Anyone carved hard Basswood?

[Harris from Kalama]

I cut a piece of 2" x 5" basswood and all my knives seem to chip it, not cut it. Every one of them is sharp and I even used a utility knife. I'm trying my first flat plane and even my scroll saw had a heck of a time cutting the pattern. Any info on this?

Harris

[Riverman]

HI Harris, you might try a mixture of water and alcohol ( 50/50 ). It will soften the wood.
Bob

[mdallensr]

Are you sure it's basswood? It could be buckeye. Mike

[bassman]

hI Harris,

This has been touched on before but basically it seems to happen when you get a piece of basswood that was cut from spring to fall. The wood dries out leaving all the sap in the wood and you basically end up cutting through dried sap which contains a lot of sugars and resin. The 50/50 mix of alcohol and water was a new technique for me and I was surprised that it worked so well. Even after the wood had dried out again it still seems easier to carve. It must have something to do with the alcohol loosening up the sugars and resin or the wood fibers.

However, I still try and look for basswood that is as white and light in weight as possible. That is winter cut wood and the best for carving.

Good luck

Elliott

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

I don't ever recall a piece of basswood that acted like that and I've carved some real junk, northern/southern and from all times of the year. I would really be interested in seeing a picture of that piece of wood if you have the capability of posting it. I know it won't help with your problem, but will do wonders for my curiosity.

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

50 / 50 works great, rubbing or denatured alcohol.

Dave