A good tool starter set
Ask 10 grandmothers how to make an apple pie. Chances are, you'll come back with 10 different, but equally tasty recipes. The same rule applies in sign-making. Ask a group of sign-makers what the best brand of lettering quill is; ask them how to lay goldleaf; or ask them how to pinstripe.
For each question, you'll receive a myriad of replies. Does that mean some of the sign-makers you've polled are incompetent? Absolutely not. In sign-making, as in life, people practice what they've been preached; they do what they've been taught to do. And, if what they've been taught works, how can it be wrong?
This is also true when it comes to letter-carving. Depending on whether you attend Jay Cook's (Stowe Sign Co.) carving classes in Stowe, VT; Dusty Yaxley's (Letter Art) carving sessions in New Port Richey, FL; or Paul White's (Paul White Woodcarving) carving school in E. Sandwich, MA, you'll learn a different carving method. Cook focuses on carving with chisels, while self-taught Yaxley prefers to carve with V-tools. Meanwhile, White's method is heavily influenced by his wood-sculpting background.
Yet neither Cook, Yaxley nor White's method is incorrect. All three are extremely effective and yield attractive dimensional signs. In fact, White says that he occasionally has students in his carving course who have already taken Cook's class. To such students, White recommends they practice his carving method exclusively while they're learning with him.
Then, when the students begin carving on their own, White suggests they meld both carving methods into a system that best suits their needs. Tool chest When speaking to White about carving, I asked him what tools he recommends. His response was hesitant: He doesn't like to recommend particular products.
Like carving techniques, tool-brand preferences are highly individualized, he explains. So instead, he simply suggests that carvers choose tools made of high-quality, properly tempered steel. ("Tempering" is the process by which the steel is heated, shaped and cooled. And a "quality" tool is one that holds its cutting edge.) He said that tool brands imported from England, Switzerland and Japan are favorites among many carvers, although he uses a set of custom tools.
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