Whittling is a relaxing hobby in which you pare small shavings of wood from a blank to create or fashion an object. Most whittling tends to be for small toys or objects and not sculpture. A good beginner's whittling project is a "Ball in a cage." This toy will amaze your friends and they will exclaim "How did you get the ball in there!?"
Method 1 of 2: With Hand Tools
1Start with a small block of soft wood (pine, basswood or balsa) 1" wide by 1" tall, 4" long.Ad
2Mark on the wood with a pencil the trace lines as shown in the image. Notice that the circle overlaps the edge lines a little.
3Chisel cavities on both sides of the outlined ball.
5Cut the slivers from the ends of the block.
6Carefully whittle the slivers from the ball until it can roll freely within the frame.
Method 2 of 2: With Power Tools
1Lay out the area for the ball in the center of the blank and shade the portions of the wood to be removed.
2Drill a hole through the wood in each shaded area on two sides. There should be four holes total.
3Use a coping saw to cut the shaded areas away. (WARNING: Do not put any part of your body in the way of a sharp blade as depicted here. Use a clamp instead.)
4The blank is now ready to carve. Continue with the procedure as described above.
5Make the first cuts in each corner of the ball.
6Cut across each side of the ball.
7Cut along the length of the ball (you can use a 60 deg. V-tool to save time). WARNING: never push a chisel towards your other hand, as shown here and the next picture. Hold or clamp it so that you are pushing the chisel away from any part of your body.
8Now begin paring small pieces away, shaping the ball. A straight chisel will make it easier to cut on the end grain but a knife will work fine.
9After each side of the ball has been roughed out, pare the cage bars. Continue paring material in smaller pieces as the ball takes shape.
10Do the final paring once the ball has taken shape and is almost ready to break free of the cage.
11Use a knife to score the ball away from the cage and do any cleanup on the break areas. You can sand or finish to your liking. That's it. You now have a ball in a cage to amaze your friends with!Ad