relief carving depth?

[sforl]

I'm beginning to carve an acanthus leaf from a pattern in a carving magazine. The basswood blank I'm using is 1" thick. How deep a relief should I carve? Is there a rule of thumb in regard to depth?

[pallin]

There are some prior threads on this topic, but I would advise you to keep to about half the thickness of your blank. It depends somewhat on the overall size. If you are carving an acanthus leaf 2 feet across, your basswood will warp if you go too deep. I have carved reliefs in basswood more than 20 inches across, but I stiffen them with oak strips on the backside.

[chuckbolton]

i carve about 1/2 thru on 1 inch stock--- but how deep you go may depend on the depth and number of layers that you intend to have in your carving-- often board over 12 inches in width are glued up from 2 or more piece and i dont think that they warp-- i have had the warping problem on basswood with bark remaining on the piece-- and i like the idea of stiffners