full beginner!!! Aspen log for carving relief ???

[Francois]

Hi, I'm a super beginner man and I want to use some of my firewood to carve relief.What should I do ???
I've got aspen , white birch, yellow cedar, maple,
I was thinking of drying some aspen by the stove and then I guess I need big tools to make an even board out of it or can I work it like that ?
and is there any better and cheap way to get wood to start carving relief ???

Also I've got a set of pfiel gauges size 1 to 8.
Can I use a maillet on those or is it too small, they don`t have metal on top of them. ( by the way I know nothing about woodcarving... if you have'nt noticed)
Thanks for the tips !!!

[BrandantR]

Hi Francois. Aspen carves much like basswood does. The heartwood is much darker than the sapwood, so I would suggest cutting your board out of the sapwood. You can glue a few together to get the right size that you are looking for if your log isn't thick enough. I would suggest making sure that the wood is dry before carving it, but others like to carve green wood. My best suggestion is just to give it a try. The only thing you might be out of if it doesn't work is a piece of firewood.

[pallin]

Depending on the size of your logs, you may want to cut them into slabs with a chainsaw. At this stage you should test the wood to see if it is sufficiently dry - or too dry. Then it would be wise to surface (plane) the wood so that you can draw (trace) your pattern on it. You may need to find someone who has a wood planer. If the relief you want to carve is wider than the wood slab, you then would glue several together. If you are a beginner, I'd suggest that you try a relief design that is somewhat simple and not too large.

[Francois]

I think my aspen logs are too old and wet to do anything with them. What are my other cheap options to start relief carving ? What about pine board ? I guess it's not a very cheap option... Anyone got an idea before I start carving plywood ?
Thanks!

[pallin]

There have been many discussions on this forum based on starting the carving hobby "on the cheap" - tools, materials, etc. The conclusion of all the "experts" is, "you will probably not become a carver that way." You will not enjoy relief carving on a pine board. You will not enjoy relief carving with some poorly sharpened cheap gouges. I recommend that you get a basswood board and one or two good tools - perhaps one gouge and a knife. Choose a simple relief design and go at it! You may decide you like carving based on a good experience.