Different Kind of grain Question?

[Chahlie]

Hi All,

I have a question about grain direction or more accurately orientation.

I have several blocks of 2" x 2" x 12" bass wood, the annual growth rings run pretty straight through the blocks. I intend to carve some christmas ornaments from them after I cut them into 3/8" x 2" x 6" pieces.

My question is when I cut them into pieces would it be better to cut it into the blanks with the annual growth rings oriented to the 2 " face or the 3/8" thickness of the blank?

I would think that it would be best to orient the growth rings to run across the 2" face for strength reasons, because orienting with the 3/8" would seem to lead to a brittle or easily broken piece.

Is any of this making any since? I just don't want to work on a piece and have it break because it is inherently fragile, because I didn't consider an important part of my carving. Not only could I break it from miss handling but it could also break from warping.


Thanks in advance for any help.

Chahlie

[rick-in-seattle]

Charlie,
On a carving that small it is not going to make a difference either way.
If you were carving something like a nose that protrudes very far, it would be best to have the grain running the same direction as the nose.

[Smokey]

I have to agree with Rick --with a carving that size, all appendages are going to be fragile.

If the grain marks run across the face, it will be a little stronger(not much)

If the grain marks run over the side profile, you will have some interesting "circles" on the protruding parts of the face(the nose and chubby cheeks will be a pile of circles), this may not be a problem if you intend to paint the carving, but can be very distracting if left natural.