There are two questions that we get from new carvers all the time.

1.  How do I make clean even joint lines?
2. How do I smooth the background?

So let's look at a few of the different techniques that are used in relief wood carving that help with both questions. We are going to explore tight joint areas, easy to reach joints, chip carved corners, how to smooth an area, undercuts, and using textures at the joint area.  I am using the Santa Cookie from our e-Project, Santa Cookie Carving, for the project in this look at how to make your carving cuts.
    

For tight corners and trapped corners I use my bench knife and a very small round gouge. That gouge is also called a veining tool or a u-gouge depending on the brand of tools. I stop cut along the vertical wall. That stop cut is made by pulling the bench knife not by pushing it straight into the wood. Pushing can compress the fibers along the wall, especially if you are using a straight gouge. After a little while those fibers uncompress and cause you problems.

Once the stop cut is made I slide my bench knife along the floor area of the cut to sliver out a small section of wood. When your bench knife hits the stop cut the sliver pops out nicely. I do that until I hit a depth where the sliver cut is below the stop cut ... the sliver does not pop out ... then I can carefully make one more very shallow stop cut to remove that last sliver. The second photo shows that moment when my floor cut is below the stop cut.

Once the floor is to the correct depth to the wall I dress out the joint with the veining tool - small gouge.
    

Close-Up
Start your tight corner with
a stop cut.

Close-Up
Slide the bench knife
along the floor into the corner.

Close-Up
Smooth the joint using
a veining tool.

 Open - Easy to Reach Joint Lines

When the joint area or corner area is fairly open I will sometimes use my v-gouge to start the corner. Whether I chose to go with the v-gouge for a v-cut or the bench knife for a stop cut changes according to the area I am working.  As you try a few carvings using both tools you will soon discover which tool works best in any given situation.

I can start with the v-gouge along the joint line. Tip or angle the v so that the wall cut is straight and the angle goes into the floor area. Drop this cut down just a bit, not below the depth of the v of the tool. I can always go back and re-cut to deepen any area. I prefer to walk out a line or joint not deeply force it out.

When the joint line is just above final level I start roughing the floor area with a large round gouge. Mine just eats wood! I guide the round gouge into the v-gouge lines.

The third photo shows me roughing out the remainder of the floor. This little project had a convex surface ... it was a little higher in the center of the floor area than along it's edges and had a sharp drop off at the side of the Santa.
    

Close-Up
Use a v-gouge along
the pattern line to drop
the joint.

Close-Up
Glide your large round gouge
into that v-gouge line to
rough out the next area.

Close-Up
The large round gouge is
being used to rough out
the remaining area.

Chip Carved Corners

Here's another corner area that is very open and easy to reach. I have used the bench knife to stop cut the two straight walls that belong to the tree. I then slide my bench knife along the floor, the knife is laid over so that it's face almost lays on the wood. This cuts out a small chip exactly as you would a chip in chip carving.

Just above the corner that I am working on you can see the corner that I had just cut this way. Now compare that to the top corner which has not yet been chip carved out. Chip carving makes neat, clean, and crisp corners.
   

     
Close-Up
Do a stop cut along the two side walls.

Smoothing an Area

To smooth out all those nasty ridges from the round gouge in Santa's beard I use a straight chisel. That's the one shown in this photo. I also have a bull nose chisel that is a true delight. It has the same profile as a straight chisel except that I have rounded over the very sharp corners of the profile. It's those sharp corners on straight chisels that give me fits!

The diagram will make it easier for me to show you what I do ... Your straight chisel has a cutting edge angle. The top surface or face surface is the angled side of the tip with the back surface remaining flat. The thinner the angle the better the chisel cuts soft woods as basswood. Wider angles work better for harder woods.

If you use the chisel with the flat to the board it "drives" the tip of the chisel into the wood. It bites deeply and therefore takes out a lot of wood with one pass.

If you turn your chisel over so that the angled profile face is against the board the chisel glides over the floor lifting just very nice thin slivers. I use my straight chisels right side up for rounding over but I use them upside down when smoothing my backgrounds. You can not only make it very smooth you can create an almost polished surface by going profile down.

For edges and rounding over during the smoothing steps I am back to my bench knife on the easy to reach curves. 

If you look closely at that first photo you can see that I am using a bent straight chisel ... the shaft has a slight curve to it. Notice that the curve is down putting my hand below the surface of the wood.
   

Close-Up
Roll your chisel over so 
that you have the cutting 
profile against the wood.  
This cuts very thin slivers.

Close-Up
A bench knife is excellent for 
rolling over easy to reach areas
and for smoothing those areas.

Close-Up

Chisel Profile Diagram

Undercuts

The undercut tucks your joint line underneath an element in the carving where no one in this world can see that the joint line isn't quite straight, smooth, or perfect. It's a great place to hide joints!!!

I make my undercuts using a bench knife but they can also be done with the straight chisel. I like the bench knife because I can pull it through the cut where with the chisel I tend to push ... same compressed fibers problems later.

The first cut is made as level to the floor as possible. But usually it gets tipped or angled down a bit, which is OK. The second cut starts about half way up the wall side and angles down to meet the first cut. This pops out a little triangle of wood. I fold a piece of sandpaper and tuck it into the undercut to clean the hidden joint.

I have finished with the straight chisel and done just a light quick sanding. There are almost no chisel ridges left. Since his beard is bound to be v-gouged for hair I stopped here ... smooth enough. But for another project that required a very smooth surface I would have smoothed one more time using my chisel. Then there would have been no ridges at all.
   

Close-Up
The first cut of an undercut is made
with the knife against the floor.
    

Close-Up
The second cut starts about half way
up the wall and angles down to the first cut.
     

Close-Up
Dress out the corner of the undercut
with a piece of folded sand paper.
    

 
Close-Up
You can see how the tree branch now
sits above the level of his beard.
    

Close-Up
Undercut Diagram

Here's Santa almost completed.  Notice how the v-gouge hair lines in the beard and mustache disguise the joint line.  There are times that a joint area is very hard to reach or difficult to smooth.  Consider using textures and detailing in one of the two elements that create that joint line.  Texture patterns attract the eye to the texture and therefore away from an imperfect joint.

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