Carving

In a certain medical clinic in Wisconsin, there’s a sliding door that features a marquetry mural by Spider Johnson and Cindy Goldman.

The art of carving incised lettering is both a valuable skill for a professional woodworker and an instructive practice for beginners.

When Justin Nelson started Fernweh Woodworking in Bend, Ore., in 2014, he was coming off four years in the Marine Corps and then a season on a Forest Service Hotshot crew fighting wildfires. A couple of years in, he was introduced to Sam Maloof’s work. “It boggled my mind,” he says. And it convinced him to turn his business toward furniture.

Yoav Liberman uses a distinctive font, Antropos, to make chip carving letters easier for his students.

John Makepeace's sculpted and sleek cabinet in scorched English oak and ripple sycamore

As if building the coffer weren’t fun enough, painting and carving it notch up the excitement. A choice of paints and colors and endless design possibilities for carving can change the look and feel of the piece.

Michelle delves into her love for wood carving and her relationship with the trees surrounding her Vermont home.

David Fisher carves a decorative tree—establishing a simple layout, custom grinding a gouge, and making lots of opposing gouge cuts for the leaves.

To make this stunning piece, all you need is some 8/4 stock and a few common hand tools

A simple benchtop, customized for carving, rests upon an affordable miter-saw stand.