Part IV

for the leg having been selected, the design must be laid on, and the outline carefully traced with a pencil j it must then be taken to the saw-table and sawn out on both sides. The engraving represents the leg in three stages, sawn out, blocked, and bosted and finished. When the leg is sawn out, the first thing to be done is to cut away all the superfluous wood, and reduce it to dimensions suitable for carving, and give it the rough outline of its future shape. The leg as it comes from the saw is everywhere square. When the edge is turned to the front it is at once seen that towards the back it is a great deal too thick, and this thickness must be reduced by a third. The wood where the two volutes come in must be left the full thickness. The depth of the three groups of pendant leaves at the top, and the four groups, below the upper volutes, must be marked off, and the wood left the full thickness. To make use of the pierced tracing, take some prepared 9 184 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTING whitening, crush and then tie it up loosely in a piece of moderately coarse, loose, wo-en cotton or linen cloth. Adjust the pierced tracing very carefully to the head of the leg, and dust it over with the whitening by striking the baQseveral light blows over the tracing, which must be pressed down with the fingers. Lift the tracing carefully, and then pencil on the design, guided by the lines of white dots made by the whitening and by the tracing placed on the bench close in front. Then do the same with the two volutes, and as soon as these three points are established, commence cutting down the superfluous wood between them, rounding it off to its outside future shape. Then begin the volute, and as soon as one is done hold the leg up, so that the eye may see both sides, and mark on the untouched side the level of the volute bosted on the other. The volute being bosted and the superfluous wood cut away, the head ornament must be bosted also. The tracing must now be applied to the centre, between the head and the volutes, and as much marked off as possible, then to each part in succession. It is a troublesome and difficult operation, and the compasses and pencil mnst be kept constantly at work. The reason for this plan of proceeding is that the tracing must be humoured to suit the curve of the wood for it must be remembered that the ; design is a flat surface, but that the leg has become curved, and in consequence its surface has been enlarged, so that if the design were to be laid on the upper part and marked continuously downwards, the volute would be out of place by nearly a quarter of an inch, and this quarter of an inch has to be distributed over the whole surface. The amateur will now see that the advice I gave in a former chapter, to learn to use the pencil, was sound advice. AND WOOD CARVING. 1-5 When one side is pencilled it may be marked in with the tools, but before commencing the proceeding, the two volutes FRONT OF STOOL. snd head orn?.ment must be placed in position on the opposite sid^j by holding up the leg, the edge towards the. SIDE OF STOOL. carver, as mentioned before, so that the eye can see both sides, the level of the volutes, and of each ornament can be easily marked off. 126 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTING AND WOOD CARVING. 127 On this system the most difficult and intricate designs can be transferred from paper to the wood ; but I repeat it, every one who wishes to become a skilful carver must learn to use the pencil so as to be able to pencil his design on the wood. my Should any of readers wish to carve this stool they must recollect that the head of the leg, where the cross piece fits in, must not be carved until that piece is in its place, so that the contiguous parts may be bosted together. In this way a proper level is obtained, and the parts of the design are made to run properly into each other. When this is done, the leg and cross piece can be taken apart, and each be proceeded with separately. Illustrations of the cross pieces are here inserted for the use of such of my young readers as may wish to try to carve the stool. It will be a difficult task, but they must not be frightened by it. I recommend the design on previous page for a photo- graph frame to the notice of my young readers. When carved in sycamore wood, which is very white, it makes an elegant drawing-room ornament. It should be enlarged to double the size. The wood should be half-inch. When the frame is sawn, the rabbet or channel for the photograph and glass should be made before any carving is attempted. The rabbet should be only just deep enough for the glass and the photograph an eighth of ah inch should suffice. This will enable the carver to sink the frame deeper, and let the foliage have more room. The leaves look richer if carved with a raised rib. The back should be closed in by a thin board, cut to the shape of the three frames ; it should not come flush with the edge, and should be bevelled off. Four 133 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTING AND WOOD CARVING. 139 j3 A MANUAL OF FRE7 CUTTING small screws will fasten it very well. The supporting leg should be five and a quarter inches long, and should be fastened to the centre of the back with a brass hinge screwed on to the foot a quarter of an inch below the top. Then from the hinge to the top of the foot outside, the wood should be bevelled off ; this forms a shoulder, and enables the leg to support the frame at a proper angle. On pp. 128 and 129 are two illustrations of an Acanthus leaf, one in outline, and the other shaded. This is most my excellent practice, and I strongly recommend it to readers. The outline should be enlarged to double its present size in the manner directed in Chapter V. The wood should be one and a quarter inches thick, the leaf carved to the depth of an inch, leaving the quarter inch for the foundation. At each x the wood at this point should be left the full thickness ; from the x it should slope away gradually. At o o o o the leaf should be sunk as low as possible j that is, within a very little of the level of the ground. With these short instructions, and the aid of the shaded illustration, the amateur will be able to produce a perfect copy of the leaf j but I must caution him to vary the height of all the leaflets ; if all were left of the same height, the effect would be stiff and heavy, and totally wanting in gracefulness. This is a hint worth remembering for future use. The wood should be walnut, pear, sweet chesnut, or lime wood. AND WOOD CARVING. 131 CHAPTER X. OME of my young readers tell me that in sharpening the inside of their flat gouges the Turkey slip is liable to glance off the tool, and that when this occurs, they sometimes cut their fingers. As this is not agreeable to any one, and is especially my inconvenient to lady readers, I will point out a simple and efficient remedy. Get a small block of wood, deal will do, two and a half inches longer than the slip, two breadths of the slip wide, one and a half breadth deep. Sink in this block two holes each hole the length of the slip, and in depth half of the slip One of these holes to be of the V-shape of the slip. Drop the slip into this hole, and it will be held firmly the broad edge upwards. The other hole must be the breadth of the broad edge of the slip, one side to be undercut to the angle of the slip, the other side must be perpendicular. Drop the broad edge of the slip into the hole, and insert between the slip and the perpendicular slide a thin wedge of wood or cork, and this will keep the slip quite firm, the narrow edge upward. my This plan is very suitable for lady readers ; it will enable them to apply both hands to their gouges when sharpening them on the inside, they cannot cut their fingers, and can sharpen the gouges with greater precision than when holding the tool in one hand and the slip in the other. One of the greatest ornaments in wood carving is the 133 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTIXG human head, natural or grotesque. It can be introduced with effect almost anywhere, especially amongst the graceful scrolls and ornamentation of the Louis Quatorze and Renais- sance styles. Amongst my readers, many I hope will make such progress in this beautiful art of carving in wood, as to entertain a desire to try the sculpture of heads. I will therefore endeavour to give them such instructions as will enable them to make the attempt with fair hopes of success. I will premise that before any attempt can be made to sculpture heads, it is absolutely necessary that whoever wishes to try it must be able to use his tools with the left hand as well as with the right, and must constantly and perseveringly practise with the left hand to attain the requisite skill, if he have it not already. Suppose it is desired to carve a face on a box-lid in the midst of scroll work or foliage, the first thing to be done is to sketch on the spot where the face or head is to be, an oval of the exact size of the required head, and to draw a perpendicular line through it. The thickness of wood required for the head will be mentioned a little further on. Divide this line into four equal parts. The next thing to be done is to make a scale of parts, and for this purpose on a separate piece of board draw a line corresponding to the line within the oval, and divide this also into four equal parts. One of these parts must be subdivided into twelve parts, these are called minutes. This is the scale. Where a head is to be large and great exactness is required, these minutes may each be subdivided into four parts; but the division into minutes is sufficient for our purpose. The three heads here inserted will, with a little explan- ation, elucidate the whole process of carving the head and AND WOOD CARVING. 133 face. It will be seen that the face is a full face, and that there is a diadem on the head. The three heads show perfectly the three stages of carving : first, the features placed in position (blocked out) ; second, the face bosted j third, the face finished. The length of a head from forehead to back in a fullgrown person, is three parts eight minutes for a man, and three parts eleven minutes for a woman. To carve a head like the following, the piece of wood should be of the thickness of two parts ; of this the head will take one part seven minutes, leaving five minutes for the foundation. Therefore, when the oval has been drawn on the box-lid, a piece of wood should be glued on to the oval to give the required thickness. If it is not desired to have the face stand out so much, then a less thickness of wood will suffice. As a good general rule, for heads carved on a flat surface, where it is not desired to make them stand out much, the thickness of the wood should be one third the length of the head ; that is, one part four minutes. To return to our faces. The face with the diadem, hair, and curls, must be pencilled in from careful measurement, and then blocked out as in figure No. i. The proportions for the head and face of a full-grown person are as follows : From top of head to commencement of hair on forehead, one part. From commencement of hair to top of eyelid, one part. From top of eyelid to bottom of nose, one part. From bott om of nose to bottom of chin, one part. In all, four parts. Breadth of face, two parts two minutes. Length of eye, without the oval inner corner, six minutes. 134 A MANUAL OF FRE2 CUTTING Length of eye, including inner oval corner, seven minutes. Opening of the eye not less than two and a half minutes. Breadth of nose at nostril, six minutes. Breadth of middle of ridge of nose, two minutes. Height of nose, six minutes. Length of mouth, nine minutes. Space between the eyes, six minutes (one eye) . From bottom of chin to throat, one part. From bottom of nos- tril to bottom of ear, one part six minutes. Length of ear, one part. Length of neck, one part. Thickness of neck, one part ten minutes. The diadem on the head comes below the commencement of the No. i. hair. Having drawn a per- pendicular line through the oval for the face, and divided into four equal parts, the features should now be pencilled in. Commence with the eyes, eyebrows, and nose. The first mark on the line drawn through the oval, shows the commencement of the hair. The second shows the level of the top of the eyelid. Lay a foot rule, or any flat ruler, across this mark, and draw a hori- zontal line through it across the oval ; now mark off the eyes, the inner corner is three minutes on each side of the AND WOOD CARVING. >3S line, this gives six minutes, or one eye between the eyes. Having marked the distance of the eyes, now mark their length and the opening. Length, six minutes ; opening not less than two and a half minutes. But observe par- ticularly that the outer corner of each eye is slightly higher up than the inner ; at the same time care must be taken not to raise the outer corners too much, so as to give the eyes that ugly oblique posi- tion, the Chinese, or pig's eye. The extremity of the nose is at the third mark on the perpendicular line drawn through the oval ; from this, mark off the breadth of the nostrils. Sketch out the shape of the chin, the width of the nose in the middle, and the masses of hair. The breadth of the nose in the middle having Nc>. 2. been marked out, take a flat gouge and slightly block it out, and cut away some of the superfluous wood round the face, bringing it to something of its natural shape, as in the engraving. The eyes must now be placed in position, so take a hollow gouge and make the deep hollow for the corner of the eyes on each side of the nose. Then with a quarter round gouge mark the position of the eyes and eyebrows, leaving little elevations for the eyelids and eyebrows, as in the engraving. The hollows for the inner corners of the T35 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTIXG eyes are always done -with a hollow gouge, which is used also for cutting away the wood from each side, and from the bottom of the nose. Each side of the face should now be rounded off to its natural shape, and the neck and curls should be blocked out. The measurements being all taken from the central line drawn down the oval, it must be renewed as often as it is cut away in shaping the nose. The mouth must now be placed in position. The fourth or lower part of the oval, that is, from the nose downwards, must be divided into three ; and the opening of the mouth is exactly at the upper mark, leaving two-thirds for the under lip and chin. The lips and hollow below the lower lip must be just indicated by the hollow gouge. When this is done, the drapery may be blocked out, and lastly the hair at the side of the head and the diadem, or the hair may be blocked out without the diadem, in which case the top of the head must be rounded off, and the parting of the hair just indicated with a small hollow gouge. In cutting down at each side of the face to get to the curls, the point of the ear must not be forgotten j nor must it be forgotten that at the outer corner of each eye there is a little hollow, dying away into the temple, as seen in the illustration and that the face broadens a little from the ; corner of the eyes to the temple. In commencing the bosting, the first thing to be done is to pencil in the eyes ; they must be carefully measured off from the central line, which, as before mentioned, must be renewed as often as it is cut away. The inner corners must first be measured from the centra! line and pricked off, and the pencil must be laid across the line to see that the marks are exactly on the same level j then the marks for the outer corners of the eyes must be marked off, and the pencil laid AND WOOD CARVING. 137 across again to see that they also are on the same level ; and the caution just given must be borne in mind not to raise the outer corners so much as to give the eyes undue obliquity. Moreover, in placing these marks it must be remembered that the second mark from the top on the central line of the When oval is the level of the top of the upper eyelid. after careful examination the marks are found to be properly placed, draw the lower eyelid, then prick off the opening of the eye, and draw the upper eyelid. Now take a very fine hollow gouge (the small- est size) and make a groove just under the pencilling of the upper eyelid, and another groove above the pencilling of the under eye- lid. Do the same on the other side, and look at the eyes to see if they are both alike. These No. 3. grooves rough out the eyelids. With the same small gouge make the hollow above the upper eyelid under the brow. When both eyes have been so far made alike, take a gouge of suitable sweep, and where the groove was made under the upper eyelid, cut down to the eyeball, not quite perpendicularly, but a little sloping out towards the upper eyelid. Do the same to the lower eyelid, but cutting quite perpendicularly ; and in forming the eyelids remember that the upper eyelids are thickest at the edge . 138 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTING they give birth to the eyelashes, and must be rounded oft to meet the brow. When the eyelids have been cut, reverse the gouge, and with the inside shape the eyeball. If the gouge is not flat enough or too flat, choose one of a suitable sweep j for the eyeball must be shaped by clean cuts ; they must be smooth. The outer corners of the eyeball are taken out by a small skew chisel. At the outer corner, the lower eyelid passes under the upper one, which dies off gradually towards the temple When the eye-balls are properly rounded, take the pencil and mark the place for the pupils ; then with a firmer chisel make the little flat places for the pupil and iris, as shown in the illustration. This requires the greatest care, as both eyes must be exactly alike, or the effect will be most disagreeable. The last thing to be done to the eyes in this stage is to A form the two inner corners. reference to the illustration will show that they are little ovals, and that outside the oval there is a little gland. This gland must be left when the eyeball is rounded. The oval corner is formed by deep cuts, with a very fine hollow gouge ; one cut towards the nose, one towards the eye, joining the angle of the corner. The mouth must now be bosted and first the distance ; for the opening of the lips must be exactly marked off, and the mouth carefully sketched with the pencil. The opening of the lips is exactly one-third of the distance between the mark for the base of the nose and the mark for the point of the chin. "When the mouth has been sketched, take the fine hollow gouge used for the eyes, and make the outline of the opening of the lips ; then with a large hollow gouge make the channel under the nose, and with a flat gouge reduce into shape the upper part of the lip, from the channel and nostrils downwards towards the cheek. When this has been done, AND WOOD CARVING. 139 take a small half-round gouge, and make a slight and only just perceptible groove above and on the very edge of the upper lip ; it is to die away at each corner. This shapes the lip above, and marks the limit of the red part 5 and as the groove dies away into the corner of the mouth, it gives the lip that shape called Cupid's Bow. From this groove the lip is rounded off into the mouth. From the channel below the nose, the superior part of the upper lip slopes gradually away to the cheek and to the base of the nostrils, and the channel itself dips down from the edge of the lip, and rises to the base of the nose. Now sketch out the under lip and the chin, and with the hollow gouge complete the hollow under the lower lip. The lower lip must now be shaped in the same manner as the upper, by making a very slight groove under it with a small half-round gouge, and from this groove, which also dies away into the corner of the mouth, the lip is rounded off into the mouth. The corner of the mouth is hollowed out by a very fine round gouge, changed for a larger size as the hollow rises into the cheek. Whilst the superior part of the upper lip is being bosted, the nostrils should receive attention, their breadth should be carefully measured off before the central line below the nose is finally cut away. They may then be shaped and hollowed out, and the bridge and point of the nose may also be reduced to their proper shape and size. The nostrils being completed, the exact place for the point of the ear should be measured off. The point or bottom of the lobe of the ear is on a level with the lower part of the nose, and the distance is one part six minutes from the bottom of the nostril. The gouge employed to make the hollow under the lower lip must be used to make the hollow or dimple in the 10 140 A MANUAL OP FRET CUTTING chin, and as soon as this is made the chin can be rounded off, and the throat and neck hosted down to the drapery. It will be observed that the neck rises a little into the throat, and that just above the drapery the undulation of the bosom is seen, and must be carefully imitated. The forehead should now be attended to, and the masses of the hair and curls be carefully pencilled in, and the hollows between the masses distinctly and deeply bosted. The detail of the hair is afterwards worked out in finishing. This requires no particular explanation ; the illustrations are quite sufficient to guide the amateur. Lastly, the drapery should be pencilled in and bosted. The folds of the drapery where they join the bosom should be so arranged as to cover it equally to the right and to the left. The deep creases can be commenced with a large V tool, and completed with gouge and chisel. In finishing the head, the first thing to be done is to put in the pupil of the eye and the iris. With a small hollow gouge the size of the intended pupil, or with a pencil, slightly mark on the centre of the little flat place made on the ball of the eye the spot where the pupil is to be ; then mark the other eye j and when the pupils are found to correspond, Now mark in the iris with a larger gouge. look well at both eyes at a little distance, and if there is any difference in the position of the marks, it will at once be seen. To have one pupil higher, or lower, or more to one side than the other, has a most disagreeable effect. When the marks are found perfectly to correspond, cut the pupil, as seen in the engraving of the finished head (No. 3). It must not be a complete circle, neither must the cut for the iris be a com- A plete circle. little bit is left uncut towards the upper part to the left of both pupil and iris, and this little bit is AND WOOD CARVING. 141 opposite to the broadest and deepest part of the cuts. They represent the light shining on the eye. When the cuts have been successfully made, deepen them on the side opposite to the uncut spot, by driving the gouge in with a smart blow j this is what the French carvers term a coup deffet, and a great effect it has. Finish the mouth in the same way with a coup d'effet between the lips, taking care not to mark the lip with the edge of the gouge. It gives the appearance of great depth, and separates the lips in the most natural and life-like manner possible. The whole face must be reviewed, and the last touches given with the flat gouges. The details of the hair and curls must now be worked out with fine hollow gouges and graining gouges, and the masses must be made more distinct, and more completely separated by a succession of coup d'effet. In this the amateur must exercise his own judgment, following, as far as he can, the detail shown in the finished head. Lastly, finish the face, neck, and chest by smoothing off the gouge-marks with carver's files and sand, or glass-paper, taking especial care not to touch the eyes or the edges of the lips. The amateur must always keep pencil and compass employed until he gets all the features correctly placed in position and bostedj and he must constantly look at his work from a little distance to judge of the effect, and to see that both sides of the face are alike. He must not only look at his work from above, but from a horizontal position also, stooping down for the purpose, so that he may see that one side of the face is not higher than the other ; and, in fact, he must look at the features in every way, and in every light, and do his utmost to ensure the two sides being alike. Moreover, I would strongly advise the amateur who 143 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTING wishes to try to carve a head to buy a good plaster cast of some classical head, and keep it before him as a model, see how every feature is turned and moulded, and follow it with gouge and chisel as closely as possible. The French carvers always commence with the left side of the face and head 3 and in fact, whatever they may carve, they always commence with the left side. No one will be able to carve a head who cannot use his tools with the left my hand as well as with the right; therefore I reiterate advice to practise perseveringly with the left hand, in order to acquire the necessary ability. The proper method of holding the tools has been explained and illustrated} the amateur should follow the instructions as precisely as pos- sible, and his labour and perseverance will soon be followed by a rich reward. In Chapter IV., amongst other maxims. I laid down this : " Don't skip from stalk to stalk, from leaf to leaf, or from one part to another, but finish each leaf or part as far as you can before commencing another, and go through the whole work regularly. There are times and occasions when this rule may and must be violated, but experience will teach you." And carving a head and face is precisely one of those A occasions when the rule must be violated. little at a time must be done to all the features, so as to give a due pro- portion to all; to balance, as it were, properly, all the features one against the other. When once a feature is finished, its proportion cannot be altered ; and if one feature the nose, for instance was to be at once entirely finished, it might be out of all proportion to the eyes and chin. Therefore advance all the features little by little, and, as it were, simultaneously. I now wish to introduce to my young readers a species AND WOOD CARVING. 143 my my of carving that is, in opinion, specially suitable for lady readers, and may be classed as a drawing-room occu- pation. It may be called Sunk Carving ; for, contrary to the usual method, the carving is sunk, whilst the ground is left at its original level. This species of carving is more suitable than any others for book-covers, or to be employed in places where the carving is liable to be rubbed ; because, being sunk below the ground, it cannot get rubbed or chafed until the ground itself is worn down. This "Sunk Carving" is specially suited to ladies, because it requires no strength of arm or wrist, there is no hammering required during the carving, driving the gouge with the palm of the hand now and then being quite suffi- cient. It may be carried into the drawing-room, for there is no noise, and the proportion of chips from the process is very small, and may well be collected on the table. When the carving is finished, and the ground has to be punched, then of course hammering is required, but this can be done anywhere. The panel to be carved can be screwed on to any tolerable firm table ; and if a sheet or two of paper be laid underneath the panel to be carved, the table, however finely polished, will receive no hurt. A single cramp will suffice to fasten the work, and if the top of the screw is furnished with a moveable head, the under part of the table where the screw is fixed cannot be scratched. With a couple of dozen or thirty tools, a correct eye, and a skilful hand, most beautiful work can be produced. Here is an engraving of a * panel I have had carved in this style by the clever young French carver, mentioned in the preceding chapter, Mr. Rene Bigot, of St. Malo, and I * See Frontispiece. 144 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTING advise those of my young friends who may pass through that town in their autumn tour through Brittany to pay a visit to his atelier. The panel is walnut, the carved part measures ten and a half inches by six and a half inches. The design is adapted from some artistic work published in Paris. The engraver has very finely and skilfully rendered the carved panel, and with its help a short description will soon make clear the method of executing this peculiar and beautiful variety of wood carving. The greatest number of tools that can be re- quired will be about thirty, viz., four bent chi- sels, commencing from the very finest in regular succession ; three grain- A. Firmer Chisels. B. Flat and quarter-flat Gouges. C.-Hollow Gouges. ouges. F. Skew Chisels. ing gouges, four hollow gouges, -r fifteen ,, flat , and quarter-flat gouges, com- mencing from one-tenth, two firmer chisels of one-tenth and two-tenths, and two skew chisels, one very pointed, one less pointed. The above are impressions of the sizes. The wood chosen should be good, old, well-seasoned walnut ; it works freely, takes a good polish, and does not split easily. The pattern should be laid on the board and fastened lightly with a couple of fine tacks, or needle points j then with a very fine steel point prick out lightly the whole A pattern. single line of prick marks will suffice for the stems, but the outline of the leaves and flowers, etc., vith AND V/OOD CARVING. 145 their inner angles and projecting points, should be carefully pricked out. One of the best instruments to use as a pricker is a bit of a knitting needle put into a stout handle, and ground to a fine point. The handle should be rather larger towards the pricker, or a little hollow should be made for the finger and thumb, so that the tool may be held easily, or else in long pricking the hand becomes cramped with the exertion of holding the pricker tight. Where the pattern has been pricked over it must be carefully pencilled on the wood, and the outside line only of the stems having been pricked, the inside line must be put in, and must be done very carefully. A very little consideration of the pattern will show the intelligent amateur that a trifling irregularity in the sweep of the graceful curves of the stems would ruin their appearance, and make the outline hideous, and he will at once perceive that on such slender stems, an irregularity incapable of remedy would be caused by a very small slip or misdirection of the tools. Take, for instance, the stem enclosing the rose, it would lose all its gracefulness were there a projection, a bend, or a flat place in the curve, it would simply be ruined, and this would inevitably be the case if the edge of the tools were not placed with the utmost precision on the traced line. The first thing, therefore, that the amateur should learn is, how to hold the tools properly, so as to avoid so serious a mischief. When cutting the outline of these stems, or in fact whenever applying the tools to any piece of carving requiring exactness, the proper method is to grasp the handle of the tool in the left hand, edge downwards, and take the blade within an inch of the edge, between the thumb and fingers 146 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTING of the right hand. Place the edge of the tool on the traced line, press the handle down with the left hand, and if necessary let go with the right hand, and strike with the palm of that hand. It will be as well to describe the method of carving one of the leaves. The leaf, for instance, on the right, in the middle just by the snail. The leaf having been pricked out and carefully pen- cilled, take a small flat gouge, and holding it as above de- scribed, handle in left hand, blade between thumb and fingers of right hand, make the cut for the small and inner part of the notch in each leaflet, pressing down the gouge with the left hand, and, if necessary, giving a slight drive with the palm of the right hand. The small part of the notch of a leaf must invariably be made the first, the long part after- wards. When this has been done, outline the leaf witb suitable gouges. Take a fine round gouge, and make the round at the top of the leaf ; then with a flat gouge make a deep cut all along the dark line which commences at the round part, and goes through the leaf, leaving two leaflets to its right. This cut deepens as it gets to the centre of the leaf, and is deepest at the bottom of the upper right leaflet. Continue this line down to the stem. Make diagonal cuts downwards from the left to meet this perpendicular cut, and take out the pieces. Reverse the gouge, and, with the inside downwards, round off this cut from the left deep down, rounding it off suddenly that is, don't make it too flat. Now take a smaller flat gouge, and round off the leaflets to the right, the larger one rather suddenly into the cut, the upper one to slope gradually down to the bottom of the cut, deepening the leaflet into the point, the lower part of the lower leaflet to be left the fall height of the wood. So the AND WOOD CARVING. 147 same with the leaflets to the left. The upper point of the main leaflet on the left is very slightly hollowed out from the centre to the point, deepening gradually to the point. When this is done and the leaf got as smooth as possible, it must be veined. The veins are everywhere double, and great care must be taken to make them run nicely into one another, and not to commence them too far apart. Frequently a portion of a leaf is kept the full height of the wood, for the sake of contrast with the other part, and .to give a bolder effect. In this case the part so left requires to be more detached from the ground than by the mere perpendicular cut that outlines the leaf. This detaching is effected by cutting a thin shave from the ground outside the part, and it must be done with the greatest care to make the cut entirely parallel to the outline of the leaf. Perhaps an illustration of the leaf made rather larger will help to make this description clearer. Here is an enlarged outline of the leaf the dark line down the centre shows ; where the leaf is deepened ; x x show where the wood is left the full height ; o o where it is hollowed out slightly ; the dark lines outside the leaflets show where the ground is cut away to detach the leaflet. In doing the stems, commence with the outer edge of each curve, and see that they are quite correct before com- mencing the inner edges ; and, indeed, whatever the amateur may be carving, whether in this style or in the solid, the outer edges of all curves should be done and corrected before the inner ones. Hold the flat gouge as above described ; the thumb and fingers of the right hand will place the edge of the tool on the line with great exactness ; the pressure of the left hand will sink it deep enough. When the cuts for the stems are done on both sides, take out the pieces by I48 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTIXG cutting with the flat gouge from the top of the cut on the outside to the bottom of the cut on the inside, and then from the inside. This leaves a little ridge in the centre, and gives the stem a natural and rich effect. When the stem is too deep, as in the dark piece behind the squirrel, or too narrow, as in the stem of the rosebud, the pieces must be taken out with the bent chisel, and the bottom is left flat. It may be as well to tell my readers that the bent chisel cuts better when sharpened from above. If my readers have not got or cannot get graining gouges fine enough for the delicate veins in the leaflets, they must use a V-tool, but the sharp edge of the V-tool below must be rounded off this makes it travel ; better round the curves. I may also mention that the very finest grain- ing gouges, and the finest gouges of all kinds, down to the twentieth of an inch, can be procured in Paris, at M. Camu's, a la Gouge Anglaise, 58, Rue Sedaine. Finally, all the cuts must be made quite clean and with the sharpest toois, and the ground may be punched with a fine- toothed punch. The whole of the carved parts may be touched over with an amalgam of yellow wax and turpen- tine one ounce of wax and five ounces of turpentine the wax to be melted in a pot, and the turpentine poured on ; AND WOOD CARVING. 149 take it off the fire first, or the turps may blaze up ; stir it vigorously, then put into a bottle, and shake it up ; it must be put on thin with a camel-hair brush, and rubbed in vigorously with a hard-bristle brush. The safest plan for making this wax varnish is to shave the wax thin, and put it into a bottle with the spirits of tur- Lid of box. pentine. Let it stand twenty-four hours, and then shake it well ; repeat this two or three times, the result will be a saturated solution of bee's-wax. These designs are for the lid, front, and sides of a box, and I advise my readers to try and carve them as soon as 150 A MANUAL OF FRET CUTTING they shall have acquired some skill with their tools. The designs are worth any trouble that may be bestowed on them, both for their intrinsic elegance, and for the great in- crease of knowledge the amateur will acquire who success- fully carves them ; indeed, the very attempt will increase his knowledge immensely, and add to his skill of hand. The box should be ten inches long, six and three-eighths width, four and six-eighths deep, outside measurement. Front of box. The lid for carving should be nine and a-half inches long by six wide, and should be let into an ogee moulding, to project beyond the box three-eighths of an inch all round. This moulding should be made with a rebate on the in- side. When this moulding is put together, the lid to be carved is dropped into it, and rests on the rebate. The rebate carries the hinges of the box and the hasp of the lock. AND WOOD CARVING. The box to be carved should be made with a mitre dove- tail, and fitted, but not glued, together, so that the pieces may be put separately on the table for carving. The thickness of the wood should be five-eighths, and the carving should be half that depth. The carving on the lid should leave a margin all round of three-sixteenths of an inch, and this margin should be carved into pearls when the design is finished. For the method of carving pearls, see Chapter IX. The design for the front and ends should not come nearer the end than six- End of box eighths of an inch, or the mitre dovetail may be cut into. my To assist readers in carving the design for the lid, I have marked with an o where the carving is deep, and with an x where the wood should be left high. The little side ornaments at A and B splay outwards and incline down- wards to meet the centre one, which is there quite low and hollow. 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