Carving in oak?

[bob easton]

OK, I'll be the naysayer ... about red oak. Put bluntly, red oak is a weed. White oak is a tree. The really fine architectural carvings are often white oak, leaving the red stuff for inexpensive kitchen cabinets. One of the reasons the red is easier to carve is that it is less dense (from growing fast, like a weed) and with less fiber interlock. Consequently, it is more open and needs more filling and finishing work. If you are heading for fine architectural carvings, practice with red, but do the real work with white.

As chipmunk mentioned, ash is also nice to carve. It has some of the same look as white oak, but is not quite as hard.

[FINGERS]

Try some Radiata pine, a little tighter grain than basswood, carves with no "fuzzies". I found it in a lumber yard, 10'x8" or 10" x 1" thick. When I need it thicker I glue it up. I don't know if the big boxes stores have it. My work with it is an eagle wing(s) 30" long x 10" wide. Holes for every state are drilled in and the state quarter is inserted. Then I carve the eagle head with a ribbon across the neck and center it in the center. Makes a nice gift "made in America"