Sandalwoood - carving techniques Craftsmen and co-operatives
|This intricately carved box is made from sandalwood.| A common
type of carving is a free standing human or animal figure. A
carver starts by reducing a block of sandalwood to the rough
shape. At first the carver will sit on the floor holding the
block between their feet while hitting it with chisel and
mallet. Gradually the figure emerges. Finer work is done using
the chisel held like a pencil. The figure is then smoothed off
with sandpaper and finally given a wax polish. The left over
sandalwood shavings can be used to extract sandalwood oil or to
stuff pin cushions.