How Could You STAND it?!!

[jillsy]

Ok, for all those who gave me advice on carving Wormy Chestnut - THANK YOU FOR THE WARNING!

I don't see how any of you enjoy this wood though. Ugh! With every cut of the knife, particles of wood just crumbled under it. Over and over and over again! The pieces I'm making are very simple, purposely leaving out details. I'm doing a JOL and a ghost.

I had carved the mouth, nose and eye of the JOL and when I went to carve the last eye, it was like a watching a miniature avalanche. The eye crumbled apart and descended down into the mouth around, crackling all the way until the mouth and eye were one! I kept my cool though, and wound up transforming it. In this case, the wood was definitely telling me what to do!

Anyway, these are going to be extremely primitive-looking carvings when they're all done. I hope they turn out ok! I'll be sure to post pics here and on my blog when they're all done.

Jillsy
Bucks County Folk Art

[BobD]

I'd try soaking the wood with thin Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue (like hot stuff). It should help. Rick Jensen uses that all the time with crumbly cottonwood bark.

Bob

[John_C]

there is another product you could try Minwax® High Performance Wood Hardener

typically used to repair structural wood where it has become soft or punkey. the liquid penetrates carrying a resin that hardens the wood
Minwax Wood Hardener # 41700 by Minwax Company

[jillsy]

Wow! I never heard of such a thing! But wouldn't using these materials make the wood extremely hard to carve?

I actually finished both carvings and am labeling them under, "Grungy Primitive Folk Art"! I used a teeny bit of wood filler in some of the worm holes, but left most of them for the grungy affect. By the time I'm done with them, they're going to look like they've been dug up after 30 years!

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by jillsy

Ok, for all those who gave me advice on carving Wormy Chestnut - THANK YOU FOR THE WARNING!

I don't see how any of you enjoy this wood though. Ugh! With every cut of the knife, particles of wood just crumbled under it. Over and over and over again! The pieces I'm making are very simple, purposely leaving out details. I'm doing a JOL and a ghost.

I had carved the mouth, nose and eye of the JOL and when I went to carve the last eye, it was like a watching a miniature avalanche. The eye crumbled apart and descended down into the mouth around, crackling all the way until the mouth and eye were one! I kept my cool though, and wound up transforming it. In this case, the wood was definitely telling me what to do!

Anyway, these are going to be extremely primitive-looking carvings when they're all done. I hope they turn out ok! I'll be sure to post pics here and on my blog when they're all done.

Jillsy
Bucks County Folk Art

Wormy Butternut???? Sounds more like rotten butternut. Maybe you need to find a new wood supplier. Good wormy butternut is a joy to carve and carvings are really spectacular.

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Originally Posted by John_C

there is another product you could try Minwax® High Performance Wood Hardener

typically used to repair structural wood where it has become soft or punkey. the liquid penetrates carrying a resin that hardens the wood
Minwax Wood Hardener # 41700 by Minwax Company

I used this product on exterior wood, it worked great.

Dave

[mobjack68]

Hey Dullknife...Jillsy was carving wormy CHESTNUT, far different from wormy butternut, 'cept for the worm poop...

Jillsy, WC works best on larger carvings and if you might be interested?? I have some chestnut that has no wormholes, this chunk was cut before the blight, as in cut while still alive....and if you have a desire to try again, WC is still available. Except for the loss of detail, did you have any fun with it at all??

[mrgrouch]

although carving this type of wood is not in my near future plans, i have a couple more questions about the advices given here.

if you have to remove a lot of wood from some places of your piece, do you only soak when you are close to the surface you wanna end up with, oor do you keep soaking every so often? and if you do, does the soaking material builds up on places you didn't keep on carving? does it show at the end?

thanks

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by BobD

I'd try soaking the wood with thin Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue (like hot stuff). It should help. Rick Jensen uses that all the time with crumbly cottonwood bark.

Bob

A couple things bad about CA glue.... CA seals the wood. Make sure to paint the carving FIRST before using the CA.

And have some de-bonder available when you glue your fingers together.

[Clifford_Parker]

Originally Posted by mobjack68

Hey Dullknife...Jillsy was carving wormy CHESTNUT, far different from wormy butternut, 'cept for the worm poop...

Either species should be solid except for the worm holes. If it is crumbly it is decaying you have gotten bad wood. I have bought wormy chestnut reclaimed from barns and, except for the outer layers, it was solid and sound wood.