How a Fan is Made

Cedar fan making involves three basic steps—carving the notches, splitting the leaves, and opening the fan.

Notches: First, the block is roughed out and deep parallel notches are cut to create a narrow “waist”.

Shallower notches are added for interlocking.

Photo: Alan R. Kamuda for The Detroit Free Press

Splitting: The part above the narrow “waist” will be the fan itself. A knife is used to split it into thin leaves, separating the slices from each other but leaving them attached to the solid lower portion.

 (The lower portion can be carved into a bird, a handle, or whatever, just so long as it stays solid.)

Photo: Alan R. Kamuda for The Detroit Free Press

Spreading: Then the wood is soaked in water to make it soft and pliable.

Now the leaves are pulled sideways and the upper notches are interlocked to hold the fan open.

Photo: Alan R. Kamuda for The Detroit Free Press