Study the furniture built prior to the Queen Anne period and you’ll find surface ornamentation is primarily accomplished with mouldings and/or paint. While there are a few examples of carvings on earlier work, it wasn’t until the first third of the 18th century that furniture makers included decorative features on their work such as shells and fans.

Wallace Nutting, in “Furniture Treasury Vol. III” (Macmillan Publishing Co.), separates shells from fans by calling them, “those cheaper modifications which more properly are denominated fans.” From a carving perspective, he was correct – shells are more difficult to produce. But from a purely aesthetic point of view, I think fans, when carved well, rival any shell design in beauty.

As the popularity of fan carvings grew during the 1700s, each region of furniture manufacture developed its own style. Today, we evaluate the carved fan to help identify in which region a piece of furniture was built.

This design was developed from a number of New England pieces, and I have infused my own ideas as well.

As an introduction to fan carving, you might expect a flat design. However, creating an undulating design, a serpentine or an S-shaped surface, involves  only a couple additional steps during the carving process. And the results are worth the extra effort.

Accurate Layout, Better Results
I imagine there are woodworkers who carve exceptionally well who could position themselves in front of a blank of wood and freehand carve a masterpiece fan. I cannot.

The first step in fan layout is placement. This fan is carved into a drawer front. The carving is placed 11⁄4" above the bottom edge of the drawer front to gain additional shadow lines as the design rolls into the drawer divider below. Mark this distance up from the bottom edge, then use a straightedge and pencil to draw the baseline.
   
Most fans on period furniture are symmetrical designs. Mark the middle of the drawer front on the previously marked baseline. Use a square to extend a vertical line up the face of the front. The intersection of the two lines is important; a circle and a half circle are drawn from this point. The circle, from which the rays travel outward to the fan’s edge, has a 11⁄2" diameter, which is a 3⁄4" radius. Use a compass to complete the full circle.

The size of the circle influences the width of the rays at their smallest or narrowest section. If the circle shrinks in size, the width of the rays at the circle becomes too narrow to carve or distinguish. Your first instinct might be to increase the size of the inner circle, but I must caution you that you need to keep the ratio of the circle and the fan size in mind. Proportions are easy to lose if you’re not careful, and then the carving won’t look pleasing to the eye.

The radius of the outer edge of the fan, the half circle, is determined by the height of the drawer front. If you have no boundaries the sky’s the limit as to size, but for this drawer front, set the compass so the top edge of the fan is 1" below the top edge. That’s a radius of 51⁄8" and the fan is 101⁄4" across at the baseline. Draw the outer edge of the fan with a compass, then continue the layout lines from the end of the half circle (where the half circle intersects the baseline) to the bottom edge of the drawer front using a square.

Step Off the Rays
With the overall dimensions of the fan set, the next step is to lay out the individual rays. This task is completed with a pair of dividers, a pencil and a straightedge.

Set the dividers at 1" (this is the figure I used) and begin to step off the points at the intersection of the vertical line and the fan’s outer edge. Working from the centerline out maintains the symmetry of the fan. Make very light pinpoints as you lay out one side of the fan  by making impressions along the fan’s outer edge. The last point, the one made nearest the fan’s baseline, should be very close to that baseline. If your layout falls short, increase the spread of the dividers then repeat this step again.

It’s OK to be slightly past the baseline, but if you go too far past you begin to close the fan’s circumference and, in my opinion, that changes the look. Small deviations are fine and you should always please your eye.

Once the dividers are set and the width of the rays is determined, step off the points adding pressure as you work. Move to the second half of the fan and repeat the steps to lay out the ray points, again starting from the centerline.

Now connect the points made with the dividers with the point at the intersection of the vertical line and the fan’s baseline. Carry the lines past the fan’s edge. You’ll need to draw those lines in a second time after dishing out the serpentine area.

Evaluate the layout at this time. If you think the inner layout lines are too tight, increase the diameter of the inner circle or reduce the number of rays in the fan. Do the opposite if the rays are too wide.

To establish the depth of the serpentine or sculpted area, I turn to a trick adapted from watching Windsor chairmakers sculpt seats:  Drill a hole to the required depth, then sculpt to the bottom of the hole. For the fan, adjust a compass to 4", use the vertical/baseline point for one leg, then draw a short line across every other ray line. Next, install a 1⁄8" drill bit into the drill press, set the press to drill to a depth of 3⁄16", then drill at each intersection along that 4" radius.

Required Carving Tools
As far as carving goes, this fan requires a minimal number of carving tools: three gouges and two V-parting tools. The numbers given on my carving tools indicate the amount of curvature and the width of the blade, in that order. So, the higher the first number of the gouge the tighter the curve, and the higher the second number the wider the cutting end.

Of the gouges, one is a 7/25 straight-shaft gouge and the two others are back-bent gouges, a 25/6 and a 25/13. The straight gouge is the tool used to hog out the serpentine-shaped valley of the fan while the back-bent tools are used for carving the convex surfaces of each ray. The smaller back-bent tool is used along the first third of each ray moving from the inner circle outward. The remaining ray edges are worked with the wider back-bent gouge.

V-parting tools work pretty much the same. Use the 15/6 tool to score each ray line along its entire length and complete the first third of each line. The wider 12/8 V-parting tool is used to part the remaining ray lines as well as to define the outer edge of the fan.

So how do you hold a carving tool? My answer is, “as comfortably as you can.” I like to wrap one hand around the tool’s steel as one would their lower hand while holding a baseball bat. Then, I position the end of the handle into the palm of the other hand with the index  finger extended down the wooden shaft. I cannot say which hand should be the right or left because you’ll find that being ambidextrous while carving is a fine asset. Learn to switch back and forth.

The hand lowest on the tool guides the tool’s direction and acts as a pivot when necessary. The top hand is my drive hand, pushing the tool through the wood. My two hands work in unison.

Finally Time to Carve
Clamp the drawer front securely to your bench. Use the 12/8 V-parting tool to define the outer edge of the fan. As you work with a parting tool you’ll find it’s a lot like steering a car. If you turn your wrist to the right, the cut moves to the right – twist your wrist left and the tool cuts to the left. Keep the carving tool as straight as possible while cutting the edge. Work the line to a uniform depth.

The inner circle has to be cut, but not with a V-tool. Use the straight gouge, held vertically, to stab and define the inner circle. A light tap on the end will do the trick. Due to the shallow depth of the rays as they meet the inner circle, the cut need not be too deep.

Next, use the straight gouge to hog away waste material from the S-shaped area. Removing this material is not a complex task because most of the wood being removed is cut across the grain. It’s only at the middle of the fan that you’re cutting with the grain. At that point, you’ll need to move slowly and diligently to remove only the waste material. It’s easy to dig a bit too deep. Work to the bottom of the drill-press holes.

In order to make a true symmetrical trough I add another compass line with the tool set to 27⁄8". My trough or serpentine shape is 21⁄4" wide. When the majority of the waste is cleared and you’ve reached the bottom of the drilled holes, use the straight gouge to smooth and level the surface.

The idea is to get the surface as smooth as you can before moving on. Sanding the surface would surely accomplish this, but seasoned woodcarvers pooh-pooh using sandpaper in areas requiring more carving because the grit dulls the tools faster. As a beginner, I found sanding the serpentine area to be best. The smooth surface allows the remaining steps to be accomplished more quickly and the tool cuts show better. And, I can always strop the edge of my carving tools.

Choose whether you want to sand or not, then lay the ray lines back onto the fan. Here is where having the lines extend over the fan’s edge pay dividends.

Pull Rays from a Flat Surface
To make the rays stand out and be noticed, start with the narrow V-parting tool. Push the tool along the layout line with a light hand. All you’re trying to do is define the ray, not dig it deep. Keep your wrist straight – no steering the tool – as you work from the inner circle outward. As you reach the downward slope of the serpentine area, you’ll need to increase the pitch of the tool, or maintain the relationship of the tool to the surface as you descend. Work just to the bottom of the shaped area.

To complete cutting the ray line you’ll need to work from the outer edge back to the bottom of the shaped area. Trying to cut uphill is not advised – although it can be done. This is where you’ll find being ambidextrous useful. It’s easier to switch hands than turn the drawer front.

Once the ray lines are defined and you’ve deepened the first part of the ray, turn to the wider V-parting tool to increase the depth of the lines over the last two-thirds of each ray. The wider tool begins to roll the edge of each ray. Just remember to change directions and work into the middle of the trough.

Theory says you should increase the depth of the ray lines as you move farther from the inner circle. If this were flat work I would heed that advice. But due to the serpentine shape, I don’t find it necessary to follow that “rule.”

The same process is repeated on each ray. You can complete your V-tool work all at once if you choose. I, however, like to work a few rays at a time and switch to the gouges to watch the fan develop.

Rolling the Rays
While the V-parting tools begin the process of shaping the rays, it’s the back-bent gouges that roll the ray’s edges to form. This is where you need to pay attention to the wood grain. The grain changes throughout the fan, depending on where you’re carving. Watch carefully. If you cut against the grain, you’re more likely to tear the fibers instead of cut. And due to the shallowness of the work, a small area of tear-out can be irreparable damage.

If you’re working with particularly difficult wood – which I don’t suggest if this is a first attempt, but I also know how, as woodworkers, we hate to practice – you can wipe the area with a dampened cloth and gain better results from your carving tools. It’s the old “how-to-trim-end-grain” trick – it works on flat grain as well.

Begin rolling the edges with the 25/13 gouge. Work from the outer edge inward. Shaving small amounts of wood while you traverse into the valley from the outer edge is easily accomplished. The idea is to carve the ray into a semicircle at the outer edge, but I must admit that my rays are a bit flattened. To produce the full half circle requires deeper V-grooves and more work.

It should take a couple passes to finish the rounding of each ray. As you move inward you’ll reach a point where you need to change to the smaller-width back-bent tool. The smaller tool allows access to the narrow ends near the inner circle. Repeat these steps with each ray while trying to keep the surface smooth.

After you complete the rounding of the ray’s edges, make another pass using the 15/6 V-parting tool. This pass cuts a bit deeper due to the edges of the rays being cut away. No longer is the shoulder of the carving tool rubbing against the wood. Then use the back-bent tool to round any edge as needed.

Homestretch: Straighten and Sand
Because I’m carving a drawer front that rolls into a drawer divider, I need to remove the material below the fan’s baseline. The bottom edge of the inner circle is trimmed with the straight gouge leaving the edge at 90º to the drawer front. The squared edges, the continuation of the outer edge, are rolled down one side and left flat toward the center.

If your work is anything like mine, I know you’ll have a few line wiggles here and there. Because the majority of the carving is complete, you get the feel and look of the fan in its finished stage. Take a few minutes to go back and straighten any misaligned ray lines.

A great tip for this step is to use a low-angle or raking light. Let the light shine across your fan. As much as it might scare you, any imperfections will jump right out. But, please don’t get caught up in trying to attain perfection. I view fan carvings as I do building 18th-century reproduction furniture and dovetails: If they’re perfect in every way, how am I going to know they are handmade?

When you’ve smoothed the fan as much as you can with your tools, that’s the time to turn to sandpaper. Don’t start with anything more coarse than #150 grit. And if your carving is anywhere close to smooth, you’re better off starting at #180-grit sandpaper. Please don’t be tempted to use a flap-sanding wheel to finish your fan. That apparatus hurts more than it helps. Be patient. Sand by hand, then add the completed fan carving to any of your projects. pw

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Glen is a senior editor of Popular Woodworking