Wood Sculpture - Spiral

創客手札 | Maker's Logbook 34. - 2024 Week 51

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The last two weeks of this year,

this one might also be my last project of 2024.

With little time left and not wanting to bring an unfinished project into 2025,

I decided to complete the wood sculpture I started back in May when we were in Taiwan.

Although I've done a few wood sculpting projects earlier this year,

the initial shaping was done with regular woodworking tools.

It's pretty challenging and frustrating using them for small, detailed work on 2" cubed sculpture.

I still can't believe I somehow managed to complete those projects… 😑

This time, I planned to carve a much more complex spiral.

Knowing my skills were limited,

I used wood carving knives and detail sculpting knives instead of regular woodworking tools.

Although I later realized my two carving knives were still a bit too big for this project

(final product size is about 3/4" x 3/4" x 2"),

I still managed to complete it after MANY hurdles!

Using regular woodworking tools would have just resulted in a pile of wood chips…

This project was slightly modified from one in "Complete Starter Guide to Whittling."

The original design was much larger (about 1" x 1" x 6"),

but I reduced the size to about a quater of original size so I can make it a piece of jewelry.

Initially, I thought the size reduction wouldn't be a big deal,

but I quickly realized why the original was larger…

Carving the general shape was fine,

but working on the spiral branches was a headache,

especially when it came to hollowing out the middle—

my knives couldn't even reach the center...

And the branches kept getting finer and more fragile,

I broke them for at least two or three times.

Just when I was about to finish,

Phoebe picked it up to take a closer look and accidentally snapped it in half…😑

After gluing it back together,

I had to use detail carving knives and sandpaper to carefully refine the final shape.

The finished product is in deed jewelry-sized,

but way too fragile to be used as a necklace or earrings....

However, it does look quite cool and makes a nice decoration!

Next time, I'll see if I can make a sturdier version while maintaining the same size!

Since I don't expect to have my own shop anytime soon after moving back to Taiwan,

wood carving,

which doesn't require large power tools or much space,

will be perfect for the time being.

The small items I make can serve as jewelry or decorations,

be given as gifts, or even sold for some extra income!

I'll plan more wood sculpture projects in the next couple of years,

so I can improve my skills and assess productivity and efficiency.

Since there are still many uncertainties about life in Taiwan,

having an additional skill can open up more opportunities,

And more skills mean more possible paths to take!