CUTTING OUT A FLAT PANEL WITH A GROUND.

Let the pupil take a panel and draw on it a pattern, Fig. 37 a. He is to cut this out in what is called flat carving, and sometimes “ribbon work.” He begins by outlining, which may be effected in different ways. I. By taking a small fluter or veiner, or a tooling-gouge one-tenth of an inch in diameter, and cutting a groove all around the pattern just outside of it, but accurately close to it. If perfect in Lesson II. this will be very easy for him. II. He may do this also with a V or parting tool, but the gouge is better for a first attempt. III. The outline cutting may be effected by taking a firmer or carver’s chisel, one-third of an inch broad, and placing it “up and down” close to the pattern, but sloping outwardly, give it a tap with the mallet so as to sink it a very little way into the wood. Do not cut “straight up and down,” but so as to make a sloping bank. IV. There is yet another way, which is more difficult and seldom practised, yet which if mastered gives great skill in carving. Take the firmer or flat chisel, and holding it with great care run it along the edge, sloping outwards, so as to cut the line accurately. By means of this method the whole work may be very well outlined. It is not urged as absolutely necessary at a first lesson, but it is advisable to practise it sooner or later.

When the outlining is done, let the pupil take a flat gouge (if he has cut the line with a small gouge), and very carefully shave away the wood from the ground. Let him cut at first very little at a time, for his object is now not to make something to show, but to learn how to manage his tools. Do not finish all the cutting in one part at once, leaving the rest untouched, but go all over it gradually several times, until it is nearly perfect. Let every touch tell. Remove the wood at every cut, and leave no edges or splinters. To do this well you must also always watch and consider the grain of the wood at the particular spot you are operating upon; it is easy enough to see whether you are cutting with, that is in the same direction, as the grain, or across the grain; but it is something beyond this that has to be looked to. It is invariable that all wood, whether cut with the grain or partly across the grain, will be found to work better, smoother, and with less tendency to splinter either in the one or the other direction, that is to say, when cut from right to left, or the reverse, from left to right. The required direction in which it will cut the smoothest is at once shown by the behaviour of the wood itself and the quality of the results; hence, should the work or surface show a tendency to splinter, if possible cut it from the opposite direction, and turn the work round on the bench should that be necessary to enable you to do it, that is, if you cannot use the tool in either hand. Beware above all things of letting the hands work mechanically. Think of what you are about. By learning to cut clean and flat you are taking the first step towards the “sweep-cut,” which will come afterwards, and which requires both deliberation and dexterity.

When all is cut out nicely and carefully, take an extra flat gouge and clean “the floor,” removing every trace of unevenness. Then take a French round nail or bodkin, and with the mallet fill the ground with little holes so as to make a rough surface; or you may use one of the stamps for this. This requires care, so that the shape of the stamp may not be apparent. It is advisable to trim with a very sharp small chisel, and with great care, the edge of the pattern. For this lesson it will be best not to cut away more than one-fourth of an inch to form the ground.

If the outlining is done with a chisel and mallet, before cutting away the ground, go over the outline and cut at a little distance from the line already cut towards it, so as to remove the wood and form a V-shaped groove, as one digs with a spade.

Teachers or pupils are begged to remember that the sole object of this lesson is to learn how to handle and manage the tools; that is, to become familiar with them, and how to learn to cut a ground with skill and confidence. To do this there should be much occasional practice on bits of waste wood. Therefore it is earnestly urged that no beginner shall go further than the work described in this lesson until he or she can execute it with accuracy and ease. When this is gained all that remains to be done is easy.

The reason why the “parting” or V tool is not specially recommended to beginners for outlining is, that it is the most difficult of all tools in ordinary use to sharpen. The small gouge answers every purpose for the work in hand.

To recapitulate, first, we have the cutting away from between the outlines of the pattern: If the panel be half an inch in thickness, it should not be more than a quarter of an inch in depth. Cut over the whole very lightly at first, and then go over it again and again. Do not dig or cut out the whole quarter of an inch in one place at once, leaving the rest as yet untouched. Should you do this you will be led to cutting too deeply in some places. When the hard work is effectively executed, and nearly all the wood is roughly cut away, the work is said to be bosted or sketched, a word supposed to be derived from the French ÉbauchÉ or the Italian abozzo, meaning the same thing.

After cutting Fig. 37 a, the pupil may proceed to 37 b, which is simply an amplification of the same.