A dusting with a soft nylon brush does the trick. Inspection follows, I am particularly looking for out of plane blocks, warped blocks, low spots, cracks and knots. I've never met a piece of wood I couldn't use, just takes adjusting the print sometimes.Ī good sanding helps irregularities and fills in the grain of birch and pine. I begin with 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper (100 if the block shows saw marks or is very irregular). I use a sanding block, the hard rubber kind and change my paper often, keeping a graphics brush handy to get rid of the surface dust.ģ20, 400, 600 and sometimes 1200 follow in sequence. By the time you get to the finest grits, your woodblock is shining and slick like glass. Here’s Everything I have to say about all the materials I’ve used and what I recommend.Most times I stop at 400 to allow some of the grain to show in the print. ![]() These are just my opinions and may be worthless to you – but I still feel it’s a valuable resource since there’s no place else on the web with individual tool reviews. If you’d like to add to my reviews I’ll include them here.įirst on the list I talk about different materials to carve from. Wood blocks, lino blocks, golden cut, plywood, etc. Next the carving tools themselves and where to buy them. Later I’ll be adding a section about honing and maintaining your tools – hopefully with some help from other print makers. Whatever you have access to and can afford. Lowe’s and Home Depot and Sutherland’s don’t have any good birch. Go to a lumber yard and ask for the stuff. ![]() You want Russian birch b/c there are less voids. And if you can find it, marine ply wood be great too. Read this.īut really, if you can get some good quality Chinese birch you’ll still be very happy. I did find some Russian Birch locally, but it was prohibitively expensive. If I were doing this for a living I wouldn’t think twice about buying the best. Works fine but it’s expensive and you can’t find big sheets of the stuff, only long rolls. you can find big sheets of the stuff at Dick Blick art supply. Very similar to regular old gray linoleum. The only difference I see is the color though. I hate this stuff but it’s good for student work. You’ll have students who hate it because it doesn’t take good detail and crumbles and flakes, but it is easier to cut than the gray and golden stuff. I don’t recommend it for the serious artist. Not the particle board that LOOKS like chunks of sawdust and wood chunks glued together, but the stuff that looks like powder glued together. It’s used for cheaper cabinets and entertainment centers and shelving today. Not terribly cheap, but I hear it works okay. It might dull your tools quicker than you can cut a line.ĭepending on your budget, I’d recommend ONLY the Japanese ‘style’ or some actual Japanese block carving knives. ![]() It took me a few years to decide to actually get the good ones, but I could have saved a couple of hundred dollars in the long run if I’d just gotten the good ones to begin with.And as far as selecting which sizes and shapes, you just have to try them out. It’s an expensive way to figure out what you like, but you could always start with the more inexpensive Warren tools and decide which you like best.As for me, a 3mm V tool is the only V I need. Much smaller is pointless b/c with the 3mm you can cut a line just as small and fine as with a 1mm V. And with a little more pressure you can just cut deeper and wider. Now with the U tools, I like a small to large set. ![]() So a 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 4-5mm, then a 7-9mm.īefore I go on about tools, a quick word on keeping them sharp. It’s a pain in the butt – but with the proper tools it can be less so.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |