Classical Carving

(male announcer) MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP IS PROVIDED BY: (male announcer) MORE THAN 40 MILLION PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR THEIR CARS AND HOMES CHOOSE STATE FARM FOR THEIR INSURANCE.

STATE FARM: A PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP.

[horns beeping] [banjo strumming] [upbeat fiddle music] HEY, WELCOME BACK TO THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP.

I'M ROY UNDERHILL.

I'M VERY GLAD YOU CAN BE WITH ME AGAIN TODAY BECAUSE WE ARE JOINED BY MY VERY GOOD FRIEND THE MASTER OF THE ANTHONY HAY CABINET SHOP AT COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG, MR. MACK HEADLEY.

WELL, GOOD TO SEE YOU, ROY.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

MACK, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING DOWN.

AND YOU'RE GOING TO OFFER US A JOURNEY IN 18TH-CENTURY CARVING, IS THAT RIGHT?

YEAH, A QUICK TOUR THROUGH ABOUT 50 YEARS WORTH OF CARVING EVOLUTION.

ALL RIGHT.

WELL, THIS IS THE DESTINATION THOUGH, IS THAT RIGHT?

YES.

ALL RIGHT.

YEAH, WE'RE LEADING TOWARDS A VERY FREE-FORM KIND OF ORGANIC FINE-SCALE DETAIL ROCOCO.

ROCOCO, ALL RIGHT.

SO THIS IS THE-- AND AS YOU SAY, IT'S FREE-FORM.

IT'S NOT SYMMETRICAL.

AND I SHOULD SAY, THIS WHITE IS GESSO ON THERE?

GESSO, YEAH; CHALK AND RABBIT SKIN GLUE.

AND IT'S A STAGE TOWARDS GOLD LEAFING, OR SOMETIMES THEY WOULD LEAVE THINGS JUST IN THE WHITE AND THEN GOOD CONTRAST LIGHT AND SHADOW.

THAT'S BEAUTIFUL, AGAIN, BUT IT IS WOOD.

THIS IS BASSWOOD, LINDEN.

BASSWOOD, MM-HMM.

ALL RIGHT, WONDERFUL.

AND THE GOLD LEAF ON THERE IS GONNA MAKE THAT JUST BEAUTIFUL.

OH, BUT IT'S WONDERFUL-- ASYMMETRICAL, NOW, ALL RIGHT, AND-- THAT'S A 1760s DESIGN OUT OF THOMAS CHIPPENDALE'S DESIGN BOOK.

AH, OKAY.

BUT NOW THIS IS THE EARLIER-- THIS IS WHERE IT BEGINS.

YEAH, GO BACK TO EARLIER.

AND WELL, A BASIC POINT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS THAT EARLY ON-- AND MANY OF THE BASIC DESIGNS IN THE 18TH CENTURY ARE VERY STRONGLY ORDERED.

AND THERE'S A-- YOU KNOW, A SYSTEMATIC LAYOUT, FRACTIONAL INCREMENTS...

I SEE ALL THE NUMBERS HERE, YEAH.

POSITION ALL THE ELEMENTS AND COMPASS POINTS, AND ALL OF THIS IS HERE FROM A BATTY LANGLEY'S, I THINK, THE BUILDER'S TREASURY OR THE BUILDER'S JEWEL.

THERE'S LOTS OF GUIDES, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST DESCRIPTIVE AND SPECIFIC ABOUT THIS KIND OF LAYOUT SYSTEMS.

WOW.

IT'S WONDERFUL.

AND THIS IS, AGAIN, ARCHITECTURAL AND ROBUST YOU SAY, AND RUBENESQUE.

YEAH, THIS ONE NEEDS TO BE READ FROM QUITE A LONG DISTANCE.

ALL RIGHT.

SO ARCHITECTURE NEEDS TO BE KIND OF CLEAR AND SIMPLE.

AND IN EARLY STAGES THAT CARVING IS INTRODUCED, THEY'RE ALSO TRYING TO EXECUTE IT WITH AS FEW TOOLS AS POSSIBLE AND REALLY TYING THE TOOLS INTO THE CONTROL OF THE DESIGN.

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT: HERE WE'VE GOT THE SHAPE OF A GOUGE THAT WILL BE BOTH CONCAVE AND CAN BE CONVEX ARCS, AND YOU USE THIS IN INCREMENTS, AND IT'LL JUST KEEP THINGS UNDER CONTROL.

THAT'S WONDERFUL, AND I SEE YOU'RE JUST PLAYING THAT DOWN.

YEAH, PLING THE MOLDING.

AND THIS IS A QUARTER ROUND, THAT AN ASTRAGAL, AND YOU JUST TURN YOUR MOLDING INTO A FINER SCALE DETAIL.

AND FELLOWS WOULD CARVE HUNDREDS OF FEET OF MOLDINGS LIKE THIS.

SO THAT'S EARLY ARCHITECTURAL BAROQUE STYLE, BUT I GUESS THIS GOES BACK EVEN EARLIER, SOME OF THIS.

YEAH, IT CERTAINLY CAN, BACK INTO GREEK AND ROMAN TIMES.

AND I THINK THEY'VE GOT MUCH SIMILAR SYSTEMS TO HELP KEEP THINGS UNDER CONTROL.

THIS IS GONNA INVOLVE MORE TOOLS.

YOU MIGHT WELL-- IF YOU DO THIS ALL THE TIME-- HAVE CHISELS CARVED SPECIFICALLY FOR A PARTICULAR PATTERN, WOULD CERTAINLY BE A GREAT ADVANTAGE FOR EFFICIENCY.

GOSH, THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.

NOW, HERE'S SOMETHING I RECOG-- IS THIS THE ARCHITECTURAL-- AND I GUESS THAT GOES THIS WAY, IS THAT RIGHT?

WELL, YEAH.

ALL RIGHT.

AND THIS-- GOSH, THAT'S WONDERFUL.

THIS HAS BEEN SHELLACKED?

YEAH, IT HAS BEEN SHELLACKED IN A SPIRIT VARNISH.

ON MAHOGANY?MM-HMM.

SO THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF THE WOOD, BUT THE CARVING IS WONDERFUL BUT AGAIN, VERY SIMPLE, SYMMETRICAL.

AND AN INSPIRED DESIGN FROM A 1728 BOOK OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS.

THIS IS JAMES GIBBS' BOOK OF ARCHITECTURE.

AND ONE OF GIBBS' BOOKS WAS JEFFERSON'S FIRST BOOK OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN.

HE WAS INTRODUCED TO HIM BY A CABINETMAKER IN WILLIAMSBURG.

OH, NO KIDDING?

SO IF WE GO TO MONTICELLO OR SOMETHING, WE'LL SEE STUFF INSPIRED BY GIBBS PERHAPS?

RIGHT, HE WAS--YEAH.

AND THESE BASIC-- GETTING EYE-CATCHING ELEMENTS, THINGS THAT ARE GONNA PULL YOUR EYE.

AND YOU'RE WALKING ALONG THE BEACH, YOU SEE SHELLS WHERE SHELLS ARE BURIED.

THAT'S RIGHT: THE PERFECT SHELL, YOU PICK IT UP.

YEAH, POPULAR IN DESIGN,AND-- OR A PRETTY FLOWER.

AND THE SPIRALING VOLUTES ARE, WELL, LOOKING INTO A SNAIL SHELL OR A NAUTILUS SHELL.

AND EN A BELLFLOWER HAS A VERY SIMPLE LEAFAGE THAT CAN BE EXECUTED PRETTY QUICKLY.

IT'S WONDERFUL.

YEAH, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO SHOW YOU HOW TO MAKE ONE OF THOSE WITH BASICALLY TWO TOOLS.

ALL RIGHT, WELL, WE'RE TALKING; WE OUGHT TO BE CARVING.

LET'S GET SOME CARVING GOING HERE THEN.

SO THIS IS, AGAIN, THE BELL FLOWER, NOW, WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW TO DO.

AND THEN THAT'S IT.

ALL RIGHT, I'LL LET YOU START, AND THERE'S THE BLANK.

OKAY, WE'RE GONNA GET, FIRST, A FOCAL POINT THAT WILL HELP GIVE US SOMETHING TO ORGANIZE OURSELVES AROUND.

AND HERE WE'RE JUST GONNA USE THE SHAPE OF THE TOOL, AND AS YOU SPIN THE TOOL IN ITS OWN CUT, IT WILL GIVE YOU A GOOD CIRCULAR ARC.

AND THAT'S THAT EYE RIGHT THERE, THAT BALL THING?

MM-HMM.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

AND THEN YOU WANT IT TO HAVE A FULL, KIND OF RIPE, FRUIT-LIKE EFFECT, SO WE WANT IT TO ELEVATE BEYOND THE SHELL-- OR UP INTO THE BEAD, SAY, A 1/32 OF AN INCH.

NOW, YOU SAY "FULL;" THAT'S A GOOD WAY TO REMEMBER BAROQUE 'CAUSE OF RUBENS AND FULL-- A RIPE, KIND OF PREGNANT ARC IS-- YEAH, THERE YOU GO; YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SAID IT.

YEAH.

THERE YOU ARE.

AND THEN WE'LL TRY TO GET THAT-- AGAIN, IF IT JUST MOVED DIRECTLY OFF ON THE HORIZONTAL, IT WOULD BE KIND OF FLAT.

AND WE WANT TO KIND OF KEEP THE FULLNESS, SO THIS IS AN EYE JUDGMENT FROM HERE.

BUT ALSO YOU'RE-- NOT ONLY JUST YOUR EYE, BUT THE ARC OF THE GOUGE IS, OF COURSE, DETERMINING A LOT OF THIS SHAPE.

RIGHT.

AND YOU CHOOSE THE GOUGE, BUT YOU-- YEAH, IT NEEDS TO BE USED WITH SOME JUDGMENT, BUT THE TOOLS REALLY WILL HELP.

ALL RIGHT, SO THAT'S STRUCK IN.

SO THERE'S OUR BELLFLOWER.

WE SEE IT ON THE FLAT STRUCK IN NOW, ALL RIGHT?

NOW, SURFACE SCULPTURE IS PART OF THIS TOO, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE TIME TO PIDDLE AROUND WITH THIS TOO HEAVILY... WELL, DO A LITTLE BIT OF IT, YEAH.

BUT THERE IS A BASIC CAUTION, AND ONE OF MY, I GUESS, MISCONCEPTIONS AS I STARTED THIS, WAS TO TRY TO MAKE ELEMENTS LIKE THIS WAY TOO--WAY TOO BOLD, AND YOU JUST SPEND A LOT OF WORK.

SO I'VE GOT A FAIRLY BROAD-ARCED CHISEL HERE THAT WILL GIVE ME A BROAD CURVE, WHICH ACTUALLY IS GONNA READ IN A FULLER COMPASS ARC.

SO DON'T TRY AND MAKE THAT THING A BALL-- YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT FULL DESIGNS, BUT DON'T MAKE THAT A FULL-- WELL, ACTUALLY, IT WILL LOOK FULLER IF IT HAS A BROADER-- IT CAN CATCH LIGHT IN A BROADER FACET.

AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE NICK THAT THEN WE CAN BEGIN TO USE THAT-- OR AS WE CUT THE BACKGROUND, WE CAN USE THOSE FOR THE EDGE OF THE CHISEL TO DROOP OFF AND DO THE SCULPTURE OF THAT SURFACE.

AS WE MOVE AND CONTINUE ALONG TO DO THE BELLFLOWER, I GUESS WE WILL SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE FOLIAGE.

BUT HOW ABOUT THE SHELL NOW?

CAN WE TAKE A LOOK AT HOW YOU DO SHELL CARVING?

WELL, THE SHELL IS A VERY POPULAR DECORATIVE ELEMENT, ESPECIALLY ON OLD SECOND-QUARTER PENNSYLVANIA PIECES, AND IT'S GETS STYLIZED INTO A REALLY STRONG SIMPLE DESIGN, A SEQUENCE OF CONVEX AND CONCAVE CURVES.

AND THEN IN BETWEEN EACH OF THOSE CURVES, WE'LL HAVE A FLAT FILLET, A SMALL-- AND THAT'S WHAT THAT WORD IS FOR THAT LITTLE SHOULDER THERE BETWEEN THE CONCAVE AND CONV-- YES, YOU'RE JUST CREATING A LITTLE SHARP SHADOW, AND YOU CAN CHANGE THE STRENGTH OF THE DESIGN BY HOW BOLD OR HOW BROAD THAT IS.

NOW, THAT'S STYLIZED; THAT'S NOT VERY NATURAL.

I MEAN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT A NATURAL SHELL-- WELL, WE HAVE A-- AND SHELLS VARY TREMENDOUSLY.

BUT HERE, YOU'VE GOT CONVEX, CONCAVE SURFACES, BUT YOU CAN CREATE THIS RHYTHM BETWEEN THE TWO.

AND THEN YOU SEE SOME 18TH-CENTURY CARVINGS WILL TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT APPROACH-- AND ALSO EXERCISE A REALLY IMPORTANT BASIC TOOL USED HERE.

RATHER THAN THE CONVEX, CONCAVE FILLET, WE'RE SIMPLY TAKING A CHISEL-- THIS IS A GOUGE.

IT'S A U-SHAPED CUTTING EDGE.

VERY NARROW THERE TOO.

YEAH, AND THIS ONE, FAIRLY NARROW.

SO THAT'S A VEINER?

MM-HMM, A VEINER.

AND THEN AS THIS BEGINS TO CUT-- WELL, YOU TRY TO HAVE IT RUN IN ITS OWN TRACK ONCE YOU GET A CUT STARTED.

BUT ONCE IT BEGINS TO ENGAGE, THEN YOU PUSH AND YOU KIND OF EXTEND, AND YOUR BODY MOTION WILL HELP KIND OF REINFORCE THE FLOW OF THE DESIGN.

NOW, YOU'RE CUTTING ACROSS THE GRAIN.

AND AGAIN, CHOOSING THE WOOD IS A BIG PART OF THIS.

WHAT IS THIS HERE?

WELL, THIS IS MAHOGANY, AND IT'S ONE OF THE CRISPEST AND BEST CARVING WOODS, ONE OF THE REASONS IT WAS FAVORED IN THE 18TH CENTURY.

AND ONE OF THE REASONS CARVING DEVELOPED TO THE INTRICACY THAT IT DID WAS BECAUSE OF THE CARVING QUALITIES OF MAHOGANY.

IT'S REALLY QUITE A-- OH, AND OF COURSE, THEY GET INTO THE NEW WORLD AT THAT TIME, AS WE CALL IT, AND WERE ABLE TO GET THIS KIND OF WOOD.

NOW YOU ALSO SEE THIS ON CURVED SURFACES TOO?

YES, SINCE THE SCULPTURE REALLY LENDS ITSELF TO BEING APPLIED TO ANOTHER NEW 17TH-- FIRST- AND SECOND-QUARTER DESIGN: THESE BOLD CABRIOLE CURVES AND THESE PROJECTING KNEES.

AND HERE WE'VE GOT A SERIES OF CONVEX ARCS BORDERED BY A CONCAVE-- THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SEE MORE ON ENGLISH SHELLS-- AND THEN A SPIRALING VOLUTE THERE ON THE EDGE.

DEVELOPING OVER THE '20s AND INTO THE-- WELL, BY THE EARLY '30s, ALL OF THE REGIONAL CENTERS IN COLONIAL AMERICA HAD THESE CLAW FEET.

AND THEY'RE DONE WITH A MIX OF QUALITY.

AND THESE ARE--THIS IS A VERY EARLY FOOT I HAD CARVED.

WHICH ONE NOW?

WELL, THE ONE ON THE LEFT.

AND THESE WERE ACTUALLY-- STARTED OUT THE SAME DESIGN.

I'VE TRIED TO IMPROVE THE ONE ON THE RIGHT...

THIS ONE HERE.

WITHOUT REALLY AS MUCH SUCCESS AS I INTENDED.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS ONE?

I MEAN, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS DESIGN?

IT LOOKS FINE TO ME.

WELL, THE TOES ARE VERY TUBULAR.

THERE'S JUST A VERY--WELL, NOT MUCH VARIETY IN SHADOW AND SHARP LINE DEFINITION BETWEEN THE TOES.

AND MAYBE WORST OF ALL, THE TOES ARE VERY MUCH REMINISCENT OF THE BLOCK OF WOOD THAT IT'S CUT FROM.

THEY'RE REALLY COMING OUT AT THE FOUR CORNERS THERE.

YEAH, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT A FOOT I'VE CARVED FROM A GOOD, PROFESSIONALLY-MADE, 18TH-CENTURY DESIGN, AND HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT THE CARVER HAD BEEN PRETTY SYSTEMATIC ABOUT IT, BUT THE KNUCKLE HERE IS PULLED ABOUT A 1/4 OF AN INCH, AND I THINK WE CAN SEE IT ON THIS SIDE.

YOU CAN SEE THE FLAT, AND THEN THE TOP OF THE KNUCKLE'S PULLED FORWARD ABOUT A 1/4 OF AN INCH OF THE BACK OF THE STALK.

AND THEN THIS TOE WAS ALSO LOWERED ABOUT 3/16 BELOW THE TOP KNUCKLE OF THE CENTER TOE.

AND THAT GIVES THE CLAW A SENSE OF REACHING OVER AND ASPING THE BALL IN A MORE ANIMATED WAY.

AND THIS SHOWS THE TRADE ROUTE AT THE TIME.

YOU TOLD ME THIS IS NOT AN EAGLE BUT ACTUALLY A DRAGON CLUTCHING A PEARL FROM ASIAN-- CHINESE MYTHOLOGY.

YEAH, A DRAGON CLUTCHING A PEARL OF WISDOM.

OH, IT'S WONDERFUL.

KIND OF, THE WORLD IS A BIG PLACE.

SO THEY'RE GETTING MAHOGANY.

THEY'RE GETTING ALL THESE CULTURAL INFLUENCES COMING IN.

AND THIS HAS, ALSO, CARVING-- NOW, THESE HAVE FLORAL CARVING.

WELL, YES, THE LEAFAGE IS, THE SHELLS KIND OF EVOLVE INTO MORE INTRICATE DETAILED DESIGNS AND THE LEAFAGE, YOU KNOW, BORROWED FROM GREEK AND ROMAN THINGS.

ACANTHUS LEAFAGES ARE FAIRLY POPULAR.

AND HERE WE HAVE TWO LEVELS.

NOW, CHAIR CARVERS ARE KIND OF REPUTED TO BE THE LEAST SOPHISTICATED OF THE CARVERS.

THEY'RE OFTEN-- [laughs] AND THIS ONE, I THINK, IS A BIT OF AN IMPRESSION OF A REALLY KIND OF FLAT, TWO-DIMENSIONAL DESIGN WHERE THESE LITTLE FISHHOOK ELEMENTS WE SEE ARE ACTUALLY TERMINATING YOUR SENSE OF FLOW OF THE DESIGN, AND THE SCALE-- OH, I SEE.

THAT STOPS THE EYE.

YEAH, IT KIND OF BREAKS UP THE SURFACE.

IT'S DETAIL, BUT I THINK IT'S THAT KIND OF-- THE SAME ELEMENTS ARE USED WITH A BIT MORE FINESSE IN THE WORK FROM ROBERT WALKER'S SHOP IN TIDEWATER.

AND HERE: A FELLOW TRAINED ABOUT THE SAME TIME, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT SENSE OF FLOW IS CREATING LAYERS AS ONE LAYS OVER ANOTHER... OH, HOW THAT HOOKS OVER THERE?

AND IN ONE SMALL SECTION, WILL DIVERGE AND LEAD THE EYE, ALL KIND OF EMANATING FROM A POINT OF ORIGIN BUT GIVEN SOME VARIETY AND BALANCE, BUT STILL-- AND THERE'S THAT BELLFLOWER AGAIN.

YEAH.

AND STILL HERE, TOO, BOTH OF THESE RUNNING DOWN A CENTER LINE: THAT'S VERY BAROQUE.

IT'S VERY SYMMETRICAL.

NOW, WHAT ABOUT THIS?

THIS IS NOT SYMMETRICAL OR-- I GUESS IT'S A BRACKET; IT COULDN'T BE.

THIS IS A STAIRWAY BRACKET INSPIRED BY SOME TIDEWATER DESIGNS, AND USING OUR LEAFAGE AGAIN, A VERY SIMPLE TERMINATION IN OUR CONVEX, CONCAVE ARCS, A NICE VARIETY OF SCALE, BUT A REAL FOCAL POINT OF A SCROLL AND EYE, A VOLUTE-- THIS RIGHT HERE?

THAT VOLUTE?

RIGHT, AND IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT SCALES.

IT'S WORKING PRETTY WELL.

NOW, YOU'VE GOT SOME OF YOUR DRAWINGS HERE.

THAT'S A BETTER WAY TO START DOING YOUR-- WELL, DRAWING AND TUNING YOUR EYE SO THAT YOU CAN MANIPULATE YOUR CHISELS EFFICIENTLY AND FLUIDLY.

AND DRAWING IS SUGGESTED IN ALL THE OLD TREATISES AS JUST A REALLY IMPORTANT WAY TO TRAIN AND KEEP YOUR SENSE OF RHYTHM UP AND TRAIN YOUR EYE IN SCALE OF DETAIL, SEE THINGS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND ANGLES AND TRY TO USE THAT TO GIVE IMPRESSIONS OF MOVEMENT IN YOUR FINAL DESIGN.

AND THE PAPER'S CHEAPER THAN WOOD.

OH, A GOOD BIT, AND CERTAINLY IN 18TH CENTURY CIRCUMSTANCE-- WELL, BOTH WERE.

COULD YOU SHOW US A LITTLE DRAWING HERE, SAY, LIKE THAT VOLUTE, HOW YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING SIMPLE LIKE THAT?

YEAH, LET'S TRY TO CAPTURE THE CHARACTER OF THIS, AND WELL, THE 18TH-CENTURY RULES ARE ONLY GRADUATED DOWN TO AN 1/8 OF AN INCH, SO ONE THING THEY WOULD TRY TO TRAIN THEMSELVES TO DO IS GAUGE DIMENSION BY EYE.

SO WE'VE GOT A CENTER EYE OF THE VOLUTE ABOUT A 1/2 INCH, AND THIS TRANSITION THAT YOU HAVE BETWEEN THE EYE OF THE VOLUTE AND ITS OUTER RIM IS ALWAYS A DIFFICULT THING TO WORK OUT NEATLY.

BUT YOU NEED THAT TO CATCH THE EYE AND TO HAVE A REFLECTIVE SURFACE.

YEAH, SO WE TRY TO SWING THIS AROUND, LEAVE OURSELVES ABOUT AN 1/8 OF AN INCH, AND THEN TRYING TO SEE THE LIGHT-- MAYBE IT'S COMING IN FROM THIS DIRECTION.

SO THIS GONNA BE SHADOWED AND MAYBE LIGHTLY ON THE LOWER END, AND DEEPLY SHADOWED DOWN IN THIS AREA, AND SOME LIGHT CATCHING THE INSIDE OF THE EYE FROM THERE.

SO IF I DO THIS INSTEAD OF PAYING ATTENTION IN CLASS, I'M STILL DOING-- "I'M STUDYING CLASSICAL"-- YEAH, YOU'RE STILL GROWING; YEAH, STILL MAKING SOME-- NOW, THIS, AGAIN, IS SOMETHING WE CAN CARVE.

CAN WE SHOW A LITTLE BIT ON HOW TO CUT THAT?

YEAH, AND THIS IS A GREAT TOOL, TO TAKE THAT IDEA OF BELLFLOWER CONTROLLING THE DESIGN AND EXPAND INTO USING MORE TOOLS.

I LIKE WHAT YOU'VE GOT-- ONE OF YOUR TOOLS HERE, THIS BENCH HOOK HERE TO HOLD THE WOOD ON THE BENCH.

AND IT HOOKS RIGHT THERE, AND YOU PUSH AGAINST IT.

YEAH, AND SIMPLE-- JUST KEEP THINGS POSITIONED.

THAT'S HANDY.

ALL RIGHT.

OKAY, UH... DO YOU NEED A PENCIL?

AH, A PENCIL I LEFT OVER THERE; SORRY.

ALL RIGHT.

AND THEN WE'LL GO TRY TO REPRODUCE THAT THING WE DID BEFORE.

THERE'S OUR 1/2 INCH CIRCUMFERENCE.

THERE'S OUR BORDER.

SO IS IT LIKE A SNAIL SHELL WOULD INSPIRE THIS, JUST LIKE THE LEAF AND THE FLOWER AND THE-- AND THIS IS A SIMPLE THING THAT YOU MIGHT, YOU KNOW, USE A PATTERN AND TRACE AND KEEP THINGS UNDER CONTROL.

BUT THERE ARE GONNA BE SITUATIONS WHERE-- I'M MISSING THIS-- WHERE YOU CAN'T USE A PATTERN, AND BEING ABLE TO FREE YOURSELF FROM THAT IS WORTH THE EXERCISE IN TRYING TO DO THAT.

AND WHEN YOU SKETCH THINGS OUT QUICKLY, IT'S JUST A GUIDE.

LET YOUR TOOLS END UP GUIDING, AND THEN USE YOUR JUDGMENT TO GET THESE TOO OUT OF WHACK.

BUT HERE WE'VE USED ABOUT A HALF A CIRCLE, YEAH, USING THE CHISEL.

AND THAT'S--YOU'RE TRYING TO STRETCH THINGS TO THAT DEGREE.

WE'VE GOT A LARGER CHISEL-- IS THAT ABOUT WHAT YOU USUALLY GET: ABOUT HALF A CIRCLE FOR EACH SWEEP?

THAT WOULD BE, YEAH, YOUR REACH.

YOUR SPIRAL SHOULD BE OPENING UP IN THAT RANGE.

AND WE'VE GOT PRETTY GOOD CONFIDENCE WE'RE GOING WELL HERE.

AND THEN WE'VE GOT OUR KIND OF 1/8 INCH DIFFERENCE THERE.

WELL, IT SMOOTHES IT OUT; THAT'S GREAT.

AND SETTING YOUR CHISEL IN A TRACK AND LETTING-- GIVING IT THAT FOUNDATION OR A SENSE OF CONTROL-- AND YOU'RE ROCKING THE CHISEL, SO YOU HAVE A SLIGHT LITTLE ARC ON THE-- RIGHT, I'M STRETCHING OFF MY PREVIOUS CUT AND JUST EXTENDING IT.

AND THAT ONE'S BEGINNING TO MOVE INTO A-- OOH, THAT'S GREAT.

AND THEN WE'LL-- ROCKING ALONG, KIND OF WALKING.

IS THAT WHAT MOST PEOPLE DO: HAVE THAT KIND OF SLIGHT ARC ACROSS THE BIT?

WELL, THERE ARE DIFFERENT CONVENTIONS-- THERE'S DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT AMONG CARVERS.

HAVING A ROUNDED NOSE ON THE TIP IS VERY HELPFUL FOR SITUATIONS LIKE THIS, BUT THERE ARE OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE YOU'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A CLEAN JUNCTION OF-- INTERSECTION OF CUTS AT THE EDGE, AND A FLAT CHISEL, STRAIGHT ACROSS THE EDGE, MIGHT BE BETTER IN THAT SITUATION.

SOMETHING TO ARGUE ABOUT WITH THE OTHER CARVERS-- WELL, YEAH, AMONGST CARVERS, YEAH, YOU SIT DOWN AND-- YOU GO TO CONVENTIONS AND ARGUE ABOUT THAT.

ALL RIGHT, SO NOW, THAT'S JUST THE INCION THERE.

YOU GOT TO NOW START TAKING WOOD AWAY.

YEAH, NOW WE'VE GOT A SENSE OF ORDER IN THE SEQUENCE OF CHISELS THAT WE'VE USED HERE, AND AN INTERESTING RULE OF THUMB TO TAKE OVER FROM THAT IS THAT THE CHISEL THAT WE USED FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE EYE OF THE VOLUTE, THE SECOND, THE NEXT CHISEL CHOSEN AFTER THAT, IS THE ONE WHICH MIGHT HELP-- AH, SO THAT'S THE ONE YOU USED TO DO THE-- ALL RIGHT-- SECOND CHISEL IN.

YEAH, BEGIN TO DO THE CONCAVITY IN BETWEEN.

NOW, WE'RE LOOKING FOR THIS ONE TO LEAVE US THAT 1/8 INCH BORDER.

IT'S INTERESTING THE WAY YOU ROCK THE CHISEL THERE TOO.

YOU KIND OF RIDE IT AROUND IN THE SPACE THAT IT'S ALREADY MADE, I GUESS IS THE WAY TO SAY IT.

WELL, AND YOU WANT TO LAY IN YOUR PREVIOUS CUT AND THEN STRETCH IT.

SO THAT'S--OHH, OKAY, THAT'S WHAT YOU MEAN BY-- AND WE'VE GOT TO BE CAREFUL OF THE GRAIN.

WHEN WE'RE COMING BACK AROUND, WE'LL SWEEP UP A LITTLE BIT AND LET THAT EDGE COME BACK IN.

AND IF THINGS ARE WELL-COORDINATED, WE SHOULD BE STRETCHING YOUR CURVE, AND YOU SHOULDN'T NEED TO DO ANY SANDING.

OH, YEAH, WELL, THAT WOULD KILL THAT GLOSS THAT YOU'RE GETTING FROM THE BEVEL THERE.

YOU'LL SEE THE POLISH THAT THAT PUTS ON IT WHEN YOU CUT.

YEAH, ALL RIGHT.

SO AGAIN, THIS IS THE-- I GUESS THE THIRD OR FOURTH-- [laughs] OF THE CHISELS THERE?

MM-HMM.

YEAH.

SO IT JUST KIND OF WORKS AROUND USING A BIGGER AND BIGGER SWEEP, BUT ACTUALLY, YOU TELL ME THE NUMBER OF THE SWEEP GETS SMALLER AS IT GETS FLATTER AND BROADER?

YES, A NUMBER ONE WOULD BE A STRAIGHT CHISEL.

A TWO WOULD HAVE A VERY BROAD ARC.

THIS IS NUMBER THREE HERE WITH A VERY SLIGHT ARC.

AND OH, YOU MOVE FROM FIVES TO SEVENS.

SO SEVENS FOR THE TIGHTEST OF THESE CHISELS THAT WE'D USED ON THIS SURFACE.

WELL, IT REALLY FLATTENS OUT.

SO HERE, AGAIN, WE SEE, THERE'S THE VOLUTE-- THE VOLUTE, VOLUTE, VOLUTE.

YEAH, AND THEN THE VOLUTE OPENS UP TO A VERY-- ANOTHER VERY COMMON ELEMENT IN TRADITIONAL CARVING, A SEA SCROLL.

AND THAT'S THAT RIGHT THERE?

YEAH, AND THEN OPENED THE SPIRAL UP AND USED IT TO BORDER AND MAKE THE TRANSITION BETWEEN NEGATIVE SPACE TO POSITIVE SPACE IN CHAIR BACK SPLATS AND-- AND HERE, AND IN THERE, YEAH.

AND HERE IN THE ARMS OF THE-- ARMS OF A CHAIR.

THEY'RE WONDERFUL.

THIS FOLIAGE: THIS IS ACANTHUS LEAF.

DOES THAT HAVE ANY KIND OF SYSTEM TO IT TO DOING THAT AS WELL?

WELL, YES, YES, AND WELL, OH, COMPARING THIS-- AND WELL, HERE'S, SEE, A LESS THAN SATISFYING EXAMPLE FOR ME.

THIS IS MY FIRST-- WELL, I THINK SOMETHING I DID BACK IN THE '70s PROBABLY.

AND JUST, WE'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF NICE FINE-SCALE DETAIL, BUT THE LEAVES, THE SERIES OF LEAVES, ARE-- THEY'RE RHYTHMIC.

THEY'RE VERY STATIC.

WELL, THEY'RE MOVING, BUT THEY'RE ON THE SAME SCALE.

SO THEY'RE ALMOST LIKE THIS, THE KIND OF GEOMETRICAL STUFF WE WERE DOING BEFORE.

YOU KNOW, THIN AND KIND OF SINEWY.

AND I'VE TRIED TO IMPROVE THAT.

AND YOU KNOW, KIND OF A WEAK SCROLL HERE TOO, SO WE'VE EXPANDED THAT.

WE'VE GOT A CENTRAL FOCAL LOBE, MUCH STRONGER; TWO FLANKING, SUBSERVIENT KIND OF ELEMENTS; AND THINGS WE CAN, AGAIN, LAYER AND GET MORE SENSE OF DIMENSION.

SO THIS IS GETTING-- ARE WE ROCOCO YET?

WE'RE GETTING ROCOCO AND ESPECIALLY WITH THIS LEAF UP AT THE TOP WHICH IS REACHING OVER AND GIVING YOU A SENSE THAT YOU'VE TURNED FROM AN UNDERSIDE OF A LEAF TO ITS--TO A CONVEX.

THIS IS GETTING MORE DIMENSIONAL AND STUFF.

WELL, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT CUTTING THAT LEAF, 'CAUSE I-- YOU GOT TO START SOMEWHERE, AND SO IT'S WONDERFUL THAT YOU'RE SHARING WITH US YOUR BEGINNINGS AS A CARVER.

AND NOW THE... [laughs] NOW, THERE'S SOME GREAT ADVICE IN A 1762 DESIGN BOOK BY INCE AND MAYHEW THAT TALK ABOUT LAYING A FOUNDATION FOR YOUR CARVING.

CUT OR DRAW A BACKBONE THAT CAN SERVE AS THE CORE OF THE SECTION AND THE DIRECTION OF FLOW.

AND SOME OLD REFERENCES WILL ALSO BREAK AREAS UP INTO THIRDS, SO WE'RE GONNA TRY TO... YEAH.

THAT'S THE UPPER THIRD?

RIGHT, AND YOU'LL HAVE A-- IS IT THE TERMINATION OF THE POINTS THERE THAT ARE THE THIRDS?

I SEE IT, YEAH.

WE'LL TRY, AND WE'VE GOT ONE, TWO, AND THEN MAYBE DOWN HERE TO THE HEART WHERE THERE... [speaking indistinctly] THAT'S THE VEINS WITH THE VEINER.

MM-HMM.

ALL RIGHT.

AND THEN WE'LL COME AND TRY TO-- MAYBE A SHALLOW QUARTER AWAY FROM THE VEIN AT ITS BASE.

AND SAME ON THE OTHER SIDE, TRYING TO REACH UP TO THE CENTER OF THE TIP.

AND THEN USING A SMALL NUMBER FIVE-- YOU DON'T NEED THE TIP OF THE SCROLL TO REACH-- AND THIS JUNCTION BETWEEN THESE PARTS IS WHERE YOU MIGHT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT FLAT CHISEL TO MAKE THE CONNECTION.

OH, ALL RIGHT.

BUT LEAVING THE VEIN SHORT OF THE TIP OF THE LEAF ALLOWS YOUR EYE TO MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO.

AND YOU CAN GET JUST A MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL DESIGN, ACTUALLY, IF YOU SIMPLIFY IT AND DON'T TRY TO-- IT LEAVES YOUR EYE A LITTLE BIT OF WORK TO DO TO CONNECT THE PIECES, YEAH.

WELL, IT'S EASY, AND YOU KIND OF WANT THINGS TO WORK AND WANT THINGS TO CONNECT-- OH, ALL RIGHT, NOW, THAT'S GIVING YOU ALMOST LIKE AN OGEE CURVE THERE, KIND OF GOING FROM CONVEX TO CONCAVE ELEMENT.

YEAH, AND WE'LL ALSO TRY TO MAKE OUR JUDGMENT HERE.

WE'RE STARTING AT ABOUT A 1/16 OF AN INCH AND GRADUALLY, PROGRESSIVELY-- ROCK IN AND ROLL-- ROCK 'N' ROLL.

MM-HMM.

YEAH.

AND YOU CAN COME UP WITH A PRETTY RESPECTABLE LEAF.

NOW, THIS, OF COURSE, ALSO NEEDS SOME SURFACE SCULPTURE.

AND RATHER THAN TRY TO DO THAT IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME WE HAVE, HERE IS JUST AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE YOU'VE GOT A CONCAVE TROUGH DOWN THE CENTER, AND THEN THE INDIVIDUAL LOBES ARE CONCAVES.

AND YOU JUST WANT TO-- OH, IT CAN BE VERY SHALLOW, AGAIN, LIKE THE DOT AT THE TOP OF THE BELLFLOWER.

AND EVENTUALLY, YOU GET TO THIS AFTER A WHILE.

ALL RIGHT, NOW, THIS IS PART OF A CHAIR, AND I NOTICED IT HAS LION HEADS ON IT.

YES, AND-- THAT'S PRETTY UPTOWN, ISN'T IT?

WE'VE BEEN DOING THINGS THAT ARE PRETTY CLOSELY ORIENTED TO YOUR SURFACE PREPARATION, BUT REACHING SOME MORE AND MORE COMPLEX CARVINGS, YOU BEGIN TO MOVE BEYOND THE BLOCK, AND YOU REALLY NEED TO USE YOUR JUDGMENT AND, YOU KNOW, A CLEAR VIEW OF YOUR DESIGN, STILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TOOLS.

THIS ONE--CARVING, SIMULATING HAIR IS ANOTHER KIND OF CHALLENGE IN GOOD CARVING WORK.

AND HERE I'VE GOT ANOTHER DESIGN LIKE THE ARM THAT SUPPORTS THIS.

IT'S JUST A BIT OF A JUMBLE.

THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT OF-- YOU'RE TALKING THIS ONE RIGHT HERE?

YEAH.

NOT A LOT OF RHYTHM, OR THE ELEMENTS DON'T SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER.

THEY'RE ABOUT THE SAME SIZE THERE.

YEAH.

YEAH, ALL RIGHT.

SO ON THE SECOND ATTEMPT, I'VE TRIED TO GIVE A STRONGER SURFACE REFLECTION IN THE MAJOR ELEMENTS AND THEN GET MORE RHYTHM IN THE SEA SCROLL CARVING OF THE LEAVES--THE HAIR.

AH, THEY ARE WONDERFUL.

LOOK AT THESE GUYS THERE.

THEY'RE GREAT.

WELL, THEY'RE ALL GOOD WITH ME.

DO THEY HAVE NAMES?

NOT-- NOT INDIVIDUALLY.

SO ANYWAY, SO WHERE WERE WE?

WE'RE FINALLY TO ROCOCO NOW?

YES.

ALL RIGHT.

SO WE'RE DOING STUFF THAT'S SCULPTURAL.

AND THIS IS THE ULTIMATE END OF OUR JOURNEY HERE, AGAIN.

AND BASSWOOD?

YEAH.

AND SOMETHING-- MAYBE I MENTIONED, IT'S FROM CHIPPENDALE'S DESIGN BOOK.

AND THAT'S WHERE IT GETS TO THIS OUTRAGEOUS STUFF.

YEAH, HIS LAST EDITION COMES OUT 1762, AND IN RETROSPECT, LOOKING BACK, HE'S KIND OF-- HE AND MANY OF THE OTHER CRAFTSMEN JUST KIND OF PUSHED DESIGN BEYOND ITS-- IT'S WAY TOO FRENCH FOR ANY RESPECTABLE ENGLISHMAN.

SO NEXT AFTER THIS IS NEOCLASSICAL, AND THEY START GOING TO MUCH SIMPLER-- RIGHT, THEY MOVE BACK TO VERY CLEAN LINES, COLOR, CONTRASTS.

WELL, IF IT ISN'T BAROQUE, DON'T FIX IT.

MACK HEADLEY, THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME.

THANK YOU, ROY.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND THANKS FOR JOINING ME HERE IN THE WOODWRIGHT'S SHOP.

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

SO LONG.

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(male announcer) ROY UNDERHILL IS THE AUTHOR OF THE WOODWRIGHT'S GUIDE: WORKING WOOD WITH WEDGE AND EDGE, AS WELL AS OTHER BOOKS ON TRADITIONAL WOODWORKING, ALL PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS AND AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORES AND LIBRARIES.