How to Carve a Thompson SMG Model From Wood

Scale your drawing. Scaling a drawing used to be much more difficult, using a pantograph or transcribing an image from gridded paper to smaller gridded paper. Those techniques still work, as does an opaque projector, but in the digital world, it's much easier to start with a digital image, then scale it using photo-editing software. Crop everything out of the image but the profile of the gun, then resize the image to the width you want your model to be. The software does the work for you.

Print two copies of the image -- one to cut out a template and another for visual reference. Repeat this process using an a top view image of the gun.

Select an appropriate wood for your model. Using the right wood is critical in obtaining a quality outcome and having an enjoyable carving experience. You want a wood with very predictable grain, that isn't prone to chipping. It must hold detail well. Basswood is a great choice for woodcarvers if you aren't concerned about a visually dramatic grain when you're done. Otherwise, mahogany is a good choice, but it's more difficult to carve.

Mill your wood to the length, height and depth of your scale drawing. Depending on the final scale you use, you may mill the rectangle with table saw, chopsaw, bandsaw, jigsaw or dovetail saw.

Cutout the profile template from one of the images you printed. Set the profile along one side of your block of wood and very carefully trace around it with a visible marker. If you're using light wood like Basswood, use a fine-tipped black marking pen. On darker woods, use a pencil, so you can see the shine of the graphite.

Cut out your blank -- the two-dimensional piece of wood you will begin carving. With a bandsaw, jigsaw or coping saw, cutout your outline very accurately. If you err, err on the side of leaving more wood, not less, but get as close to the line as you can.

Place the buttstock of the model in a vice. The vice should have jaws padded with card-stock or hardwood slats, so they don't mar the wood. Don't over-tighten.

Carve the outside or convex radii and forms on the gun, forward of the buttstock, using a pair of dividers to help you transfer proportions from your drawing to the blank. Use a very sharp, flat bench-chisel and a pairing-type woodcarving knife.

Carve the inside radii forward of the buttstock, using your chisel and any appropriately shaped V-knives or gouges. Some details will require you to make stop-cuts where you tap the chisel straight down into the wood -- possibly in a rectangular shape, then carving out the center of the rectangle.

Carve the buttstalk of the gun with the front padded and placed gently in your vice. Continue carving until your model looks complete.