[bulldog]

Hi all
Santa was nice and brought me some tools. Now I need some boards. Do I buy flat sawn, quarter sawn, rift sawn or what. Does the cut make a difference for relief work? for block work? Any info would be helpfull.
Thanks
and keep barkin

[squbrigg]

Hi Bulldog,

For relief carving flat sawn should be fine, keep your quarter sawn for some nice cabinet work. You are going to be removing most of the surface while carving and you'll have to learn how to deal with grain what ever way the board is cut.

What do you have in mind for a carving, to start with? New tools are nice, and great to have Santa on your side! First carving tools? We're here to help, so ask away! Making yourself a bench hook might be your first order of work, to hold your wood while carving it. Perhaps some tips on sharpening your new tools might help? www.littleshavers.com has some great info for new carvers.

Bob

Bob

[wade clark]

Congrats on being a good boy for a year!
The more grain, the more colorful and beautiful the wood, in my opinion. If you want the easiest to carve with the least problems You'll probably want woods with the least grain. The type of wood will have a lot to do with whether it's prone to splitting or chipping where you want it to stay together. You can carve any wood though, you've just got to learn the charactoristics of that wood as you carve, and live with it or work around it. Some are a whole lot easier to carve than others. The main thing is, carve something, learn, and carve some more. And stay safe!
Wade

[woodbutcher]

I just got over $100.00 in clear white pine 8/4 X 11" and 8/4 X 8". I use it for everything from decoy's to large guilded eagles. I like to have alot of extra material in the shop. That way you can start work on a project right away. The clear white pine is a joy to carve. I also stock several large blocks of Bass and several 5/4 mahogany boards and I currently have some stock of 4/4 X 12 Walnut for a new carving bench.

[mdallensr]

bulldog, if you're planning to carve in relief and to use a clear finish, to accentuate the wood, pick a wood with some character. Butternut is a good choice since it's easy to carve and looks great with a clear finish. I like mahogany and some walnut for the same reasons. I like to use quarter-sawn wood for decorative carvings but you won't find many large panels for relief carving.

Be prepared to deal with cupping or warping in large relief carvings. A good, dry panel may carve well, but you need to seal it front and back to keep it flat after carving. I carve "into" the tree on large flat-sawn panels, since it gives a more interesting appearance, but I've heard others recommend carving the other way.

If you're going to paint your carvings, make it easy on yourself by using good, clear, dry basswood or white pine. Many of us buy our carving wood from lumber yards that specialize in carving wood. There are several that will get you what you need if you tell them what you're planning to carve. Good luck. Mike

[mark yundt]

Bulldog, Obviously everyone has their favorite wood to carve. Bass, pine, mahogany etc. they're all good depending on what you like , have access to,what your project is etc. But If i'm reading your question correctly you are not asking what kind of wood,but the type of cut, right?For carving , the cut (flat,qtr etc) doesn't really matter as much as if you were finishing the boards flat as in cabinetry. There the amount of grain showing can determine the cut you use to show the beauty of the wood.To some extent flat and qtr. CAN in some cases show a bit better in relief since most of the surfaces are seen only from one major plane, if you like to see alot of grain ( also depends on species) But since carving reveals grain from all different directions ,especially in full carvings, the traits of any of these cuts gets lost in 3 dimensions,,, not the 2 dimensions of cabinetry.You will also ,in carving,be cutting into the wood eventually from all angles, with the grain,across the grain.So here again, grain gets defeated just by the nature of carving. So find a wood you like , in any style of cut, and carve it to your hearts content.Hope that helped.

[AlArchie]

Learning to read the grain can help with preventing some of the chipping and breaking of your carving. Generally speaking you will want the grain to run lengthwise in your carving. but there is a secondary consideration.....the direction of the growth rings. Look at the top, cross grain section of the block before you start. You want to place your pattern on the block with the most vulnerable parts to breaking off along the direction of the growth rings, not across them. Noses, feet, extended arms and hands are some of these features.

Al

[bulldog]

thanks to all for the info. Yes most of my experiance has been with cabinet wood. I.ll go out and get some flat pieces and start carving. This is a great site with a host of knowledge. Keep Barkin

[wadded]

white pine all the way

altough basswodd is also good

another thing don't use very hard woods like chestnut, oak or cherry you have to sharpen you'r tools more and also you have to use a mallet more often and push harder on the chisel whicn tires you out quite quicly