Wood Problems

[Stromey]

Hey All,

I have a question about basswood. I've picked up a few peices and have found that the one that I'm attempting to do miniatures on is either too brittle in spots or rock hard in others. I'd be slicing off a small peices of excess wood and it would slice through the entire carving destroying all the hard work. On the flip side, i'll be trying to do work on another section of the exact same carving and the wood would be rock hard and a freshly sharpened knife won't carve into it very well....

Is there something wrong with this wood or am I doing something wrong?

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks

Dave

[Dileon]

When doing small pieces,... the wood is fragile... the least amount of pressure can break it. So get your CA glue and glue it back together. When cutting across the grain, it is harder to cut and needs more pressure, of coarse to much pressure will break the wood. It takes time and know how of experience to do this. You will learn. You made need to get a detail knife, which is made for small details, or use a fixed razor which is thin enough and sharp enough to cut the wood. I have gone through my statues and right into my leg....lesson learned... There is basswood that I have bought that is not good in fact it was terrible and it was expensive, so I buy strictly from one source....Heinecke Wood Products in the mainland and have it shipped here. Hope this helps some.

[hhersh]

Ditto for me on Heinecke basswood. The wood I get from them is fresh, perfectly cut and square, and fine grained. It is top quality in every way. go to www.heineckewood.com for fast service!

[Dull Knife]

Originally Posted by hhersh

Ditto for me on Heinecke basswood. The wood I get from them is fresh, perfectly cut and square, and fine grained. It is top quality in every way. go to www.heineckewood.com for fast service!

add my name to that list too.....as I just received a full box from Heinecke yesterday by UPS or FEDEX.....who ever it was, their wood is the best.

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Ditto Heinecke ! Also if you spray hard wood with a 50 / 50 mix of water and alcohol it softens up the wood.

Dave

[Stromey]

what kind of alcohol ???

[cut up]

That would be rubbing alcohol, like you would buy at the pharmacy.

[Gulf Coast Handyman]

Or the denatured works also, this is sold in the paint dept. at Lowes / HD. Not the drinking type, that doesn't mix well with sharp tools, lol.

Dave

[Stromey]

Originally Posted by Gulf Coast Handyman

Or the denatured works also, this is sold in the paint dept. at Lowes / HD. Not the drinking type, that doesn't mix well with sharp tools, lol.

Dave

party pooper lol

[brent]

Originally Posted by cut up

That would be rubbing alcohol, like you would buy at the pharmacy.

Yeah, use the "other" type of alcohol and I don't think you would get much caring done. Too many fumes from the over spray. hehe