Carving a simple flower - with lathe

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Here's a few pictures of how to carve a simple flower using a lathe to rough out the flower.

I glued up some cherry scrap I had in the shop and cut it round on the bandsaw. Then I attached a faceplate to a sacrificial block and then glued the block to the cherry work. I next turned the cherry block round. See the first picture.

I then used a bowl gouge and cut the outline of the flower - see the second picture.

Next, I used the bowl gouge and roughed out the shape of the flower. Note that I cut inward but left the button in the center. See the third picture.

I then prepare the top with a cut to allow it to sit within the bottom, and part it off. See fourth picture.
 

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The roughed out flower is perfect to put into a chuck so that you can finish the back of the top. See first and second pictures.

The next thing we're going to do is to glue the top down to a board so that we can clamp it while carving it. Pictures three and four show the process. Don't put a lot of glue on the top - it doesn't require much and you're going to have to get it off later.

Now, clamp the top as shown in the last picture.
 

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Once the glue's dry, we can begin the carving.

Begin by using a set of dividers to step off five equal spaces - see first picture. Mark the landing sites of the dividers and draw a line at each towards the center - see second picture.

Then use a V-tool and cut in along the lines to outline the petals - see third picture.

Next, we want to begin rounding off the petals. I use a gouge with the right sweep to make the ends of the petals round, and clean out the wood in between with a 2/5 or 3/5 gouge. See last picture.
 

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We do each of the petals, as shown in the first picture. Then I "hollow" out each of the petals to make them look more like a real petal - see picture two.

The last bit of carving is to do the cross hatch in the center and to put the accent lines on the petals, as shown in picture three.

Then, using a medium sandpaper, I sand the petals to remove the tool marks - see fourth picture.
 

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Now we have to remove the top from the board, which I do by putting a chisel at the edge (on the cardboard) and rapping it with a mallet. It comes off easily, but with cardboard stuck to the top. See first three pictures.

I hold the top up to a ROS, starting with coarse grit and finishing with fine grit to remove the cardboard and glue. See last picture.

Now, I have to go back to the lathe and turn the bottom of the box. I keep trial fitting the top to the bottom to get a good fit.

After that, all that's left is sanding and finishing.
 

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Hi Mike :wave:,
Just noticed this thread you did. Thanks alot. I wanted to understand your method of work, never know when a flatworker will get sucked into the lathe. :eek: :rofl:
I just skimmed through it but plan to return tonight when I can just easily relax with your tutorial.
Appreciate it :thumb:,
Shaz :)
 
Another question Mike, did you dish out the pedals or where you just cleaning up the tear out?
 

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Another question Mike, did you dish out the pedals or where you just cleaning up the tear out?

Yes, I "scoop" out the petals to make them stand out as separate items. On the picture you included, I didn't scoop them out enough. Take a look at the picture below which I think is scooped out better.

Mike

[I might point out that once you get proficient at this simple flower, you can do more complex ones - ones that are a bit more "natural". I'll add a picture later - have to go take it first!]
 

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Here's some pictures of other carved flowers. The third picture is perhaps more like a rosette - turning the blank is a bit more difficult than the regular flower. The one in the last two pictures might be better used on a pepper grinder.

Mike
 

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Hi Mike :wave:,
I think some of the ease of going through this project with you step by step is the way you have presented it. What is the chance of you doing a tutorial on "how to arrange and do a tutorial" using the format you used on this piece of work. The use of thumbnails instead of downloading a bunch of pictures sure seems to work. Thanks again, very professional.:D
Shaz :)
 
Thanks Mike! I really appreciate the effort on your excellent tutorial. I have some carving tools that I bought (or were given as a gift, been so long I cant remember) that have been in a drawer for years. I may have to get them out and have a go using your method. Looks like it would work great for custom rosettes on face frames and other flatwork. Thanks again, Barry
 
One other place where having a lathe is really an advantage to a carver is in sharpening the carving tools. If anyone is interested, I'll post a few pictures of a sharpening set-up I use on my lathe for sharpening carving tools. Works very well and beats the heck out of sharpening by hand.

But only good for carving tools - not good for regular woodworking chisels or plane blades.

Mike
 
Thanks for your answer Mike

I'd be interested in learning about carving tools, there are so many different shapes, sizes and brands.

How about books, which do you consider worth while?
 
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