Wood Carving Pattern: Chip Carving Practice Board

Wood Carving Pattern: Chip Carving Practice Board

 Making a Chip Carving Practice Board


 By Charlene Lynum,  Chip Carving Starter Guide

What is Chip Carving?  

Chip carving is a decorative form of carving that doesn’t require multiple tools or a special shop. You simply remove small, faceted chips of wood to create beautiful, intriguing designs that can add a wow factor to an everyday item. The shadows that are achieved from the chip carving accentuate the design and make any project appealing.

Creating a Carving Practice Board 

This board includes all of the chip types and techniques covered in the “Getting Started” Chapter of my book, Chip Carving Starter Guide. Use the free pattern below from the book, or use a pencil to measure and sketch your own practice shapes using this board as inspiration.

The thinner lines indicate where your cuts should meet to complete the chip. Practice carving these chips with and against the grain. Also use a practice board to practice a pattern, or the difficult parts of a pattern, before carving on a project itself. Practice boards do not need to be a specific size—just grab a scrap board!

wood carving pattern
Chip Carving Starter Guide

Chip Carving Starter Guide

This book contains instructions and photos to guide the beginner down the road of chip carving. There are projects for the beginning carver, such as a set of coasters, holiday ornaments, and a box. The designs then progress into more intermediate projects, such as a cell phone holder, a doorstop, a trivet, a flat napkin holder, and a jewelry holder. For carvers with more experience—including readers of this book who have worked through the easier projects—I have included award-winning
advanced patterns that include layered chips and accent layers; these projects include a tablet holder, a clock, a plate, and the Perspective Wall Hanging.

Learn Chip Carving with Confidence! Preview these projects from the Book:

For anyone seeking to try their hand at chip carving, Chip Carving Starter Guide includes comprehensive and approachable instructions and is the perfect place to start! Equipping you with crucial skills that will ensure success right from the beginning, part one of this book provides detailed sections n everything you need to know, plus complete how-to tutorials for a variety of essential chip carving techniques and cuts. You’ll learn how to cut 14 basic chip shapes, fix mistakes, have fun with patterns, and more, and you’ll also be able to work on a helpful practice board to become familiar with all the essential chip types. You’ll then move on to the project section, which includes 3 complete step-by-step projects and an additional 21 full-size patterns and plans to make a variety of stunning chip carved pieces—from boxes and ornaments to trivets, trays, picture frames, and much more.

wood carving patterns

Diamond Wood Carved Ornaments

These diamond ornaments are a simple geometric shape, but what is carved on the inside of the ornament makes them distinctive. These ornaments let you practice some of the basic chips. You can be creative with texture or a stab knife if you want, or just allow the eye-catching patterns to shine. There are several more ornament projects inside the book.

wood carving box pattern

Hexagon Box

This is an intriguing little box, not just because the shape is different, but because it opens with a magnetized twist top. It
is a beautiful piece to place on a table or a dresser. Let your imagination tell you what can be stored in such an admirable
vessel. This would also be beautiful if all of the sides were made out of the same
contrasting wood. This project also includes instructions on how to build the box inside the book.

Necklace Pendants

I am not a person who likes to wear statement jewelry. So, when designing these necklaces, I wanted them to be noticeable but not overwhelming. The basswood front is 3/64″ (1.2mm) with a 1/8″ (3.2mm) contrasting wood back. Sanding the sides to a 25-degree angle allows the contrast layer to provide a natural frame for the carving. Find multiple pendant designs inside the book! 

wood carving project

Serving Tray

Most serving trays that I have seen are made using the same wood throughout the piece.
When my husband was making this project, he suggested using two different types of wood that complements each other, but offer a contrast to using all basswood. When designing the middle section, I wanted the focal point to be elongated, to coax the eye
to the ends of the tray. When I designed the border for the inside and the outside of the
tray, I included a portion of the design that is in the focal point.

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