Some woodworkers like to sand and finish their projects until they are "as shiny as plastic," and that's just fine and dandy. But there are other options to try.
Working the Texture Tradeoff
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| Techniques editor Linda Haus gets a lesson in texturing for dramatic effect with podium builder Frank Grant. |
When I got a look at Frank Grant's podium in the Woodworker's Journal offices, I was instantly intrigued. Many aspects of the podium were silky smooth with a built-up oil finish, but he contrasted those surfaces with other textures that created shadows and varying levels of depth. These details piqued my curiosity, so I made a trip to his workshop to get the lowdown.
I joined Frank at his shop in the Fourth Street Guild building near the University of Minnesota to talk about his use of texture as a design element: accenting shape and light. It soon became clear that Frank is a teacher as well as a woodworker. (He regularly teaches classes at the Rockler Woodworking and Hardware retail stores in Minneapolis.) Often, Frank's inspiration for adding texture is derived from nature. An example in his podium project is the relief carvings on the faces of the maple panel suspended between the uprights. They depict an image of intersecting sycamore trees Frank saw while he was hiking in Arizona.
Four distinct textures are apparent on the podium. First, there's the carved panel I just described; second, dimple-carved maple supports, which also have scraped, organically shaped edges. Third comes the ultra-smooth cherry parts; and fourth, there's a bird's-eye maple veneered center panel. While it's as smooth to the touch as the cherry parts, the grain pattern on this panel provides a depth that could easily be called a visual texture. Whew!
Uniformly Random
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| Frank offers Linda some pointers as she steps into the arena of dimple carving wood. One surprising detail she learned was that "random" patterns need to be created methodically. |
I asked Frank to teach me how to do a couple of the texturing effects. It was both harder and easier than I thought it would be — give it a try, you'll see what I mean. I started out trying to dimple carve a maple accent piece. The technique is simple: use a gouge to randomly place uniformly shaped "dimples." The most important thing to start out with is a very sharp gouge. Next, avoid creating a non-random pattern. If you are systematically trying to fill in an area, it is easy to begin "scooping out" in straight lines. This will not be as pleasing to the eye. It took me a while, but once I got into a rhythm, the piece started to look pretty good.
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| One of the distinct textures on the podium is the scraped edges of the organically shaped supports. |
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| Light-colored, dimple-carved maple beautifully contrasts with the smooth, hand-rubbed finish on the cherry. |
I had no trouble scraping the edges of the accent pieces to an attractive texture. Again, the idea is to produce a random but uniform look (kinda like a jazz improv session with a band ... ).
By now I was feeling pretty cocky about my texturing skills. Then we moved on to the panel carving. We used a piece of basswood to get started. Frank sketched a sycamore pattern and then handed me a gouge and mallet. At first, I had some trouble producing a good curl and a controlled cut. But after a bit of coaching and shifting to a tap-tap-tap technique with my mallet, it all came together. Now I need to get back in my own shop and put these tips to work on my own designs.
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| Although she's no stranger to carving wood, our editor mastered several new methods of texturing wood during her short lesson. |
Smooth or textured ... remember, you have a choice.