Carving a Bookmark
I recently carved a couple of bookmarks. I'd like to share some aspects of the process. These particular carvings were started away from my regular workbench. I used my small set of Flexcut tools in an old laptop bag. The carving surface is a clipboard with some grip pad on it. The bag does a fairly good job of holding the chips in.
 Back at the regular workbench the carving is completed and the lettering is burned in.
 Back at the regular workbench the carving is completed and the lettering is burned in.

 The carving will be finished with a water based Minwax stain. First a pre-stain is applied.
 The carving will be finished with a water based Minwax stain. First a pre-stain is applied.
 After the pre-stain has dried for about 15 minutes, an "English Oak" colored stain is applied.
After the pre-stain has dried for about 15 minutes, an "English Oak" colored stain is applied.
 The stain is allowed to dry over night and then the piece is finished with a coat of Minwax Polycrylic. This will give it a nice hard finish with a nice sheen. I often like to finish with a coat of wax, but since this is intended to go between the pages of a book, I thought it best to forgo the wax.
 The stain is allowed to dry over night and then the piece is finished with a coat of Minwax Polycrylic. This will give it a nice hard finish with a nice sheen. I often like to finish with a coat of wax, but since this is intended to go between the pages of a book, I thought it best to forgo the wax.
 And there you have it. The lighting in the photographs could be better, but I hope you get the idea.
 And there you have it. The lighting in the photographs could be better, but I hope you get the idea.
