[ikw3804]

Hello,
I am fairly new to this hobby of wood carving and I was working on a wof figure. IT was abotu 4 inches by 1". Whe i tried to make a large cut, it would break and crack on me. I think the wood is Pine. Is there anything that can be done to prevent it or better yet maybe make it not so dry?

Also I want to make a Custom walking stick. I have a farm in E. TX that has pine, oak hickory, cedar, holly, and maybe a little elm but not sure about that one. We also have dogwood (sweetgum) as well.
What would be the best to get. I know hickory is extremly tough- btu I thought about trying to do most of the carving while it was a little green.
I also have read you should let dry out- but the process of 6 mos is rather long- is there a faster way ?

Thanks

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I prefer basswood...guess you can carve most anything you can get a knife or power to! sometimes if I get a bad piece of basswood, I mist a little rubbing alcohol on it, seems to stop the chipping out.....you might consider buying some good northern basswood....

[Ky_Whittler]

Pine is a wood that you definately have to work with the grain. Look at the lines in the wood, growth rings, and see how they flow. You want to make all cuts at a slight angle to them flowing in the same direction. When you get the cuts that want to tear out just turn the block around and continue. Most woods have a way they want to be cut and it changes from side to side of the tree or even the same block from time to time. The trick is learning to recognize this early before you tear out the chunk so you can reverse direction then.

For a beginer wanting a stick in a hurry, I would recomend the elm or maple if you have them. They can be done while still somewhat green and easy to carve. Don't use power on the elm or it will fuzz up bad.Whittler

[rgbonehead]

IKW,soak your pine in water and carve it wet.
Dogwood is good carving wood.
Ron

[Randy48]

Rub your stock down with pure linseed oil, let it sit for 20-30 minutes, give it another coat wipe the excess off and you can start carving in about an hour. The longer you let it sit, the more it will soak into the wood. Boiled linseed oil will work but dries fast, when it's dry in gets a little hard and may (don't know for sure) give you the same problems you already have.

For a walking stick, anything will work, being in East Texas, wood will dry pretty quick - it does here in Missouri. If you have a garage, peel the bark off of your stick and throw it up in the rafters for a month or two and let it bake. Be sure to cut it about 3-4 inches longer on each end then you want the finished stick to be and seal each end with wax, enamel paint or linseed oil. This will help keep if from splitting and if it does, you've got a few inches on each end to play with.

[Ashbys]

I am fairly new to carving as well. But outside of what had been said, you might reduce the size of the cut. Go shallow and make the cut three times instead of tring for one. You stated that whenever you take a big cut it wants to crack and brake. First impression as a beginner is , your trying to cut to deep into the wood. Lighten your cut, You may be getting too much of the wedge into the wood which will over pressure the fibers. Deeper cuts will come with practice and the more you use the same type of wood as you learn the wood. Re-running cut lines is not hard to do , but to waste a lot of effort because of trying to go too fast can cost you a lot of heartache.

Ash

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

"trying to go too fast can cost you a lot of heartache."

Band-Aid's too!!!!