Green wood

[aulddiy]

Its never been clear to me how some carve green wood . Why does n't the wood crack or split? So I gave it a go. A friend gave me the trunk of a cherry tree. Your right it split.
So hows it done.
rgds
John - in a wet Glenrothes

[oldbearx2]

Hey John I have never carved green cherry, but did carve some green butternut once. It was during a carving class. It actually carved very easy, but each night when we were done carving we put it in plastic bag and sealed it shut. Apparently still lets it dry, but slows down the process. Some of them still cracked, mine luckily didn't. Other than that I don't know

[dnstehly]

Yup! Harold's suggestion is the best way. I do it regularly. I prefer to carve my big snakes in green poplar and frequently begin one immediately following the harvest of the tree. Keep sealing it in the bag after each carving session. I have never used any kind of moisture detector and generally tell by feel when I think it's safe to remove from the plastic. I've used this technique on open pore low density woods like poplar, aspen, or butternut, and it works well. I would be reluctant to try it on the more dense hardwoods.