Best wood for detailed relief?

[Tom-H]

One of the relief carvers in our group has asked a question that someone with more experience than I have, should answer. What kind of wood is best for a relief carving that will have a lot of fine detail? This fellow has been northern using basswood, but wants something that will better hold the fine detail and still carve well. Suggestions please!

Thanks,

Tom H

[Ron Davidson]

I use mostly Spanish Cedar anymore. It is a little harder than basswood but carves well and holds detail great. It is usually the same price also. Look under Exotic Hardwood & Veneers or just look up spanish cedar.
Ron&Lou

[Claude]

Cherry or Maple - both hold detail well.

Claude

[feb]

Ron , William Judt in both of his relief books uses a lot of white birch and red oak. Hope this helps.

Feb

[Marci MN]

I've been watching this thread and would really like to know where you folks FIND this wood to carve on? All I know of is Heineke for basswood. Thanks. "another interested person who wants to learn relief carving but hasnt a clue"

M.

[tnartist05]

Tom,Ive carved in most every hard wood you can find,course I carve alot of found wood. Pine holds details pretty good for a deeper relief carving,Sure beats some of the others hard woods Ive carved or tried to carve in as;Oak,Hickory,Mtn Laurel, White Ashe{the base ball bat} water maple{little twilight wolves in} alot of knots and old harden drift wood.The hardest I tried to carved was black gum! Stopped on it.

This is a new area for you carving relief but Im betting you can with the talent you have.

Forrest

[squbrigg]

I favour Cherry for detailed relief. It is hard, and holds detail very well, and you can get decent sizes.

Another wood you may wish to consider is Swiss Pear, it holds detail super and doesn't darken as much as Cherry, but it is difficult to get in any size.

Holly is another option, is almost pure white, is hard to carve but a wonderful wood for detail. Size is also a difficulty, as most of it is small sized wood.

Mahogany is another option, more plentyful, and holds detail well, ease of carving will depending on the type of Mahogany. Finishes up beautifully.

Bob

[Claude]

Originally Posted by Marci MN

I've been watching this thread and would really like to know where you folks FIND this wood to carve on? All I know of is Heineke for basswood. Thanks. "another interested person who wants to learn relief carving but hasnt a clue"

M.

Marci:
Look in the yellow pages for Hardwood Lumber. Most larger cities have a lumberyard that carries hardwoods. Other places to look: your local Home Depot or Lowes has a lumber section that usually will have maple, oak, and often birch or poplar. If you go to Google and use the key words "hardwood lumber glenwood mn" or "hardwood lumber minneapolis" you'll get a list of many places that carry good hardwoods, both domestic and imported.

Claude

[mdallensr]

We just had a Menards open in our area, near Home Depot and Lowes of course. Big deal though! They have walnut, cherry, maple, poplar, pine and some form of mahogany (probably African). Most of this is 4/4 and clear boards. They also have wide glue-ups in some of the wood. I didn't see any big chunks, other than 2" oak, but I haven't asked yet what they might be able to get. Mike

[Marci MN]

Mike.. all those boards your talking about are at Menards? I LOVE Menards.. I do most of my shopping in there..but didnt know those woods were available in that store.

I"m not sure what 4/4 means?

And are the boards at these lumber yards the 'white' pine or Sugar pines that I see mentioned in carving posts? I just see in the advertisements 'standard pine boards'. Is there a difference that I should be aware of?

Thank you for taking time to answer my questions. I do appreciate it.

Marcia.