The Art of Woodcarving - William Barsley
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- The Art of Woodcarving
A film by Nathan Miller showcasing the work of traditional woodcarver William Barsley at his studio in Dartington, Devon, UK.
Specialising in bespoke carving, William Barsley undertakes a wide variety of projects, from heraldry, gilding and one-off sculptures to the restoration of antiques or listed properties. He also runs a wide range of carving courses from his workshop.
For more information about commissions and courses visit: www.williambarsley.com
Videographer Nathan Miller: nathanjmiller31@gmail.com - Jak na to + styl
Great work,William,i am carving on and off for over fifty years,its great to see someone using actual carving tools and with a nice calm manner,and none of those noisey dremmel things that seem to be everywhere nowadays,,brilliant work ,well done
I can’t imagine the vibrations from those will do your hand any good in the long run either.
Do you ever wonder why it is that some people just need to create? I’m happy to hear that you feel fulfilled in your craft. Great video.
I carve now and again. But before i rub something down with sandpaper,i use a thin broken old window pane glass shard as a scraper. 1 it's cheap. 2 being glass it's deadly sharp.3 tools don't blunt if you have to go over a scraped piece.4 scraping deeply( sometimes) substitutes carving, depends on the shape of the shard.5 the finish is gorgeous smooth as silk!!
i'm not into wood works or any sort but i can sit and watch this for hours. absolutely amazing craftsmanship.
i can imagine how happy the owner of that coat of arms.
Wow-fantastic. Very impressive. (And compliments to the videographer as well!) Cheers from California.
You are extremely gifted in your trade and it is heartwarming to see the art still alive. Bravo.
Good job, respectfully from Kazakhstan!👍
Stunning work….RESPECT.
WOW!!!!
looks AMAZING ❤.
You have a Butifull Job! Im a Hobby carver and understand why you love what you do!!!!🤘🤘🤘
Wow That looks incredible!
Incredible
What a wonderful video. I loved it.
Love your work
Beautiful work ❤️
Amazing work. I had the volume off but followed the gist of it. I wish I could try carving with "scary sharp" tools some day. I can honestly say that I've never had the pleasure. I'm 60 now, so no time like the present. Just a note, I use iron on paper printed with my home computer and iron it directly to wood surface.
Thank you for the tip, I will give that a try. Absolutely correct, no time like the present, good luck with it!
That is really awesome wow God bless you
Well done !
What a beautiful video. Spoken very simply. Coat of arms are so interesting. Love the tools. I'm just drawing and carving simple shapes for practice
If I have any envy, it's for people who've discovered what they're really meant to be doing with themselves.
I'm always in awe of such skill , you are so together & in tune with your tools & materials. Great listening to your dialogue, your thought process of approaching a carve.. Definitely new subscriber here.
Thank you John, really appreciate your kind comments.
Beautiful work
Very talented so beautiful to watch
Great, to find your life... God bless you 🙏🏼
It’s nice to hear that you chose to leave university to pursue your dream and document others experience with carving.
When I come across a tree with an unusual shape to it, or a piece of wood whose grain has a a lot of movement, I am overcome by a sense of peaceful familiarity spreading throughout my very being, and I could weep for its comforting warmth. As I have often times done just that.
If any one of you has so much as an inkling of that sensation, then I am so very, very grateful as I’m not the only one who has gone insane over wood.
‘Otherwise, I’m screwed !’, I say whilst laughing manically.
❤❤❤
Hi Will, just stumbled over you on CZcams .
Great to see you and love the video.
I'm still carving Buddha images in Thailand.
If you fancy a trip to the land of smiles you're always welcome in the Sunrise House.
Love Douglas.
Hi Douglas, great to hear from you and fantastic that you're still carving in Thailand.
Would love a trip back to Sunrise House one day. Thank you for the offer.
Hope you and the family are all keeping well. We're expecting a baby next month, so are about to get busy!
This is very interesting. I hope to progress to something like that, but it might take long time.
You're on the right track, and it's a commendable journey you're taking to do historical decorative woodcarving. Some points might help you avoid the pitfalls of all us moderns who aspire to do work like that which was done in past centuries.
A carving is nothing more than a sculpture* made by reductive means. Therefore all carving may be thought of a some sculptural form, even if just a long series of eggs and darts. Of course there are some characteristics of woodcarving which give it a distinct look, and that tends to be what attracts people to woodcarving, that or the nice qualities of working a rather obedient, strong, lightweight and readily available material with sharp tools, that is what artists and artisans call the process.
But historical carvings were mostly influenced by stonecarving, bronze works and architecture, often scaled down for portability, as in a picture frame, or adapted for interior use. During the High Middle Ages and the Gothic period, this stuff is taken to a whole higher plane of art. Often woodcarving excels in places having lots of wood, but no stone, just as stone was worked in Ancient Greece due to its availability.
When dealing with thickness it's important to consider the depth, and the cross sectional variations. Any relief carving can be compressed thinner, and it can also be extended outward. Often this was done with added, glued and or nailed on sections. We see this in picture frames.
Some combination of fair curves and expedience is seen in much carving. Historical work was often done by carvers who had tens of thousands of hours under their belts.
But once it's gessoed and gilded, no one will be the wiser if it took your tool 3 strokes to their one.
So any sculptural form pretty much can be made of wood. Study the works of the past, and really take note of how things go. Draw your cross sections. The plan section is the most obvious, and again the curves are usually fair, at least, not jarring to the eye, but Oh how they vary. It was not considered good form to be perfectly symmetrical, far from in. Endless variation in the contours, the hollows and convexities exists in good historical work, just like it does in nature.
In short, we need more art, less craft in the purest sense. Elevate the medium. That's the point of using wood. And let no one call himself a master like so many of these wannabes. That Russian garbage. You've seen it on CZcams and Pinterest. Cheesy, beefy versions of Florentine symmetrical style frames and Neo-baroque abysmalness.
And no one needs Tilia species. Use whatever can be carved. Wood is no match for high carbon steel. Generally. There's exceptions.
Some advice, take it or leave it.
*You may think of a sculpture as a drawing in three dimensions, and if you do, you won't be likely to go wrong.
sweet 🎉
Hi William. I am from the US, but lived in Harrogate in the 70's for 12 years. I am a woodcarver, but by no means as awesome of a one as you. Mine is a hobby. I was fascinated with the carving of the crest of arms you did. I was especially fascinated watching you put on the silver leaf and gold leaf that you were applying. I have never seen that done before and it was amazing. After you apply that can you put a sealer over it to protect the wood? Great video. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Phyllis, thank you for your comment and apologies for the slow reply, busy time in the workshop at the moment. I seal the wood with glue prior to gilding, which helps protect the timber. The gold and in this case palladium also help to protect the timber. It's a wonderful process and very absorbing!
@@williambarsley9288 thank you for your reply. I love carving with wood. It's so relaxing and I feel a great accomplishment when I'm done even if it doesn't come out the way I thought it would. I believe the wood talks to me when I'm carving it.
Well done, looks like some pretty fine detail in it. Was curious what you were using to sharpen your tools? I like the belt and buffing wheel combo
I use an Axminster Ultimate Edge sharpening system, it's brilliant. Wish I had brought it years ago!
Hi William. Really pleased to have subscribed to your channel. I have been commercially sculpting in different waxes for giftware companies for 35 years. The original is then transferred into resin models. I also make my own pieces as well. Of late, the giftware companies I have worked for, such as Country Artists and Border Fine Arts have have wrapped up and there are very few UK based companies left now. I have been collecting the 'Wood Carving' magazine for 12 years with the thought of turning to wood carving one day, primarily as a hobby, but hopefully to take over from my usual commercial work. I have dabbled in wood carving, but have been collecting tools over the years to have a serious attempt. I realise I have to apply a different mindset with the process. With wax if I make a mistake, I can just put a bit more on. With wood, not the same. I came across you in the most recent Wood Carving magazine, hence finding you on this channel. I hope to see more of your work in the near future. Your creative skills are incredible. I have turntables from my wax sculpting days, but need to purchase a different set up. Might I ask which piece of apparatus (yellow in colour) it is you use on the bench to hold your work? I could not quite read the label. The coat of arms looks fantastic. I have the same 'Fairburn's Crests' book I saw on your bookshelf. With my surname HALLS, there is only one crest illustrated. I might tackle that one day having got inspiration from watching this video. Many thanks for reading this.
Hi Anthony, thank you for your message. Your work sounds fascinating and very transferable to carving. The vice I use on the bench is called a 'ball vice' I use one from Spencer Franklin - www.wdscomponents.com/en-gb/hydraulics-pneumatics/hydraclamp-spencer-franklin/c-285. I also use a 'carving vice' from Tiranti's - www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=tiranti+carving+vice&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8. Good luck with the journey!
@@williambarsley9288 Thank you for replying and for the information. I am looking forward to taking carving more seriously. Best of luck to you this year as well. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Very interesting, and the final piece is stunning. I would like to know how many hours of work you have put into the carving, and into the painting / gilding. I am curious. And, if it is not a secret, how much you charge for such a beautiful piece. Thank for sharing your thoughts and processes.
Thank you for taking the time to comment on this video. It certainly takes a long time to produce a carving such as the one shown in the video, hence they're not cheap.
Lovely work. I notice you are using Pelican brand paint, what sort of paint is it please? I am familiar with the gilding but would be very interested to hear more about the paint. Many years ago when I was signwriting and doing showcard work I used an excellent Pelican paint for showcard work, really strong pigments and great coverage so am keen to hear more of the paint you use. Also, do you finish your work with a varnish and if so what do you use. Thanks for a great video to both you and your camera persons.
Hi Simone, thank you for your message. The Pelican paint is called Plaka, such as this - www.cornelissen.com/specialist-decorating/decorative-paints/pelikan-plaka-50-ml.html. I find it a brilliant paint to use, thick and velvety, good for heraldry. I don't usually varnish my work.
@@williambarsley9288 Many thanks William, it is the same paint I used years ago. Glad to hear it's still available as it really is good.
In french we say petit bourgeois
Hello again William. I hope you don't mind me posting this about the Hydraclamp miniclamp I said I bought, brand new from WDS Components. It is really just to warn any of your subscribers about the quality of the unit I received. I paid £266 for it and when it got to me, I was completely underwhelmed with the craftsmanship. The 3 bolt slots for clamping to the bench were miss shaped, the slot for the tensioning arm was badly cast as well. The label was placed on an angle. The circular plate for mounting work was scratched to pieces. There was a shard of metal next to the moving ball etc. I made a complaint, given the company has a bsi certificate for quality. Basically, their reply was that it was a budget piece and because the unit is cast, this gives a displeasing look to the miniclamp. I took photos to show the poor quality. I was very unhappy and they said they would' try' to address the issues and reshape the slots and remove the flashing that was still in place in the handle slot. I thought long and hard about it all and was offered a full refund, but at the same time, I really needed the miniclamp. In the end, I haggled for a 30% refund to keep the unit, and I would sort the issues myself. I would hate for any of your subscribers to purchase a hydraclamp form them, after what I went through, if like me they saw you using one of their products. Please feel free to delete this post if you are unhappy with me reporting this on your page. Many thanks, Antony.
Hi Anthony, no worries about posting this at all. I brought my clamp around 8 years ago and have been thrilled with it. Best piece of kit in my workshop by a long way. Never had any issues with it. It looks like the design may have changed over the years and I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience with them. I'll be sure to look into it further before advising anyone else to buy them. As a tool a ball vice is fantastic and I hope you can find one that works well for you. Happy carving!
@@williambarsley9288 Thank you for that.
@@antonyhalls5322have you looked at something called the panavise ? Seems like a good piece of equipment
Fantastic work thanks 👍 can you recommend which chisels to start with? I'd like to do a small relief carving about 12 Inch x 7 inch. 😎
You can get decent Chinese chisels. They're on eBay. You need to be careful. You want the ones that they use in their own country. They're a high manganese medium high carbon steel, around .60 percent carbon. which makes them a little soft but easier to sharpen. They have garbage handles or no handles. They are generally short and fish tail shaped but they'll do work. The smaller ones might be what you'll want for the size work you mention. They call them "chisels" not gouges, and it probably says "luthier" in the title, aiming for the musical intsrument maker market. They're made in one area of China which is known for toolmaking. These are like the ones sold by Wood Carver's Supply, but those are probably better quality and all have socket handles, which are much harder to forge. The eBay ones can come in sets of up to 60 or so, with lots of repetition. Who knows what exact shapes you get.
The alloy steel tools (chrome vanadium is the steel of wrenches and sockets) all over Amazon are not recommended, except for Schaaf, maybe Winckelsteel and the Seabotek brands. They will have good feedback and reviews from people who know. There's some tools out of Ukraine which are ok, but may have defects. There are some excellent tools on Etsy from Eastern Europe, but they're expensive and the old English Sheffield steel brands (Marples, Ashely Isles, Henry Taylor, etc) are not any more expensive. Narex (Czech) is supposed to be a good brand.
I personally am not a fan of German hi alloy (Solingen) steel, like Two Cherries and the others, because it's harder to sharpen, but it's good stuff. Not cheap. Swiss tools (Pfiel is the only one I know off hand) will all be good. The shapes you need totally depend on the work. A lot, in fact, almost all convex carving can be done with flat woodworker's chisels. It's the hollows and vee cuts that require special gouges.
There are lots of sets of pattern maker's gouges on Ebay. They are what you call "in cannel" gouges. They have the bevel on the inside. These are used to round over the tops of protruding shapes, but will also cut grooves. They're big and heavy duty and sometimes cheap. The brands are Buck Bros. and others.
J. Addis, Swan, Butcher, Witherby, Sorby, etc. all good brands. to search for vintage tools.
Flexcut tools are good, but you might not like the flex.
Even Speedball linoleum block cutters and old Exacto gouges were good steel, but need lots of honing and polishing to cut well.
Hi Tim, I would recommend heading over to Classic Hand Tools they have a good range of quality chisels and tools.
@@williambarsley9288 Yeah, looks like they offer Henry Taylor, Flexcut and Pfeil, all good brands, good steel. I can amen that.