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Dan Howitt
11-14-2008, 4:01 AM
Which woods do you work with best? Are there certain woods you prefer because they respond better to your techniques and designs?

Which woods are the most challenging for you?


Dan Howitt

Dewey Torres
11-14-2008, 4:17 AM
Best: (Black Walnut) easy to machine, finishes smooth, looks great with most light woods.
Most challenging: (Zebra Wood) Chips out bad, unpredictable, smells like a wet dog when you cut it.

Mike Henderson
11-14-2008, 11:40 AM
I assume you mean "what woods carve best for you". The two that work best for me are basswood and Honduras mahogany. Grinling Gibbons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grinling_Gibbons), who was known for intricate carvings, primarily used basswood - or linden as it's called in England.

To me, there are two aspects of wood that make it good or bad for carving. The first is figure. If the wood has a strong figure it will detract from the carving, unless you find a way to integrate the figure into the carving.

The second is texture of the wood. Woods which are very hard are difficult to carve -oak, teak, many others. Woods which have soft and hard sections, like pine, are hard to carve because it's hard to control the tool. Other woods are stringy and don't hold detail well.

The overall best I've found are basswood and Honduras mahogany, and you have to select those carefully.

Mike

Dan Howitt
11-14-2008, 3:03 PM
I assume you mean "what woods carve best for you". The two that work best for me are basswood and Honduras mahogany. Grinling Gibbons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grinling_Gibbons), who was known for intricate carvings, primarily used basswood - or linden as it's called in England.

To me, there are two aspects of wood that make it good or bad for carving. The first is figure. If the wood has a strong figure it will detract from the carving, unless you find a way to integrate the figure into the carving.

The second is texture of the wood. Woods which are very hard are difficult to carve -oak, teak, many others. Woods which have soft and hard sections, like pine, are hard to carve because it's hard to control the tool. Other woods are stringy and don't hold detail well.

The overall best I've found are basswood and Honduras mahogany, and you have to select those carefully.

Mike

Interesting. I think for each person it also depends on their artistic style. Like some artists like to use certain tools, paints, and materials on which to paint.
Cool it's similar with wood.
I'd love to try to work with basswood and Honduras mahogany. Try. I'm probably not to that level.



Dan Howitt

David Keller NC
11-15-2008, 1:19 PM
The king, and without peer: "Pattern Grade" Honduras Mahogany - carves easily, is resistant to the easy split-offs that basswood is prone to, and isn't white when you're done.

Distant also-rans: Basswood (northern only - from Heinecke Wood), Old-growth Eastern White Pine, Tupelo, Butternut

Second to the Also-Rans: Cherry, Walnut (both are beautiful, but glass-hard to hand carving tools, and I'm not a power tool carver)

Just about uncarvable (but I've still done a couple of them): Any kind of rosewood, except cocobolo (see below), and Ebony (preferably Gabon)

Completely uncarvable (at least with hand tools): Cocobolo, both because of its wildly varying grain, and its incredible hardness.

Vic Castello
11-26-2008, 12:02 AM
I find that basswood carves easily, but that it doesn't take a stain as well as other woods. Any imperfection in basswood will usually stick out like a sore thumb when a stain is applied, so it has to be sanded really smooth. It's perfect if you intend to paint the piece, or if you are going to use a lot of texturing. If you power carve it, you can end up with a lot of "fuzz" which then needs to be removed with smoothing bits, or sanded off by hand.

Butternut is a beautiful wood for carving, and it is simple to finish. But whole chunks of your piece can splinter off if you don't keep a close eye on the direction of the grain.

I'd like to try Tupelo, which I haven't yet because it isn't readily available in my area, and I don't like to order wood online unless I have to. Some folks say it is similar to basswood, but it takes a stain better, and is great for floral carvings and wildlife which is mostly what I do. Dave...have you used Tupelo???

randall rosenthal
11-26-2008, 3:11 PM
after a decade of mahogany and pecan i switched to vermont white pine because it holds paint and ink so well...and that is important for what i do...its not that easy to carve...but good enough.

David Keller NC
11-26-2008, 7:07 PM
"Dave...have you used Tupelo???" Yep, it's on the list as a distant also-ran to mahogany. Note that tupelo (black gum is another common name for the tree) is the tupelo root/trunk below the waterline in the swamp. The wood above the water line is highly interlocked and hard as a rock. I mention this only because I've seen sawn tupelo in general woodyards before - might be interesting as an end-table or something, but it's not really carvable.

Here's my impression of tupelo for carving compared to the basswood from Heinecke: It carves fairly easily, but is also stringier, and it's hard to get rid of "fuzz" if you've an end-grain portion in your carving that you can't get a clean slice at with your carving tools/knives. I don't sand things, so I can't really comment about its response to sandpaper, but I'm betting that it might not respond too well based on the stringy characteristic. It does seem more split-resistant than Northern Basswood.

FYI - If you've not yet ordered and used some, you owe it to yourself to buy a little basswood from Heinecke - it's truly amazing stuff, particularly compared to the basswood that grows South of the Mason-Dixon line.

And, regarding staining basswood - like most fine, closed-grain woods like maple and cherry, a pigment stain is not the thing to use with it - you need a dye stain like Transfast or Lockwood. Even then, the nature of carved wood with lots of spots of end-grain means that it's not going to take up the color evenly. To get around this, use the dye as a toner, such as an addition to shellac. Alternatively, you can seal the carving with a wash-coat of shellac (mixed at 1 lb./gallon of alcohol), then use a gel stain left on fairly heavy.

Finally - If you want your carving to be a different color, it's just like cabinetmaking - it's best to choose a different wood. That's the one drawback of basswood - if you're not going to paint it and don't want to take the risk of staining it, it's going to be very white until it ages about 10 years.

Jason Mikits
12-04-2008, 7:29 AM
I've heard catalpa is excellent to carve. It seems relatively soft and it is fairly dark. I've got a bunch and would like to carve it someday, but have never carved anything before. People have told me it is often used to carve duck decoys. All this is only hearsay though.

Randy Schaffer
12-12-2008, 1:21 AM
I am starting to really like Buckthorn for spoons. It has a very irridescent/wrinkle grain that is very interesting.

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7641/stubbsengravingsugarspork2.jpg

It apparently is an invasive weed/bush. I get it from a fellow in Minnesota.

Myron Redding
01-24-2009, 4:22 PM
I use kiln dried Spruce for fish and or Red Cedar for large herons and egrets,especially if used for outdoors display, everything i use can be had from lumber supply stores, of course the Spruce has to to be hand selected as it tends to knotty, holds carving detail and paint very well....

george wilson
02-03-2009, 1:54 PM
I like to use boxwood for the miniature carvings such as lute roses I have made. A wonderful wood with infinite capacity for small detail. You can still get it 10" wide from some dealers.Columbian boxwood is nice,but not a true boxwood. Called Zapatero. Rather a lighter lemony color than Turkish box. Maracibo(sp?) is a South American box that can be had wide. It seems to be the most stable of the boxwoods I have used.

If you care to google'george wilson guitar maker,you can see a carved lute rose,inlay,etc.

I'm saying right up front,I DID NOT NAME THE SITE. I was asked to join years ago by a guitar maker I haven't actually met. It's still floating around out there. Don't blame me for the name,please.

David Keller NC
02-04-2009, 10:04 AM
"I like to use boxwood for the miniature carvings such as lute roses I have made."

George - Do you have a source for genuine (English or Turkish) boxwood? I'd like to find some smallish chunks for use in tools, but I've had a hard time. The only dealer that I found with any quantity or quality was in Turkey, and as you might imagine, that brings up all sorts of USDA importation restrictions and certifications.

I do have some "South American" boxwood, but unfortunately do not know if it's Maracaibo or Zapatero - do they look different enough visually to distinguish?

george wilson
02-05-2009, 10:11 AM
David,ordering Turkish boxwood has its hazards: they,in my experience,don't dry their wood enough.I saw a Turkish sideboard at the house of a couple who had been living in Turkey before. From across the room,the sideboard seemed to have 3 curved cabinet doors. They were actually severly warped. Their other furniture had problems too.

I got some Turkish boxwood from Unicorn Lumber in Canada 30 years ago. Either the Canadians have different standards,or they ship their worst wood across the border. The wood was cracked badly,and most had a lot of gray streaks in it.I mean a lot!

In Williamsburg some years ago,we had to make 18th.C. 24" folding rules for everyone. They were boxwood,12" long folded. I tried every type of boxwood I could get my hands on. The rate of warping was staggering for every kind except Maracaibo. It held up pretty straight. I got that from Colonial Hardwoods in Springfield,Va.. They sold it to me as Castello,but I think it is Maracaibo. I had gotten Castello from another dealer,Tropical Exotic Hardwoods in Pasadena,Calif.. It looked similar,but was not as stiff as the first mentioned,and warped a lot. It had a rubbery springiness,not a real stiff hardness when I bent ruler size blanks from it.

I haven't tried to find Turkish box for some time as I was lucky to buy 3 Turkish.
logs from an old wind instrument maker wears ago. These logs are up to 10" in diameter,and abt.3' long. They are about 100 years old,and not cracked much.

Let me describe these boxwoods: Turkish has the best color of the 3,and is the densest. Zapatero,which I bought from Hobby Woods,Eastern Ave.,Baltimore in the 70's,is a lemony yellow color. It wakes dirt from the hands when made into spokeshaves. Turkish does not,being denser. Don't know offhand if Hobbywoods is still there. Don't get the wrong idea:all these boxwoods are very hard. The Maracaibo is a few shades paler than the Zapatero,but more stable.

I think these dealers may not know the difference in Castello,and Maracaibo. I found the Colonial Hardwoods "Castello" to be different from the other "Castello" I tried,and much more stable. The rule expert who visited my shop said she thought the Maracaibo was the wood actually used by rule makers in the 18th.C..

Lastly,I will describe the drying process the old makers used,which we do not,and which causes problems in stability. In the 18th.C., they planned for the next generation. They put boxwood into a big pile of horse manure,all covered up,and let the whole pile dry very slowly together. This induced much less stress in the wood than our modern kiln drying,no doubt. They had to do this to make all those folding rules and wind instruments. I know the Africans would bury fresh ivory in the ground for some time to dry it. If left too long,little holes would get eaten into the tusks by bugs,worms,etc. The ivory traders had to be expert in judging ivory they bought from the natives.

Ivory will crack and warp worse than any wood.It seems to me that the harder the material is (organic),the worse it can be from internal stress.

False teeth were made from Hippo teeth ivory. They can get very large-over 2' long. Their ivory is harder than elephany ivory,and has a thin skin of enamel that must be ground off. Well,they are even worse to crack. I have a few.

This doesn't have a lot to do with Turkish boxwood. Getting off topic. The sources I mentioned,except the Castello (maracaibo?) ones are pretty old. Hobby Woods is a bad name-they had a lot of great woods of many kinds. Another great place is Maurice Condon Boat Lumber in White Plains,N.Y.. I was there years ago. They have lots of great woods. Really good Gaboon ebony,black as pitch,and VERY small pored. How small the pores is is how you judge ebony. The old Chickering pianos used the best ebony for their sharps. If you can find a derelict,take the keys.

Hope this is beneficial.

David Keller NC
02-05-2009, 12:01 PM
"Hope this is beneficial."

Thanks for taking the time, George. Unfortunately, what I have simply came as "South American Boxwood", and was cut more than 20 years ago. Its working characteristics seem to match what you're saying about Maracaibo - it is incredibly hard and dense, with few visible pores, though with some visible grain lines. Could be wrong, but I seriously doubt this stuff will warp much - it was dead flat in the un-heated, un-airconditioned lumber warehouse I purchased it from, and it's stayed that way over some tremendous humidity changes when I brought it into my air-conditioned shop.

Its color really could not be described as having any yellow cast to it - it's pretty much bone-white to very light tan, depending on whether its freshly planed or not. If I get the chance, I'll post a photograph.

george wilson
02-05-2009, 12:38 PM
Now that you nention it,the Maraciabo did sometimes have a medium tan heartwood (?) in some planks. I didn't see that in the other species,though it could just have been where it was cut from the log. My Turkish small logs from Unicorn didn't have heartwood,nor do my large logs from the wind instrument maker. Didn't see any in the Zapatero,but they were not logs either. I think you may have the Maracaibo. If so,good. Cut a 5/8"X5/32" strip 1' long,see if it warps. That's the size of the rule billets. Mind you,SOME of them did warp,but most stayed straight. If they get a bit hot from a circular saw,they may warp. We bandsawed,and sanded ours. I would not describe the Maracibo as bone white. Is yours as white as white basswood,or white poplar? If so,I don't know what it might be. I never saw white boxwood of any kind.

Let me make it clear that all the boxwood we tried had non-visible pores. It's just that the Turkish must have the smallest,as over time,tools made from it didn't get hand dirt in the grain.