One of my team at work was leaving for a new job, so I wanted to make a fun personalised gift for them. As our team has cats as a theme, I thought a little carved model cat would be a perfect gift!
I started with a quick rough sketch to work out approximate dimensions for the finished carving. I then drew a design out on paper and cut out a template on mdf, so I can make more in future or in case there was an issue with the first version.
I used the template to identify a suitable piece of wood from a slice off an oak log and then cut it out using hand saws, leaving me with a small rectangular “slab”. I then set about removing material using my Dremel and a selection of different cutting and carving bits.
I gradually removed more and more material until I had a good 2D shape of the cat. Then I switched to carving across the body, to turn the workpiece into a 3D cat. I started with the legs and back end, working my way from the tail towards the head. I knew the head was going to be the most tricky to get the proportions right, so I decided to do that last, so I could use the rest of the body as a guide to the head size and shape.
I carved a gap between the left and right paws in each pair and gradually reduced the thickness of the tail to create a delicate, slightly forward-curving shape. With the tight grain of the wood, it makes a the cat appear to have stripes, which I really like! As predicted, the head was quite fiddly but I took my time and just removed a small amount of material at a time, rotating the workpiece to look at it from multiple angles to make sure I was on the right track.
When I was happy with the finished shape, I sanded up to 180 grit to have a really smooth surface to touch, making it a nice experience to hold the cat. I sprayed the model with water to raise the grain, left it to dry and then resanded at 180 grit to ensure a smooth cat model following the application of finish. I made sure to sand the underside of the model, working the sandpaper in between the paws and around the front and back legs.
I finished the model with mineral oil so it was food-safe and could be handled without issue. The wood absorbed the oil really well, resulting in an even, darker colouring of the finished workpiece – the stripes have come out really well and I love how they go all the way from the nose, along the body and up to the top of the tail.
I wrapped up the model with lots of padding to keep it protected and then gave it to my team member as part of our goodbye meeting, where we talked about the projects they had worked on, praised their great work and wished them well in their future role. They were very happy with their selection of gifts and said they really loved the carved cat! 🔨
The Woodworking Scientist 