Uses of Basswood??

[Mike Henderson]

I use basswood for carving and buy it from my local wood supplier. When I go there to buy my wood, there's always a whole pile of basswood to select from. This got me to wondering - "What is basswood used for other than carving?" There can't be that many carvers in this area to buy all the basswood I see at my supplier.

Do you use basswood, and if so, what do you use it for? Or if you don't use it but you know someone who does, what do they use it for?

Mike

[John Karam]

I know its often used as a modeling wood, at least for architectural models. The grain isn't prominent, so it doesn't throw off the scale of the model. Imagine a 1/8th scale model with life sized objects in it, thats what a highly figured grain could do to it.

I have wondered what else its used for though.

[Bob Noles]

I use it for both carving and woodburning.

[Darryl deHaan]

Historically, it has been used for building the hulls on boats and canoes. It was the wood of choice for canadian dugout canoe builders in the mid to late 1800's, and prized for its wide, long and clear boards for the plank-built canoes. Attached is a scan from the 1921 Peterborough Canoe Company catalogue, which shows the plank construction. It is still used occasionally for strip-built canoes built by hobbyists.

Darryl

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I have on occasion substituted it for clear pine when modifying older moldings in a home. Suffice to say, clear pine is very expensive today. I guess it's hard to get knot free wood from pine trees now.

-Jeff :)

[Adam Grills]

I had the same question not long ago. While picking up 500bft of 4/4 basswood that was donated to the school from a flooring manufacture I asked them who buys 4/4 basswood other than carvers? They said they sell it to companies that make coffins and picture frames.
Adam

[Keith Outten]

I am using basswood for my current rocking horse project. I selected basswood because of the light color and minimum grain. The horse is a Clydesdale, basswood will allow me to get the proper color via stain and keep the light color for the lower legs. There is also a considerable amount of shaping to do on this particular horse design.

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[Mike Null]

Basswood is used by model train and plane builders as well as balsa.

[Eric DeSilva]

Don't think its a huge market, but basswood is also what is traditionally used in Japanese shoji screens...

[Rick Huelsbeck]

I use basswood for carving and buy it from my local wood supplier. When I go there to buy my wood, there's always a whole pile of basswood to select from. This got me to wondering - "What is basswood used for other than carving?" There can't be that many carvers in this area to buy all the basswood I see at my supplier.

Do you use basswood, and if so, what do you use it for? Or if you don't use it but you know someone who does, what do they use it for?

Mike

I watch Discovery channel a lot, and they have a show called How it's Made, anyway they had a segment on window blinds and they showed how they make the wooden slats from basswood.:D

[Matt Day]

I was going to ask the same question about Basswood! I saw some huge slabs of 16/4 at my lumber yard this past weekend, and wondered if it could be used as leg stock for a chair I'm building. There's been some good info on the grain and color in this thread, but is it suitable for furniture? Does it move a lot?

[Terry Wawro]

A lot of cabinet makers use it for face frames.

It is clear, machines well, sands easy and takes a paint or clear finish well.

You can match it up with maple or white birch ply. Put on a clear finish and it makes a decent "Maple" looking cabinet.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I occasionally see it at lumberyards. It's sold as stock for cabinet face frames. It's a bit soft but takes a stain well and can be matched to other stock as it shows very little grain (matches with birch or maple). Also pretty close-grained if it needs to be painted.

Nothing to do with basswood, but the local lumberyard I frequent most used to sell cottonwood as face frame material also. Very nice clear 1x12 stock.....and obviously not the same cottonwood as our local stuff. Glad I wasn't the kiln operator for drying that stuff!

[Jim Becker]

I have seen basswood used for some forms of furniture with good effect...such as stout benches, etc.

[Paul Johnstone]

I build the boat kits for my Cub Scout pack's raingutter regatta out of it.

If I ever get time to get back to scroll sawing, I think I will use it to make things that will get painted.

The thing I don't like about it is that if you take too big of bites on the planer, it makes very long shavings that will not make it to the waste basket of the cyclone (it piles up in the bottom of the cyclone "funnel")
So, even though it is very soft, take small bites on the planer.

[Greg Peterson]

Guitar bodies. I've played a few electrics that had basswood bodies. Guess it's considered a tone wood in some circles.

[John Revilla]

Basswood can also be used on "turnings". Godspeed.

[Loren Hedahl]

Most pianos have their key blanks made of bass wood. The naturals (white keys) that are seen and played on have ivory keytops for older pianos and plastic keytops for newer pianos.

The sharps (black keys) have a piece of ebony glued to the basswood key blank for older quality pianos. Older pianos of lesser quality used another dark wood that was stained black to look like ebony. Newer pianos use a black plastic.

Some of the sub-framing in a piano is also basswood. It's straight fine grain causes it to have very little internal tensions and makes it very dimensionally stable over time.

[Steve Mellott]

I know some scroll sawyers who use basswood for intarsia projects.

[Christopher Pine]

I used it for the "core" of a front door I am working on. Makes it a very stable door. You glue it up then laminate the wood of choice on the outside and use shaper and so on... this is suppose to make a very stable situationa and the wood is cheaper than building with solid materials

Chris

[Joe Cunningham]

Don't some antiques use basswood for drawer sides and/or bottoms?

I have some scraps someplace from my attempts at chip carving, maybe I'll try making something out of them.