Soft Basswood?

[Inadv]

Hello all. I have been out of commission for a bit here these past few weeks with health issues, but am still making a few chips along and along. I recieved a my first order of basswood several weeks ago and have so far carved a few of the "5 Minute Wizard" projects from a recent issue and one that Gene M. did a video on. Between the first one and the second I bought one of Mike Shipley's detail knives and nearly hacked the second one unto death as it slides through the wood like a razor on warm butter.

I started the third one last night and am puzzled that the same knife (which I keep very well stropped) as well as all the others I have keep tearing the wood when I try to slice it with the grain. I have read several threads where folks have a problem with harder pieces of basswood, but have not heard anyone speak of an extremely soft piece, which is the case here. Incidentally it came from the most recommended supplier of northern basswood on this forum. I have a good bit more of this same wood left to work on, and need to know the best way to overcome the issue as I may have more of the same softness.

My question then is, is there a "trick-o-the-trade" to overcome this tear out problem? Thus far I'm still in the rough out stage with this piece, and would appreciate feed-back before I get to the detail part of it.

Thank you.

[gene-messer]

Lynn Doughtry made a suggestion one time concerning basswood that is relatively hard to carve and a solution to the problem .. He suggest you use a mixture of 50% alcohol to water in a spray bottle ..before you carve the piece .. spray down the carving good and let soak .. it softens the grain and is easier to carve .. I have tried it and it works ..

A great piece of advice

Gene

[Inadv]

Gene, thank you for your response. I had heard many times before about the alcohol/water treatment of harder pieces of basswood, but you got me thinking a bit more objectively. Perhaps my perception that the wood is soft is in part attributable to the new knife and some improvement on the maintenance of my cutting tools (practice, practice, practice). I sprayed it liberally with the magic mixture which I'd already prepared some months ago. After letting it soak in for several hours I tried the carving again, and there seemed some improvement in the wood's carve-ability, but it still wants to tear out when I get even a little bit heavy handed. It seems that the grain on this particular piece is perhaps a bit looser than most basswood tends to be. I'm going to try a different piece later today and see what happens with it.

Thank you again for all the encouragement and effort you put into helping folks like myself. I'm a big fan of yours on You Tube. The advice and encouragement that you and many other of the great carvers on this forum is a great blessing for myself and other newcomers to this art form.

[Goody]

It really sounds like a tool issue. I have wood at the shop that is rock hard and soft enough to remove wood with my thumb nail. Learning to sharpen properly is probably harder then learning to carve. Going back to Lynn,s postings get a box knife like he speaks of put a new blade in it and strop it a bit. The blades are thin enough that its hard to mess up the angle. If that blade slices the wood in any garin direction then you know you need to figure out the best sharpening method. If it doesn't then you may indeed have a wood problem. Around here we would kill for a soft piece of basswood. All of what I get locally needs a jack hammer.
Goody

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by Goody

It really sounds like a tool issue. I have wood at the shop that is rock hard and soft enough to remove wood with my thumb nail. Learning to sharpen properly is probably harder then learning to carve. Going back to Lynn,s postings get a box knife like he speaks of put a new blade in it and strop it a bit. The blades are thin enough that its hard to mess up the angle. If that blade slices the wood in any garin direction then you know you need to figure out the best sharpening method. If it doesn't then you may indeed have a wood problem. Around here we would kill for a soft piece of basswood. All of what I get locally needs a jack hammer.
Goody

I too have had problems with the bass wood that I've been getting out of Wisconsin. It's a lot harder than it used to be. And being as how I'm having my carving knives sharpened by the Wood Craft Shop in Bettendorf, IA, I don't believe that it's a problem with my knives.

Could it be a problem with the Linden trees them selves?? (For those who don't know.....the Linden tree is where bass wood comes from). Are these trees being harvested earlier than they should be?? I have no clue. It's a mystery.

[Tom-H]

Several things come to mind. First, one does involve tools like Goody said. If the wood tends to "crush". The knife may not be as sharp as you think. The knife will also cut better when used in a slicing motion. When I start a wizard or any other smaller carving I try to "test" the wood first. I determine the grain direction, and make a very small V cut with the knife at angles to the grain. I next remove the chip, and observe the characteristics of the wood. Does it shread? split? If I am sure my knife is as sharp as I can get it, I'll set the wood aside and get another. I think buying wood can be just like ordering a steak. At the same resturant, from the same herd; the flavor and toughness may vary.

Tom H

[JIM QUILICI]

Sometime when some one sharpens a carving knife ...It may be good and sharp for ....say oak ...or walnut....but wrong bevel for basswood.......bevel is a very big deal for wood carvers....it may feel sharp ...look sharp...is sharp........ but wrong bevel for basswood.....and will not carve well or slide through the wood well....imho

Jim Q

[mdallensr]

If you use a gouge that you know to be sharp, and make an end-grain cut that leaves a surface that looks like the photo below, you have punky wood. The piece in the photo had a 3" diameter punky section that was the heartwood. If you can see the growth rings on your piece of basswood, and you have the very center of the log that is causing the problem, it's not unusual. I've not encountered punky basswood that was kiln-dried, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. The problem piece I showed was air-dried. The wood 2" away from the punky section was perfect to carve, but that doesn't help much when you've make a blank to carve a grizzly bear and half of it won't carve. It doesn't get better on its own, and I haven't found anything the would eliminate the problem other than grinding rather than carving. In the worst case, the wood just crumbles with minimal force, so it gets to be a lot easier to start over with a good piece of wood. Mike

[Inadv]

Wow!! I just got back in from another round of tests at the VA hospital, and decided to check the message board before trying another piece of wood. I am very grateful for all of the thoughtful advice and sharing of experiences.

I have employed the method of testing my blades after sharpening/honing that seems to be the most preferred on this forum, which is to make a cross grain cut on an end piece of wood. If the resulting cut is not shiny and clean, back to the strop it goes until I do get the proper result. The bevel is a possibility, but as all my blades are "flat ground" (no secondary bevel), except for the utility knife, I think that is likely not the issue. Incidentally I do get the same results on this one particular piece of wood using my utility knife with a new and freshly stropped blade installed.

Many thank yous' for all of the excellent tips and suggestions... You folks are the greatest!!! BTW, I just made the connection with Tom H. being the originator of the little "5 Minute Wizard" project. I'm making them for Christmas ornaments for family. There will be six of them (I hope) when I'm finished carving. After they are painted I will try to post them for critique. What is interesting is that so far of the three I've finished each one looks in some way a bit different from the others. Thank you, Tom for the cool little project and the really nice "how-to" article that WCI published.

Now that winter is finally moving out I have set up my front deck as a carving area, and will soon start on the staffs and canes that I've been gathering materials for over the colder months. Hopefully I've about gotten over all of the health problems that plague me in the rear view mirror, at least for a while, and will have a productive spring, summer, and fall (my true favorite).

Happy carving all!!

L.P.