[JIM QUILICI]

I was at the senior center carving and the person next to me was carving on some dirty looking yellow Bass wood. it looked nasty and carved nasty. I asked him where he got that wood , he said that it was old wood that he had in the garage.and the only thing wrong with it was it was old wood ......question ...how long will bass wood keep before it is not good to carve or look good .The reason I was asking is that I have stocked up my bass wood and I don't want it to go bad.

Just old Jim

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

Don't know, I've got some that's been in the wood shed now going on 10 years and it still looks fine. It's a single piece 8 x 8 x 24 that I'm saving for something. It sounds to me like your student has a piece of Southern Bass Wood. I bought some from an outfit in Tennessee, and it was yellowish/brownish in color, carved nasty, had hard spots, some almost punky spots, all pretty much as you describe. Real Junk. Used it for fire wood.

[Anthony Filetti]

Jim,
Could be that the wood was that way in the first place. When I first started carvin I went to the local sawmill where they sold Basswood and just purchased some pieces. It took a while before I realized where the good basswood comes from (...its not New York). The wood I purchased was already yellow in color with heavy brown discoloration running through it.
When it comes to wood my guess is the only thing that would change it over time would be the sun, moisture, or insect related. (I could be wrong though...)

[wade clark]

I harvested some apple wood, a log round, in about 1978 or '79. My Great Aunt Lilly planted the tree in the 1920's. It died maybe in the 1960's. In any case, it was long dead when I bought the land under it.
I carried that apple round around since '78 or '79 thinking someday i'll find the right project for this.
Last fall, I had Rick make 2 knives each for my 5 kids, for Christmas presents, plus 3 for me, out of Aunt Lilly's apple wood. They made beautiful handles! And of course the knives were incredible, they were hand made by Rick!
I don't know how hard it was to work, but I cut it into blocks the size Rick said on my bandsaw and it cut pretty good, much like newer cut and dried apple wood I've bought or picked up. I don't really believe it degraded in its' 35 to 45 years of being dry and unused. Some of those years it spent in a garage, a storage unit, in the house...everywhere but outside...not exactly consistent climate control! It traveled with me through Eastern Oregon, where I harvested it, to Arizona for 2 years, Western wet Washington for 8 years, then to Florida for 10 years, where it really knows how to rain and what humidity is! Then back to Rick's more than capable hands in Washington State again, where it found its' purpose!
Wood can take a lot. Some will split with just a humidity change, but I think most will handle a lot of change without a significant change to the wood. I have a piece of REDWOOD that was harvested off a tall ship when it was overhauled in Florida, about 1890's. It was a deck plank and has tar on one side to turn the sea. It's a wonderful board about 3" x 8" x 60" long. My guess is that it was harvested originally in the 1860's or so. The man that gave it to me died a couple years ago, so I don't have a lead on what ship it was from. I hope to carve tall ships on it one of these days!
Wood finishes, or woods with a finish on them, is another story!
Wade

[AlArchie]

Basswood is readilly suceptible to fungus, and if it is stored in a damp environment, or even get wet while stored, it only takes a few months to get spoiled. That black or gray discoloration is the fungus that has invaded the wood fibers. I've had some basswood for over 5 years and it is still sound, and I've had some go bad on me over one summer. Have to make sure it is stored DRY!

Birch and aspen are also notorious for fungal deterioration.

Al

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Originally Posted by JIM QUILICI

I was at the senior center carving and the person next to me was carving on some dirty looking yellow Bass wood. it looked nasty and carved nasty. I asked him where he got that wood , he said that it was old wood that he had in the garage.and the only thing wrong with it was it was old wood ......question ...how long will bass wood keep before it is not good to carve or look good .The reason I was asking is that I have stocked up my bass wood and I don't want it to go bad.

Just old Jim

thats not like yellow snow is it?

[rick-in-seattle]

I have a large piece of basswood that my father bought for me in 1967.

On the outside it looks like an old piece of wood; faded, dusty and scuffed.

I took a couple chips off it just now and guess what I found.

The only difference between the wood today and 39 years ago is the color. Inside it is a nice gold color.

The wood was no harder than It was 10 years ago, when I used a piece of it to make a coiled rattlesnake.

I should add that it was kept indoors in a cool dark area most of the time, and that could have some bearing on why it is still good.

Wood subjected to extemes in temperature and humidity would most likely get harder or softer depending on type and time.

[Mitchell]

"......question ...how long will bass wood keep before it is not good to carve or look good ."

Well, I can't say how long it takes basswood to get old, but some can go "BAD" as soon as I start carving on it!!!!

[Tom H]

Some of you may know that I recently salvaged an old mill that was built in 1835. The posts and beams were covered with 2 inch thick x 36 inch wide x 12 foot long slabs of sugar pine. On top of the sugar pine was 1 inch x 10 inch poplar. On top of the poplar was 3/4 inch lap siding. Workability of these woods: sugar pine at 135 years old and protected all that time is too hard to carve. The poplar carves somewhat like basswood, but is much darker. With wood this old the grain is very close. I have a whole shop full of this stuff. TOM H

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Well the poplar should keep you busy for 20 years of so LOL