Although this reviewer isn’t a particularly skilled traditional wood-carver, he is at least familiar with which end of the chisel goes into the wood, and the experience of power carving is hugely different from chisel carving. Not least, because the grain is far less important. While it is relevant, the carving bits on a rotary tool are much less enslaved by the particular properties of the wood, and you can almost treat it like a homogeneous material.
The tearing of the burrs leaves a very different finish to the smoothness of chiselled wood. This isn’t necessarily better or worse, just different.
We thoroughly enjoyed learning, or at least beginning, the art of power carving with this book. Not only have we developed a new hobby, but we’ve also gained more skill with our rotary tool that we can use for more practical purposes.
Verdict: 9 out of 10
A fun way of gaining more control over your rotary tool.
£12.98, woodcarvingillustrated.com
