What wood would be best?

[mixedsources]

I'm very new to carving so new in fact that I haven't carved anything yet but I'm planing to. This is where I need your help! Which kind of wood would be best for what I want to do? I want to make a wall hanging with lots of details. I'm unsure of exactly what it's going to be of though, however it's going to about medium to small in size. I don't want it to be extremely thick but not to thin, and then I'm going to place it on this box frame and the back of that I'm going to paint to fit the piece of wood that I will carve.
You would help me out a lot to give me some pointers on things I may need and/or do and which kind of wood to use.

Thanks.

[susieq]

A wall hanging? I am guessing that would be a "relief" carving.... how thick do you need the wood to be? How large? Basswood is the usual choice of wood for most carving. Other, harder woods, such as cherry, mahogany or walnut are good choices for experienced carvers but if you haven't carved before, I'd stick to basswood. If it needs to be very wide/tall..you may need to laminate several pieces together to get the size you want but if you choose carefully you should be able to blend grain patterns to look good together. Don't know how much you know about wood I recommend you stick to Northern basswood when you buy. There are several references to good places to purchase prime basswood on here. If you read through some of the old threads, you will find those. The main one is Heineke (sp?) They sell the absolute best basswood you can buy. Good luck with your project.

[woodshed]

Basswood is what I use, but have also found cucumber (the tree) to be equal to basswood, straight grain and easy to carve.

John

[Boy Scout]

Heineke is a great place to check out.

I would also suggest practing with a few practice sticks and getting the basic cuts and techniques down before starting on any big project like a frame.

Hope this helps