Clean up.

[bobbo]

I \'m using a very soft timber; Pawlonia. Can anyone please give me some advice for cleaning up fuzzy cuts? Bobbo.

[Magicman]

Royal Pawlonia is a very soft wood almost between basswood and balsa wood. It is very hard to not leave fuzzies. A very sharp knife or gouge and as little power carving as possible would be my suggestion.
Larry

ps; For those who don't know this wood originally came over here from China in the form of Seed Pods, The pods were used as packing crates to ship various things.

[chipmunk]

hi, if u give a coat of sand-seal then u beable to sand the fuzzys away been i power carve i deal with a lot of fuzzys, if u use a knife make sure it's sharp that will cut down on fuzzys but will soft woods it's hard to get way from when u sand the fuzzys will come back!

[idigjars]

I'm not familiar with the wood you are using but sometimes I take a scrubber pad and cut little square 1 inch pieces and put it in a mandrel for a dremel tool and run it on a slower speed over the pieces. The pads will soon be round after use. It's worked good taking off fuzzies on poplar, basswood, and even some balsa that I got for free and tried carving. The balsa really leaves lots of fuzzies when you try to power carve it. Anyway, hope this helps you out. Best regards and safe carving. Paul

[K Karver]

Hi, What have you done with a wood burner. I have not used one much, but do know others use it frequently. Used strategically will give a nice effect after the paint job is completed. See the work of Phil and Vicki Bishop or Lynn Dougherty.

[bobbo]

Thank you for that, People. The sanding sealer sounds like a good idea, so does the cleaning pad in a Dremel. I'll try these ideas out. Bobbo.

[Robson Valley]

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is a poor carving wood. When (partially) finished in carpentry applications, there are all kinds of fuzzy/prickly bits that stick up through the finish (spiral thickening in S2, for those who care). Best trick is to gently scrub the piece with coarse steel wool, after the first coat of finish has set up/hardened/dried. The steel wool strands actually cut off the "wicky-bits". I am surprised that it works as well as it does.

[Robson Valley]

Clean Up: Speaking literally, there is no reason to clean up the shop floor until
a) the cat starts using the chip piles,
b) the drafting stool can't roll at all.