief carving before reading his book was that the same principle in
lettercarving—where you carve from shorter grain to longer
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grain, so the wood you are cutting is supported underneath the cut—still applies. This reduces
tearout. However,
tearout can still result from dull tools.
This October, I'm traveling to Juarez, Mexico with a group from my church where we'll build a home in 3 days for an impove
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rished family.
3 days! And this includes pouring concrete. The organization that sponsors these home-builds has it down to an art, so I trust we'll finish in time.
A Presbyterian church in El
Paso, Texas is cooking meals for us while we're there and I wanted to give them something in return for their hospitality, so I plan to carve a Celtic cross. This will be a challenge for me, so I'm starting now—well in advance of our departure date.
That way, if all I create is fireplace fodder, there's still time to order them a
gift.