If you’ve had experience carving wood before, then you can try using hardwoods, such as oak, maple, or cherry. Hardwoods are more likely to chip, so work slowly to prevent any damage to the design. Make sure the wood is clean and dry before you carve it.
Work lightly with your pencil when you first start your design so you can erase the marks and make adjustments if you need to. If you’re working with a dark piece of wood, use a white pencil instead.
You can get carbon paper from office supply stores. Don’t rub the paper with your hand, or else you’ll leave smudges on your wood that could make it hard to see your design.
You may need to use multiple clamps depending on the size of your wood.
You can buy a flexible shaft attachment from your local hardware store. You don’t need a flexible shaft attachment but they make it easier to put in intricate details.
Don’t touch the rotating bit on the Dremel tool while it’s running since you could seriously injure yourself.
Start by pressing lightly on the wood so you don’t accidentally remove too much of the wood. You can always remove more wood, but you cannot put it back.
Test the speed while using a sabretooth bit on a scrap piece of wood first so you know what to expect when you use it on your design. Make sure the bits you’re using are meant to cut through wood, or else you could damage the tool.
Standard Dremel bit kits usually have 3-4 fluted bits you can try while carving. Use larger fluted bits to carve out big areas of wood and smaller bits when you need to add intricate lines and details.
You may be able to carve designs using only diamond bits if you’re working with softwood, but it may wear out the bit faster.
Avoid blowing the sawdust off of your design since the sawdust will get airborne.
You may not need to use sandpaper if you used a diamond bit in your Dremel tool.
You don’t need to texture the background if you want your design to have a clean, smooth finish.
You can buy a wood burner from your local hardware store. Don’t touch the end of a wood burner while it’s running since it can cause severe burns. Once you leave a burn mark on the wood, you will not be able to remove it.
The stain may look darker in areas you carved out and lighter on raised edges.
Don’t shake clear coat before applying it since you could get bubbles in it that will leave an uneven finish.
