Mary may carving tools

Mary's easy to follow video lessons are presented in several fairly short videos. Mary's clear, concise instruction is delivered in an informal, friendly personable manner. I often feel like I'm taking a one-on-one class. What a great decision it has been. Not only is Mary May prolific and competent, she's an encouraging teacher.

Her video tutorials are simple and straightforward, and offer a variety of camera angles which allow you to follow along with confidence. Her easy-going nature makes me feel as if I am carving with an old friend. When I had a question about woodgrain, I e-mailed Mary May and promptly received a reply.

I'd recommend Mary May's School of Traditional Woodcarving to anyone interested in sharpening their carving skills or trying the craft out for the first time. Better yet—I'd suggest signing up for a membership to access more than dozens of approachable yet alluring projects. Thanks Mary May! Mary's instruction is so detailed that she turns what should be complex carvings into "paint by number" exercises.

Her videos are easy to follow, well produced, and above all, inspiring. Mary gets you thinking about the techniques behind the specific carving and how to expand your work beyond just an object carved in wood to a work of art where depth and shadow and line are all considered. Her school is easily one of the most valuable tools in my cabinet.

Traditional woodcarving has been a trade of the European guilds since the middle ages. It is a beautiful, but labor-intensive, decorative art and a rare craft in the modern economy. Master carvers are few and far between, so apprenticeship is a rare opportunity.

And somehow, she finds the time to answer student questions, which has added interactivity, inspiration and encouragement, for me. Lesson series. All you need is: The desire to carve A teacher to get you started with the correct techniques sign up below The proper tools and wood Willingness eagerness?

You can learn to carve this flower in our FREE course! More thoughts from students Absolutely brilliant in all ways. An expert with amazing communication skills, making everything so easy. These are the best instruction videos and I have seen hundreds in many different subjects. You are a true professional, loving what you do and it shows from start to finish. God bless! George R. I just finished watching your first video and want to let you know how great your presentation was. Every topic is described clear with very useful and helpful tips.

I believe that I may have just stumbled onto something good here. Looking forward to following the rest of your teachings. Never too old to learn. Harry W. You understand what beginner means! You give the numbers of the tools, you give patterns and show what the finished work looks like. That helps so much! Thanks for all! The most important part - we can see what you are doing. I think you are the only teacher doing all that.

It is one of the most complete courses on-line. Sylvie O. Just excellent instruction, easy to follow, and easy to reproduce lessons. Keep on keeping on! Not all brands carry the sizes I like best, but this guide will show you part numbers and sources for many of them. Not a Member? Start with a Free Membership here. I have settled on the following for a good set of beginner tools very basic 5 or 6mm v-chisel 3, 6mm 3, 14mm 5, 14mm 7, 6mm 7, 14mm.

After the beginning set of gouges, what next? Additional gouges for more advanced lessons: 1, 14mm flat chisel 3, 3mm 3, 18mm 5, 6mm 7, 10mm 8, 10mm 11, 3mm. And then to complete the set - this should give you a good, rounded set that should cover most cuts needed in a lesson: 1, 20mm 4, 14mm can use the 3, 14mm 6, 8mm 7, 8mm 7, 12mm 8, 6mm 10, 5mm 11, 5mm 3 or 4mm v-chisel.

Specialty gouges — used only occasionally 4, 6mm spoon bent for lowering the background very low, awkward areas 8, 10mm spoon bent ball and claw foot lesson 6mm skew chisel 5, 12mm back bent for shell carving. Very good question! And the simple answer is — these are my favorite! These tools are the ones I tend to use the most — without really getting into more specialty gouges, like back bent or spoon bent, etc. I simply tried to choose the sizes and curvatures that cover most cuts that will be needed, without getting any of the tools too similar in shape.

The V-chisel is used quite often. The 3 gouges are used often for basic backgrounding, and also quite a lot of the shaping in the carving itself.

Then I filled in a variety of curved gouges that I use quite often in basic shaping. The additional optional tools may be needed if you are wanting to get into more variety of carving, and if you decide that this is truly something you want to invest more money and tools in.

I have seen too many people who buy a set of 20 to 30 gouges at the start hundreds of dollars worth and discover that it is not something the really want to pursue — those are the ones where you get some great deals at garage sales! This additional tools listed are tools that were used in the more advanced videos shown on the site.

Can you explain why the basic starter set of gouges is a good starter set? Also why the choices for the optional set? If you are simply starting out and testing to see if this is something you might be interested in, I give a starter set recommendation that gives you the ability to carve more basic and beginning carving projects.

Then, as you get further into carving and begin to focus on more advanced projects, I recommend additional tools to add to the set. There is no reason why not to purchase all the recommended tools at once if your budget allows.

My recommended tools lists linked satisfy a huge range of relief carving projects. Each of my lessons includes a tool list on the page with the first video episode for each lesson. If you want a personal evaluation for a specific project, I can consider that on a consultation basis for a fee. What's the difference? Most brands call straight edge chisels 1. Then, 2 is slightly curved and as the numbers increase up to 11, the curvature increases as the numbers increase. Here is an example: A 3, 6mm gouge has a 3 curvature, and is 6mm wide at the blade.

The number for gouges beyond the basic shapes like v-chisels, spoon bents or back bents vary too great between different brands to identify them here.

Most European brands have the same numbering system for basic shaped gouges, but some English brands may refer to inches rather than mm. You may find slight variations in curvature between different brands. For example, I have noticed that the flatter shaped Stubai gouges can run flatter than Pfeil — so Stubai 4 gouge is more like a Pfeil 3.

Some other differences you may find — the 60 degree v-chisel is sometimes referred to as a 12 Pfeil or a 41 Dastra. And the 2 sometimes refers a nearly flat curved gouge or can also be a flat skew chisel. If you do not have the exact size I use, you can move up or down 1mm in width. For example, if you do not have a 3, 6mm, a 5mm or 7mm should work fine. The sweep is more important to keep accurate, but the width can vary. This is a very handy method if you do not have the exact recommended gouge.

Is there a difference between a straight carving chisel and a standard bench chisel? Is one ground or created different than another?

They are shaped different from one another, but both can be used for carving. I prefer using carving chisels because they are thinner and more delicate to use. The thickness and the angle of the bevel of the bench chisels can get awkward. I would recommend replacing this with a 11, 4mm or 11, 5mm. It would be better to use a more curved gouge, and make several cuts to get to the 10, 5mm size than use a larger curve like a 9 that may not fit into the area needed.

Fishtails are my favorite! The reason I prefer these tools are they are able to reach into corners much easier than straight shaped gouges. They also do not have the bulkiness of the thick metal going down the entire length of the metal shaft. Quite often the benefits of fishtails are in the 3 through 7 where they really help in being able to get into tight areas with the sharp corners.

Once they get a larger curve, the benefit of fishtails become less. The larger the curvature, the less different between the straight and fishtail gouges. Also, any gouge less than 6mm wide are rarely available in fishtail, and often curvatures above 8 are not available in fishtail. As I was trained in classical carving using full-sized gouges, I never learned the technique of using knives in carving.

Mary loves the Pfeil Swiss Made tools …. Read More. If you cannot watch it live you can view it later. More information below! If you find a cheaper price, we will beat it! We have put together all of the Mary May Carving Tool Sets in packages including Beginner, Additional 1 and 2 to save you money and to make your selection and purchase easier.