Top easiest beginner wood carving patterns

Everybody starts a new hobby and wood carving is one of the unique and artistic ways to express yourself.

As always, a beginner needs some piece of thoughtful and useful advice. In this article, we will slide through some wood carving projects and basic wood carving tools.

Start with any project you want to bring to life as a gift or for yourself, and gradually work your way up to more complex ones.

By honing your woodworking skills, you will soon be able to create furniture, learn how to paint wood, and work with a miter saw.

There are hundreds of wood craft ideas

Flowerpots, kitchen storage containers, and even workbenches are easier than you think. You can give your home a custom look that suits your needs and gives you the aesthetic you’ve been looking for.

If you want to decorate in a more relaxing style, animal statues can be the best fun project. Unlike the portrait type (for example, a wooden Indian statue or a face carved from wood), the animal type has the magic of relaxation. Usually, their furry look, like two bear wood carving ideas, is healing.

To deal with this status, we require a 5-axis CNC router. In addition, other tools, such as shaving knives, are also suitable for the cutter. But the automatic type will help you get the job done efficiently and quickly.

Wooden plank

If you search “wood plank” on Instagram, you’ll find plenty of boards with great designs. Usually, such boards are used for home decoration.

But if you’re a fan of cooking, try making a cutting board, or at least carving a wooden spoon out of it.

Ideas for carving lampshades on wood carving projects

Wood carving is also an important part of wood art. Hollow carved design can create the beauty of light and shadow, which is why many artists use it for lampshades and to improve their carving skills.

Decorative methods

These simple wood carving projects ideas are popular in old-style home decor too. Many designers use it as a screen to separate parts of the space.

In this design, we need to cut out the wood area.

Wood carving projects on phone case

Furniture making or home decor is the most common industry. But why not use wood carving project ideas on our portable devices like phone cases? Compared with plastic materials, the wood shell is more environmentally friendly.

The wood has an elastic texture that will protect your screen and phone when dropped on the ground. Moreover, wood absorbs sweat, providing friction. But, unfortunately, this phone case is pricier than plastic. So, if you are interested, DIY will be the most economical choice.

Top ideas

1. Geometric portraits from old boards

Use old doors and wood paneling to create unusual geometric portraits.

2. Wooden photo stands

Small wooden coasters that will look good on Polaroid-style photos.

3. Wall organizer

This is a simple project but very useful for storing cute little stationery.

4. Geometric wood doorknobs

Make your doorknobs a unique accessory.

5. Bright flower pot

Make small planters out of plywood and add bright colors for a touch of personality.

6. The sleeping place for a pet

If you love your furry treasure, then you simply must provide it with cozy housing.

7. Bright wooden beads

Or make these unique wooden beads with your hands.

8. Wooden ring

Make your precious wood ring using a jigsaw, file, and sandpaper.

9. Wooden spoons

Very popular items for beginner wood carving project techniques. The wooden spoon is easy to make and then proper to use.

It was the practice of perfecting the task, not in speed of manufacture or in quantity, perfecting the creation of an object with one’s own hands and improving your wood carving skills.

10. Wooden bowls

Making a bowl is simple-minded and is a beneficial way to start wood carving. It may be not a favorite, as other kitchen implements like spoons, but bowls make for nice decorations. 

This is another carving hobby that follows the same cutting and whittling skills as that of a spoon. One difference is that this one requires a bigger block of wood. 

11. Wooden gnome

Do this woodworking project as a rank part. This wood carving project compels a lot of patience to carve out its details. It gets better with every detail added to it. 

It is a standalone item that can be added to any fairy-themed forest collection. In addition, once you finish carving a gnome, you can call yourself an expert.

You can gift the gnome you have crafted or sell it off. Gnomes are almost always featured in gardens. It is a lovely supplement to add to your garden.

Wood carving is the main way to decorate the house

Over time, many superstitions were forgotten, and windows began to be decorated with carvings only for the sake of beauty. Now, it is easier to decorate your home with your beginner wood carving projects.

There are many types of thread

It is both blind and through, openwork, slotted, laid on, combined, flat-notched, and flat-relief, as well as embossed. According to the execution technique, the thread is divided into contour, wedge-cut, geometric, bracketed, etc.

Let’s look at a type of thread, which is called through. In such a thread, the background is always completely removed, and the main pattern is placed in the same plane.

What tools are needed for beginner wood whittling?

There is also such a variety of this type of thread—the so-called “overhead through the thread”. It is used as an addition to the main decor, and its essence is to create a semblance of a bas-relief. The details of the thread are fixed on the surface to be decorated with glue or finishing nails.

List to help

If you decide to do it through wood carving, purchase the following tools: an ax cleaver, a saw, a mallet, a drill, and a brace, as well as a set of drills. These are auxiliary tools used in openwork carving.

Buy basic tools

These are carpentry knives, various cutters, and chisels. You will also need a variety of rasps, as well as different-grained abrasive skins, to complete the work.

You can also use a power saw, jigsaw, and other power tools. It should be noted that at present, in almost any hardware store, you can purchase a set for woodcarving.

First, an ax is used to prepare a wooden blank. A mallet is used when working with a chisel and a chisel when creating a background and relief for large carvings. They are also used in the processing of hardwood.

Wood carving, wood carving tools, wood carving lessons, wood carving kit

A planer is necessary for pre-processing parts. The rotator is well suited for drilling large diameter holes in slotted threads, as well as in embossed carving work.

Drill

Manual or electric with a set of different drills, use for smaller diameter holes for your beginner wood carving projects.

Knife blade

Figures and patterns of low complexity are made with a knife. When processing the edges of finished openwork, a joint knife is required, which has a sharpening angle of not more than 30 degrees.

Thinking of needs

It is needed to make contours, slotted carving, as well as all sorts of rounding and bends. When working with slats of small thickness, it is good to use a claw-type cutter. But most often when carving wood, naturally, chisels are used.

Try not to forget

A separate important type of chisel is the so-called cranberries. They have a straight or semicircular shape, with a web width of 0.3 – 0.5 inches, and also a long, curved neck. They are used for carving curly surfaces.

Very high requests are placed on the quality of carving tools

Of course, workmanship plays a necessary role, but well-chosen and sharp tools will help bring your idea to life.

Carvers with a lot of experience at first glance at the tool will tell about its quality, and beginners are lost in the store from a huge selection.

The basic set for woodcarving includes:

• carving knife and chisels;
• needle files;
• hacksaws for metal;
• spoon carving knife;
• vise;
• sandpaper;
• drill with several types of drills;
• bars.

A flat chisel is a long rod, at the end of which there is a flat cutting edge. Very often it is used for the wood carving project.

A semicircular chisel is one of the most important tools for work. They differ somewhat in the degree of roundness, that is, they are medium, round, and sloping.

In addition

There is also a V-shaped version of chisels. It can be useful for geometric woodcarving, which we will introduce you to below.

For beginner wood carving projects, a small set for woodcarving, but of good quality, is enough to immediately get used to the correct movements and pressure. Is wood carving difficult? At first glance, it could be, but over time it turns out in your fun little project.

The choice of material for wood carving

Oak, boxwood, and mahogany are more expensive and complex woods. It is hard and durable, so it is difficult to carve from such rough shape wood. Very often there are troubles when working with such types of wood. Either the instrument or the master may be damaged.

What is the easiest wood to carve?

Each type of wood for carving has its pros and cons. It is easy to work with softwood, but there can also be a lot of marriage. These are aspen, linden, and birch. For beginner wood carving, this wood is best suited.

To be said

An experienced carver can easily work with various kinds of wood, including juniper. Well, for beginners it is better to use inexpensive materials – spruce, pine, pear, or birch.

Carving is quite difficult

However, by doing it, you will learn a lot by using all wood carving techniques.

As a material, use boards from the following wood: pine, spruce, aspen, and birch. The thickness of the board is approximately 0.5 – 1 inch. The material must be well-dried, and free from defects such as cracks or knots.

The process of making a thorough thread is not very complicated

First, a pattern is applied to the workpiece, usually, a template is used for this.

Then holes are drilled for the saw blade in the marked places, and then the ornament is cut out using the outline of the pattern. The outer sides of the workpiece are also processed with a saw.

Is it better to carve wood wet or dry?

Soaking wood does make it effortless to carve. Nevertheless, as the wood dries, it can possibly crack and even become more brickly overall. To soften wood for carving, the better possibility is to spray a 50/50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water onto the wood as you carve, and use a very acuate knife.

Without access to oxygen, it is soaked, with complete immersion (you can sink it under the load, for example). Dried wood gets wet deep for a long time, especially for beginner wood carving projects.

The truth is

It should be borne in mind that microcracks that already exist in swollen wood are not visible, and when dried, more may form (depending on the shape of the product, the location relative to the core, and the drying mode). And it’s not hardness, but plasticity.

How to protect yourself from injury when carving wood

Any tool of a master carver can be compared with a straight razor, therefore, when working with it, safety measures must be strictly observed. The material must be positioned so that the knife or chisel can be worked freely, eliminating the possibility of a sharp edge hitting the hands.

Cleanness is the key

The place to work should be comfortable and clean. All unnecessary tools at the moment should be carefully folded because they are very sharp and can cause injury. So, watch out for all the whittling knives and keep them in one place.

In addition

You can proceed to the actual carving, using various chisels and a wood carving knife and basic shape. Then, during finishing work, abrasive wheels or skins will be required. Thus, we can conclude that to get a good result, a specialized woodcarving tool is simply necessary.

Moreover, as mentioned above, you can either buy individual cutters or purchase a specialized set for wood carving for these purposes. When you finish the carvings, take care of them.

To conclude

Starting a new hobby is very difficult, but we hope that our article helped you to explore something new and provided you to find new patterns and the top easiest ways for carving wood.

Read also: Gnome wood carving patterns: step-by-step instructions