How to make a wooden heart

To start, you need to prepare a base for your wooden heart. Stand the log upright and secure it with a tensioning belt to a metal support or something similarly sturdy. Alternatively, you could use a screw to fix the wood upright on a wide tree trunk – this step is important, as you need the log to remain steady while you carve. Then the chainsaw work can begin. To make the basic shape of the heart, you need to cut a piece of wood from two opposite sides of the log. Leaving a 10 cm (or wider) strip between them, make two cuts straight down to a depth of at least 20 cm, and then cut horizontally into the wood to release the side pieces. You should have an upright panel with two flat faces, on the round base of your log.

Use a template to help you create the heart shape. Draw around it with a pencil or chalk, to make it easier for you to get the shape you want when you carve your heart out of the wood.

Work carefully when you’re carving. If you’re not confident, it’s best to cut away less than to be too enthusiastic – after all, you can always refine the shape when you sand your heart sculpture later.

Now you can add some finishing touches that will give your wooden heart more shape. Use the tip of the guide bar, moving it lightly along the edges of the wood to smooth them. The shape doesn’t need to be perfect, as you can correct any irregularities when you sand your sculpture later.

Last but not least, you need to separate the heart and its base from the rest of the log: simply cut straight through the wood with your chainsaw. Make sure you don’t carve away too much wood under the heart though; for a sturdy structure we recommend a base section that is at least half the height of the heart itself.

Before you start to carve the heart from your wood, fix the tree trunk to a sawhorse with a tensioning belt. Use a cardboard template and some chalk or pencil to mark a heart outline onto the end of the wood.

Get going with your chainsaw and roughly carve the wood into a heart shape, following the lines you’ve marked out. Start by positioning the saw on the trunk and cutting diagonally downwards towards the tip of the heart. Repeat this on the other side. You’ll need to cut across into the trunk further down to remove the strips you’ve made, but be careful not to carve too deeply into the wood, as the heart needs to stay on the log. With your next two cuts, form the top curves of the heart, removing the wood you don’t need.

If necessary, remove any remaining bark from the outer edges of the wood. Smooth all corners of the heart with your chainsaw, moving the tip of the guide bar carefully along the edges.

Once you’re happy with the shape, you can cut a heart slice to whatever thickness you want, by making a straight downward cut. You may be able to slice several hearts from the piece of wood.