Wood carving is a fairly popular activity. There are many enterprises and small firms specializing in engraving and making all kinds of patterns on wood. Schoolchildren are also interested in this. You don’t need to look far for an example. What can we say, you open one of the many thematic forums on the Internet and see how fathers proudly tell that their sons are cutting out something with interest. They often ask for advice from professionals, which machine or tool is better to choose? Well, let's try to help.
There are more than enough types of tools and machines for figure cutting. There are both traditional and ultra-modern: manual, semi-automatic and automatic. There is not enough space to talk about everyone. Therefore, we will limit ourselves to the main types of electrical equipment. Firstly, it is universal. Secondly, it has a very wide range in terms of difficulty of mastering: from the simplest to the highly accurate. Thirdly, a wide price level can satisfy any requirements.
Cutting with a jigsaw
the most popular tool today . Professionals and home craftsmen value it, first of all, for its universalism. Having low weight and small dimensions, it copes well with shaped, transverse and longitudinal cutting of sheet wood. Can make curved and straight cuts, rectangular holes and round holes of various diameters.
There are household and professional jigsaws. Home models are low-power, but for domestic use their resources and functionality are quite sufficient. They can cut wooden pieces up to 70 mm thick. The total time of use is no more than 20 hours per month. They are produced mainly in Poland and China, but there is also a compromise Hungarian version - the inexpensive, functional BOSCH PST 700 E Compact .
The requirements for professional models are more serious. Therefore, these instruments are usually produced by brand companies in Japan, Sweden and Germany. They are highly productive and can withstand heavy loads, cutting wood up to 135 mm thick.
Saw blades or jigsaw files differ in size, teeth, color, tail shape and, of course, the material from which they are made. When working with wood, blades made of HCS (carbon steel) are used.
Manufacturing and service
Making the cutter yourself
Many craftsmen, either wanting to save money or not trusting third-party manufacturers, prefer to use homemade carving tools. In principle, making a knife or chisel is quite simple, the main thing is to choose the right material.
The photo shows a hacksaw blade and a simple jamb knife made from it
The raw materials for our design can be used:
- A saw blade for wood or metal is an almost ideal blank for a jamb knife. During the manufacturing process, we cut off a piece of blade on a machine or simply break it off at the angle we need, and then form a cutting edge.
- The wood saw blade also has acceptable characteristics. The carbon steel used to produce such saws holds an edge well, which means that the cutter will not become dull even when working with hard wood.
- Before making a semicircular chisel, you can look “in the bins” for an unnecessary punch. To make a tool, we will only need to cut off part of the wall diagonally - and we will get a very convenient device for sampling wood.
An important part of any cutter is the handle.
The instructions for its manufacture are also not complicated:
- We take a block of hardwood and cut a handle out of it.
- We make a hole at the end of the handle, the shape of which corresponds to the shape of the shank of the metal part.
Gluing the blade into the handle
- We glue the cutting part into the handle, and then clamp the structure with a metal ring.
Note! Sometimes the handle is made of two halves. In this case, the blade can be additionally secured with screws or rivets, and gluing should be done in a vice or clamps.
Sharpening cutters
You can only get a decent result if you work with a perfectly sharp tool. And since even the softest wood dulls the blade quite quickly, sharpening wood cutters is definitely included in the “minimum program” of training for a novice carver.
To perform this operation we will need:
- Bars of different grain sizes - from coarse to fine.
- Old leather belt for straightening.
- GOI paste (or similar composition).
Rough sharpening
We do the work like this:
- First, we moisten a coarse-grained block, place the cutter on it at the selected angle and sharpen it using pressure from ourselves.
- We switch to a block with medium abrasive grain and repeat the operations until a clearly defined sharpened edge appears.
- We carry out the finishing on a diamond stone, removing the metal chamfer that appears on the tip of the cutter.
- Then we apply a layer of GOI paste (a composition based on chromium oxide) to the belt and polish the working part to a mirror shine.
Editing on the belt
Advice! Finishing on the belt can be done more often than the main sharpening - this way we can correct a slightly dull blade.
It’s easy to check the quality of our work: if the cutter cuts the newspaper without effort, it means we’ve done everything correctly, and we can start working on the workpiece.
Cutting with an electric chisel
This power tool has become indispensable for every wood carver. Essentially, it combines an ordinary hand chisel and a mini-machine for processing wood. In a professional environment, it is also called a pneumatic or mechanized scraper .
An electric chisel works on the principle of a jackhammer. Nozzles are attached to the electric handle with a motor. They come in three types: straight, semicircular and angular.
The tool is used for processing soft and hard wood, as well as wood growths (burls, burls). An electric chisel allows you to remove a large amount of material without much physical effort, so it is excellent for roughing. At the same time, there are also very compact models. For example, a tool from Proxxon fits in your hand and can be used to work with small objects. But even tree trunks are processed with large models to create real sculptures.
What other tool can you use?
In addition to the main devices discussed, additional tools are used when carrying out work to carry out specific work.
The following additional tool is usually used for wood carving:
- Spoon knives or spoon knives: usually a sharpened ring welded to a steel bar that is inserted into the handle - are used for removing accumulated sawdust in recesses, as well as for grinding the inside walls of large recesses, for example, when cutting utensils.
- Embosses and punches: durable metal rods with a specific pattern on the end. Most common when creating the main background.
When carving wood over large areas, various auxiliary tools are also used:
- For drilling work: gimlets, rotators, hand drills.
- When sawing: hacksaw, hacksaw, jigsaw, two-handed saw.
- Auxiliary equipment: mallet, staple, miter box, clamps, vice, various clamps, hammer.
To carry out measurements and markings, the following tools are used: ruler, square, protractor, leveler, measuring rod, plumb line, leveler, level, calipers, vernier calipers, bore gauge, surface thicknesser, compass, tape measure.
Cutting on a CNC milling and engraving machine
If the devices described above can be classified as both household and professional categories, then CNC milling machines definitely belong to the latter. This is high quality equipment with very wide functionality.
Despite the high cost of such equipment, it is in great demand among woodworking enterprises, furniture makers and advertising and production companies. The machines can process any wood (hard and soft wood), chipboard (chipboard), MDF (MDF), etc. They are used in the manufacture of furniture, signs, complex engraving and 3D carving.
One of the best models in the range of CNC milling and engraving machines is Beaver 1212 AT3 . Designed for high-quality milling and engraving of surfaces of parts and workpieces on a plane (2D software) and in 3-dimensional space (3D milling). It can be used to cut wood of any species, as well as composite materials (chipboard, fiberboard, MDF, plywood, etc.).
Types of knife blades
A classic jamb knife can have blades of different widths, blade angles and a conveniently shaped handle for a specific type of work. The blade of the knife can be made in the form of a triangle (the flag knife is very popular) or have another shape.
The knife can have different sharpening options, smooth or sharp cutting edge shapes. Understanding which blade is needed depends on the specific type of work, the design being performed and the experience of the craftsman.
As in the case of a blunt knife, the prerequisites for the quality of a knife with any blade shape are the sharpness of the blade and the comfort of the handle. The attachment of the knife blade to the handle must be perfect and reliable.
CNC plasma cutting
Plasma machines are the latest generation of CNC milling and engraving technology. Equipment of this type is intended for plasma arc cutting and milling of wood.
The machine looks like this: a supporting frame, including connecting elements and two drawers for water. Cutting is carried out with a milling spindle to a thickness of up to 16 mm. The maximum operating speed is 2.5 m per minute.
The units have a very stable design, allowing processing to be carried out with high precision. One of the best models of this type is the German machine High-Z PlasCUT-1350 . In addition to working with wood, he excels at cutting, milling and engraving metal, plastic and other materials.
Random orbital sander
Also known as orbital.
For finishing and polishing, it is very convenient when dealing with curved products.
The selection principle is similar to choosing a surface grinder,
What you need to know when choosing
- Power speeds up the process and reduces the precision of carpentry;
- There is a fastening of sanding sheets of the “clamp” type - the consumables for it are cheaper, while the “Velcro” type is more expensive, but can be removed faster.
The sanding process is one of those woodworking operations that takes a long time, so be patient and wear a protective mask as there will be a lot of dust.
Laser cutting
Today this is the fastest and most economical way to cut wood material. It is carried out with a gas CO2 laser, that is, without mechanical contact with the workpiece. This allows cutting along the most complex contours and with the smallest detail. It is impossible to achieve such precision with any other tools or machines. And the use of computer programs makes it possible to turn work into the most waste-free production possible.
Any wood material can be cut by laser. Even the veneer is only 0.6 mm thick. In general, technology opens up very great opportunities, allowing you to cut out original stories. The work of decorators and furniture makers cannot do without this installation.
True, the principle of operation requires high qualifications. Wood is a flammable material and therefore requires constant cooling. To do this, the machine blows into the cutting zone, which is controlled by the operator. In this way, maximum purity of processing is achieved (no carbon deposits are formed) and at the same time heat treatment of the part is carried out (it looks more contrasting and lasts longer).
Different types of wood are cut with a certain beam power and blowing force. And, if the workpiece is knotty, then this complicates the process even more. “Aerobatics” requires cutting plywood, because... glue layers burn hotter than wood. Yueming CMA series machine is perfect .
Electric circular saw
It is also called a circular saw, or a circular saw in common parlance. The main task of an electric saw is straight cutting of wood. For example, if you want to “dissolve” the board lengthwise into two parts.
By installing the required blade, the required depth of cut is achieved. And modifying the saw with a plunge-cut mechanism will allow you to start cutting not from the edge of the product, but from the middle. It will also provide for tilting the saw blade.
An electric saw cannot cope with figured cuts, but it can boast of power and speed.
What you need to know when choosing
- For large volumes of work, choose a model with more power: it will save a lot of time;
- Pay attention to the maximum depth of cut specification;
- Additional features such as speed control, soft start and overheating protection will make work more comfortable;
- Select the most suitable saw blade for processing wood of a certain hardness.
Waterjet cutting
The unique technology “TECHTRAN” , developed by Soviet scientists for the defense industry, and only relatively recently became available to the general public.
The principle of operation is to cut any sheet materials with an ultra-fine jet of water. Mixed with abrasive, it is fed under very high pressure to the cutting head, where it turns into the finest hair. The jet output speed allows you to cut even metal, not to mention wood.
Nowadays, a CNC system has been introduced into the technology, which makes it possible not only to cut, but to program the processing of material according to any sketch. Cutting accuracy – 0.1 mm. At a speed of up to 100 m/hour, the cut of wooden material is cold, the part does not heat up and does not deform. The cut edges are clean and do not need any finishing.
Vladislav Permin, specially for Equipnet.ru
Types of thread
There are many techniques for processing wood, with the help of which craftsmen create real works of art from it.
As such, a strict classification has not yet been created, but conditionally all techniques can be divided into several types.
Flat socket carving: a flat wooden surface acts as a background. The pattern is formed using notches of various shapes.
Flat grooved threads are:
- Geometric has a pattern in the form of a bizarre combination of various geometric shapes.
- Contour forms a pattern in the form of a rigidly drawn outline, as if pressed into the surface.
Flat-relief carving highlights a convex pattern on a background deepened with the help of a tool.
Flat relief carving can be:
- Oval - the pattern on it is located in the shape of an oval, often filling the entire space of the canvas with small recesses.
- With a selected background, a large ornament appears against the background of the space scraped out by the tool.
Relief carving: three-dimensional paintings, practically devoid of a flat background.
Relief carving can be:
- The bas-relief has protruding figures of medium height (about half of their volume).
- High relief - the background is deeply recessed, the figures are very voluminous and protrude greatly.
- “Tatyanka” - a convex pattern fills the entire space of the product, the elements merge, turning into each other (usually the theme is botanical).
The slotted thread can have the appearance of flat-relief or relief. The pattern is made by completely removing wood fragments and leaving through voids between the elements of the pattern.
The slotted thread is:
- Openwork: has protruding parts combined with cut holes, widely used for decorating furniture sets in the Baroque and Rococo styles.
- Overlay: made up of figures cut through and with protruding elements, processed only on the front side.
Sculptural carving - the depicted objects are separated from the background and represent a full-fledged sculpture.
House carving is the creation of elements used to decorate wooden buildings.
