I want to carve some letters in  three pieces of siberian elm.

So I looked around and  watched some chip carving videos and though that that might be a good approach but I think maybe it's not.

I made a nice little knife

It is a bit tough to sharpen because it is  made from M2 and hardened to better than 62 RC but once sharp it's quite edgy.  However when I  drop it on the elm  using the three position grip ( thumb knuckle and blade)  push it in the wood  it doesn't penetrate as far as anything I've seen on the You Tubes, and then  when I set about to pull it through any sort of cut the blade stutters  off of the grain boundaries.

Which leads me to wonder if chip carving is really only appropriate for certain species of wood like boxwood and a couple others with very even grain.  Siberian Elm has very dramatic grain. It's not a very hard wood  being sort of like Cherry, but it's dramatic.

Is this correct, that I have the wrong technique for this wood??

If so, maybe I should turn to carving gouges?

The font I want  is times new roman in 60 point size, just like you will get off any word processor.

 Any ideas?

The wood is too hard! 

"Chip carving can be, and has been done in the past using hardwoods - woods that are physically hard. Such woods are normally carved with a chisel/skew and mallet. Today, softer hardwoods are generally used that may be cut easily with a knife. Most popular is the Linden family of trees(Tiliacea) which in Europe is commonly known as linden and as limewood (Tilia vulgaris) in the UK. The North American linden (Tilia americana) is commonly known in the US as basswood or whitewood. The Linden family of trees produce a tight, straight-grained wood ideal for chip carving. Other woods that do well for chip carving are: butternut(Juglans cinera) which has the grain of and is related to walnut but much softer and easier to carve; jelutong (Dyera costulata) which looks and carves like linden but is more expensive and may prove difficult to locate; and some of the five needle pines such as Eastern white pines (Pinus strobus) which are also easily carved but have a tendency to split." 

From http://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=681

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Tramp Art used a very simple chip carving technique and was done from Pine and other soft woods that were readily available in their locale

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

 So I should be looking for some gouges.  I thought so after  failing so miserably right out of the gate with a knife..

Or looking for some softer wood, might be cheaper...

Cliff said:

 So I should be looking for some gouges.  I thought so after  failing so miserably right out of the gate with a knife..

 A softer wood is not an option. These will be a service  pieces for my brewery.  I want the elm for the look and other properties. I'll have three, three-way valves to control the various brewing cycles and flow of the mash and wort.  Three, three-way valves means I'll have a wonderfully huge plethora of combinations for fluid flow and I want markers on the pedestals for the valve positions telling the operator where the  flow will be coming from and where it can be directed to.

 Dymo labels won't quite serve from an aesthetic perspective.  

Today I tried to distort a  Milwaukee TORCH M2 saw blade to see if I could get a swept geometry to grind a chisel from that.  Nope.

Tried annealing  bending grinding  and re-hardening a razor knife blade and  again: nope. Not thick enough.

I  might look  into getting some 3/16" or 1/8" thick O1 or O6  or maybe some A2 and  try my hand at forging and making a couple of gouges. Maybe I have a few files I don't like any more hanging about that  that might serve once annealed. 

That might be fun.

I will probably have to bite the bullet and get a V tool and a couple of gouges.

Get a dremel moto tool and the dremel router for it.

Then draw out your letters and carve. Contact me if you need further help

Like Mike said, a Dremel will work. All different blades and cutters for it. It can just about do anything.

dragon1 said:

Get a dremel moto tool and the dremel router for it.

Then draw out your letters and carve. Contact me if you need further help