Basket Weave Pattern

toolfooldan · Sep 27, 2017

How to do it

Basket Weave Pattern Technique

Adapted from the book "High Relief Wood Carving" by William J Schnute.

Layout a grid of squares.

Each side of the grid equal to the width of the carving gouge you'll use. In this instance, the gouge is 5/16mm. Each side is therefore 16mm, or about 5/8". Since I'm more imperial than metric, I used 5/8. Close enough.

Each side of each grid square will get a stop cut with the 5/16 gouge.

Mark orientation lines.

It's real easy to make mistakes. So make some marks to help orient your gouge for the upcoming stop cuts. Mark every other square, as in a checker board pattern.

Make stop cuts

The key to avoid mistakes is to always place the cutting edge of the gouge parallel and below the orientation line. The outer edges of the gouge will meet the corners of the 5/8" square.

Now make stop cuts on one side of the marked squares.

Flip the work piece 180 deg and stop cut opposite side of square.

Complete the top and bottom "waves".

Mark orientation lines for remaining squares.

These lines are perpendicular to first set of orientation lines.

Make 3rd set of stop cuts. Remember gouge is parallel and below the new orientation lines.

Flip work piece 180 degrees and make last group of stop cuts, opposite side of each square.

Begin roughing in the weave.

In this operation carve in the direction of the orientation lines. I used this gouge because it's what I had, but I think a 1F or 2F/8 would do a better job.

Carve "against the grain" squares.

The rest is just cleaning up stop cuts and corners, and rounding the tops of the weaves.

EarlS · Sep 27, 2017

toolfooldan said:
How to do it

Basket Weave Pattern Technique

Adapted from the book "High Relief Wood Carving" by William J Schnute.

Layout a grid of squares.

Each side of the grid equal to the width of the carving gouge you'll use. In this instance, the gouge is 5/16mm. Each side is therefore 16mm, or about 5/8". Since I'm more imperial than metric, I used 5/8. Close enough.

Each side of each grid square will get a stop cut with the 5/16 gouge.

Mark orientation lines.

It's real easy to make mistakes. So make some marks to help orient your gouge for the upcoming stop cuts. Mark every other square, as in a checker board pattern.

Make stop cuts

The key to avoid mistakes is to always place the cutting edge of the gouge parallel and below the orientation line. The outer edges of the gouge will meet the corners of the 5/8" square.

Now make stop cuts on one side of the marked squares.

Flip the work piece 180 deg and stop cut opposite side of square.

Complete the top and bottom "waves".

Mark orientation lines for remaining squares.

These lines are perpendicular to first set of orientation lines.

Make 3rd set of stop cuts. Remember gouge is parallel and below the new orientation lines.

Flip work piece 180 degrees and make last group of stop cuts, opposite side of each square.

Begin roughing in the weave.

In this operation carve in the direction of the orientation lines. I used this gouge because it's what I had, but I think a 1F or 2F/8 would do a better job.

Carve "against the grain" squares.

The rest is just cleaning up stop cuts and corners, and rounding the tops of the weaves.

Impressive look broken down into a series of straightforward steps anyone can follow. Thanks for taking the "mystery" out of it. Now that I know how to do it, I just need to practice a lot to achieve similar results.

JulianLech · Sep 27, 2017

toolfooldan said:
How to do it

Basket Weave Pattern Technique

Adapted from the book "High Relief Wood Carving" by William J Schnute.

Layout a grid of squares.

Each side of the grid equal to the width of the carving gouge you'll use. In this instance, the gouge is 5/16mm. Each side is therefore 16mm, or about 5/8". Since I'm more imperial than metric, I used 5/8. Close enough.

Each side of each grid square will get a stop cut with the 5/16 gouge.

Mark orientation lines.

It's real easy to make mistakes. So make some marks to help orient your gouge for the upcoming stop cuts. Mark every other square, as in a checker board pattern.

Make stop cuts

The key to avoid mistakes is to always place the cutting edge of the gouge parallel and below the orientation line. The outer edges of the gouge will meet the corners of the 5/8" square.

Now make stop cuts on one side of the marked squares.

Flip the work piece 180 deg and stop cut opposite side of square.

Complete the top and bottom "waves".

Mark orientation lines for remaining squares.

These lines are perpendicular to first set of orientation lines.

Make 3rd set of stop cuts. Remember gouge is parallel and below the new orientation lines.

Flip work piece 180 degrees and make last group of stop cuts, opposite side of each square.

Begin roughing in the weave.

In this operation carve in the direction of the orientation lines. I used this gouge because it's what I had, but I think a 1F or 2F/8 would do a better job.

Carve "against the grain" squares.

The rest is just cleaning up stop cuts and corners, and rounding the tops of the weaves.

Nicely explained. This would add a very nice look to various projects.

sras · Sep 27, 2017

toolfooldan said:
How to do it

Basket Weave Pattern Technique

Adapted from the book "High Relief Wood Carving" by William J Schnute.

Layout a grid of squares.

Each side of the grid equal to the width of the carving gouge you'll use. In this instance, the gouge is 5/16mm. Each side is therefore 16mm, or about 5/8". Since I'm more imperial than metric, I used 5/8. Close enough.

Each side of each grid square will get a stop cut with the 5/16 gouge.

Mark orientation lines.

It's real easy to make mistakes. So make some marks to help orient your gouge for the upcoming stop cuts. Mark every other square, as in a checker board pattern.

Make stop cuts

The key to avoid mistakes is to always place the cutting edge of the gouge parallel and below the orientation line. The outer edges of the gouge will meet the corners of the 5/8" square.

Now make stop cuts on one side of the marked squares.

Flip the work piece 180 deg and stop cut opposite side of square.

Complete the top and bottom "waves".

Mark orientation lines for remaining squares.

These lines are perpendicular to first set of orientation lines.

Make 3rd set of stop cuts. Remember gouge is parallel and below the new orientation lines.

Flip work piece 180 degrees and make last group of stop cuts, opposite side of each square.

Begin roughing in the weave.

In this operation carve in the direction of the orientation lines. I used this gouge because it's what I had, but I think a 1F or 2F/8 would do a better job.

Carve "against the grain" squares.

The rest is just cleaning up stop cuts and corners, and rounding the tops of the weaves.

Thanks! An easy to understand presentation.

Chiaroscuro · Sep 27, 2017

toolfooldan said:
How to do it

Basket Weave Pattern Technique

Adapted from the book "High Relief Wood Carving" by William J Schnute.

Layout a grid of squares.

Each side of the grid equal to the width of the carving gouge you'll use. In this instance, the gouge is 5/16mm. Each side is therefore 16mm, or about 5/8". Since I'm more imperial than metric, I used 5/8. Close enough.

Each side of each grid square will get a stop cut with the 5/16 gouge.

Mark orientation lines.

It's real easy to make mistakes. So make some marks to help orient your gouge for the upcoming stop cuts. Mark every other square, as in a checker board pattern.

Make stop cuts

The key to avoid mistakes is to always place the cutting edge of the gouge parallel and below the orientation line. The outer edges of the gouge will meet the corners of the 5/8" square.

Now make stop cuts on one side of the marked squares.

Flip the work piece 180 deg and stop cut opposite side of square.

Complete the top and bottom "waves".

Mark orientation lines for remaining squares.

These lines are perpendicular to first set of orientation lines.

Make 3rd set of stop cuts. Remember gouge is parallel and below the new orientation lines.

Flip work piece 180 degrees and make last group of stop cuts, opposite side of each square.

Begin roughing in the weave.

In this operation carve in the direction of the orientation lines. I used this gouge because it's what I had, but I think a 1F or 2F/8 would do a better job.

Carve "against the grain" squares.

The rest is just cleaning up stop cuts and corners, and rounding the tops of the weaves.

Excellent detailed description!

So I spent a ½ hour testing this out on my chisel mallet… It went fast, but to actually get a nice smooth curve and visually emphasize the weave… I could have spent hours. Any tips?

toolfooldan · Sep 27, 2017

toolfooldan said:
How to do it

Basket Weave Pattern Technique

Adapted from the book "High Relief Wood Carving" by William J Schnute.

Layout a grid of squares.

Each side of the grid equal to the width of the carving gouge you'll use. In this instance, the gouge is 5/16mm. Each side is therefore 16mm, or about 5/8". Since I'm more imperial than metric, I used 5/8. Close enough.

Each side of each grid square will get a stop cut with the 5/16 gouge.

Mark orientation lines.

It's real easy to make mistakes. So make some marks to help orient your gouge for the upcoming stop cuts. Mark every other square, as in a checker board pattern.

Make stop cuts

The key to avoid mistakes is to always place the cutting edge of the gouge parallel and below the orientation line. The outer edges of the gouge will meet the corners of the 5/8" square.

Now make stop cuts on one side of the marked squares.

Flip the work piece 180 deg and stop cut opposite side of square.

Complete the top and bottom "waves".

Mark orientation lines for remaining squares.

These lines are perpendicular to first set of orientation lines.

Make 3rd set of stop cuts. Remember gouge is parallel and below the new orientation lines.

Flip work piece 180 degrees and make last group of stop cuts, opposite side of each square.

Begin roughing in the weave.

In this operation carve in the direction of the orientation lines. I used this gouge because it's what I had, but I think a 1F or 2F/8 would do a better job.

Carve "against the grain" squares.

The rest is just cleaning up stop cuts and corners, and rounding the tops of the weaves.

Excellent detailed description!

So I spent a ½ hour testing this out on my chisel mallet… It went fast, but to actually get a nice smooth curve and visually emphasize the weave… I could have spent hours. Any tips?

- Chiaroscuro

Hi Chiaroscuro,

Each of the weaves is basically an arc. Imagine that you could view this arc from the side, as in this clunky drawing.

It takes multiple cuts to make the arc. The first cut is steep and aims form the bottom of the stop cut. The 2nd cut is more shallow but again aiming for the bottom of the stop cut. Cuts 3 and 4 basically shave the high spots of the arc to make it more rounded. It appears to me that you need to do more 2,3,4 cuts.

Also note I've done this basket weave in basswood and needed only hand pressure to do the carving; it was fairly quick process. But yes this takes patience and time.

I hope this helps.

Chiaroscuro · Sep 27, 2017

toolfooldan said:
How to do it

Basket Weave Pattern Technique

Adapted from the book "High Relief Wood Carving" by William J Schnute.

Layout a grid of squares.

Each side of the grid equal to the width of the carving gouge you'll use. In this instance, the gouge is 5/16mm. Each side is therefore 16mm, or about 5/8". Since I'm more imperial than metric, I used 5/8. Close enough.

Each side of each grid square will get a stop cut with the 5/16 gouge.

Mark orientation lines.

It's real easy to make mistakes. So make some marks to help orient your gouge for the upcoming stop cuts. Mark every other square, as in a checker board pattern.

Make stop cuts

The key to avoid mistakes is to always place the cutting edge of the gouge parallel and below the orientation line. The outer edges of the gouge will meet the corners of the 5/8" square.

Now make stop cuts on one side of the marked squares.

Flip the work piece 180 deg and stop cut opposite side of square.

Complete the top and bottom "waves".

Mark orientation lines for remaining squares.

These lines are perpendicular to first set of orientation lines.

Make 3rd set of stop cuts. Remember gouge is parallel and below the new orientation lines.

Flip work piece 180 degrees and make last group of stop cuts, opposite side of each square.

Begin roughing in the weave.

In this operation carve in the direction of the orientation lines. I used this gouge because it's what I had, but I think a 1F or 2F/8 would do a better job.

Carve "against the grain" squares.

The rest is just cleaning up stop cuts and corners, and rounding the tops of the weaves.

Thanks… yes, I think that made a difference. Tried the other side quickly with the stepped cuts and it visually looked better (I'm including a shot from farther away because I didn't sand this one as opposed to the other and the facets look rough close up - farther away though the pattern pops). I added the grooving to emphasize the rope direction. I am also working in cherry and using the 5/12 that I lay out the pattern with to carve as I don't have any fishtail gouges.

Anyway - thank you for the tutorial! I'm considering incorporating this into my next piece of furniture.

Todd

I suppose that's a bit far away looking at it in my browser…. here's a closer photo:

And, yes, I cut it quickly and threw on some BLO without sanding or clean up. I'm just expirementing with the technique. But despite the rough treatment, it looks pretty nice from a distance, I'm impressed with this method.

Basket Weave Pattern

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