[BobD]

How is basswood for a relief carving? I'm going to try my hand at carving one of the patterns in Lora Irish's dragon pattern book (to test out the Flexcut RPC) but really haven't done any relief carving before. I've got small v tools and gouges (in addition to my knives) but I was reading on Lora's site that basswood may not be good for relief carving because it gets fuzzy when you sand...anyone have any thoughts?


Hardness of wood isn't a problem because I'm using the power carver...so maybe I should get something a little harder to test it with! I've got some aspen, but it's more square than flat (I don't want to cut it up to glue together a panel). I guess if I have sharp tools, I shouldn't need to sand the passwood....right?

Thanks in advance

Bob

[squbrigg]

Good for you Bob. You will find Basswood delightful to relief carve. It isn't really necessary to use a RPC as hand gouges will work just fine on it, but it would save effort. Watch your grain, don't worry about fuzzies, you don't need to sand. I did a dragon in relief from her book in Basswood and it was fun, didn't turn out too bad. Finishing will be a challenge, the Basswood is a pretty plain wood if unpainted, not much character to it, unless you use a stain to highlight the detail. You will find it a great wood to practice on, when you have a couple of dragons under your belt in Basswood, then try something really special in Butternut or Walnut. Good luck and most importantly, have fun with it.

Bob

[AlArchie]

Took a class on relief carving two summers ago, and they used basswood exclusively. It carved like a dream, as long as the gouges were kept super sharp (well, there's a bold observation). After all the carving was completed, we hit the whole carving with one of those stranded flap type sanders, just to polish the background. After that we woodburned in the outlines of some of the details, and then painted (tinted) the work with watercolor washed down very thin. The pyro's lines kept the watercolors from bleeding over into surrounding areas. Finally, a dark burnt umber oil paint from a tube was worked into a rag with some paint thinner, then burnished into the edges of the carving, becoming very light toward the center. That gave the whole picture a look of a sunset ot twighligh descending on the scene. A finish of spray satin poly put the finishing touches on it. I'll see if I can find a picture of some of these.

Oh, the class was taught by Fred and Elaine Stenman.....super folks with a great talent! If you ever get a chance to work with them, I'd suggest you jump at the chance. Their style and techniques are unique to the genre.

http://www.stenmanstudios.com/


Aw, heck, check their pictures....beter'n mine, anyway!

Al

[Bandaid]

Hi Bob...I carved some relief plaques of our family crest a while back using basswood and it worked really well.
I didn't sand these projects so can't comment on what the effect would be, just used good sharp tools so there was no problem with the dreaded fuzzies.
As squbrigg mentioned, unless you use some stain on the finished piece basswood can look kind of bland. I put a walnut stain on the plaques and then a couple of coats of satin polyurethane.
Good luck with your piece and we'll look forward to a pic. when it's finished.

Reg

[BobT]

Hi, go for the Mahogany with the power carver. I agree with everyone about Basswood but Mahogany just looks so good in a relief carving. The grain really does it!


Bob

[Mryooper]

I have this piece and it has a nice grain pattern.

[papasar]

I chip carve basswood and butternut and also have carved relief in both species. I found out if my tools are sharp the the carving almost appears burnished. I don't like to use sandpaper. I accidentally found a way to avoid fuzzies while chip carving. I finished a piece with very delicate ridges and had no breakouts until the next day. It seems the wood, either by drying or decompressing, split and when I turned the carving over pieces fell out. Talk about frustration!!! I made the repairs and gave the piece a soak of tung oil figuring it would stop the drying process. I got a bonus discovery. The oil acts as a hardener and stopped the splitting but also got rid of the fuzzies that occur in the cuts. It also enhances the grain and allows the stain to absorb evenly. I use oil based stain because I don't think water based stain would go well with the tung oil. I wipe the stain off the surface so that most of the color goes in the cuts but the same technique can be use for relief carving only allow the stain to remain on the surface longer. I even use different color stains on the same carving with interesting results. Let me know if anyone had a similar experience.

[Shimmy]

I find basswood fine for relief carving.For beginners it is better then maybe ruining a expensive piece of wood ,should there be mistakes.I just finished this on basswood. it is 10x12 in.The boarder is all around it got cut out in the scanner.

[Irish]

Hi Bob,

You have already gotten some great input here but I will 'boldly' add just a little bit more. Those dreaded fuzzies comes from three basic reasons. As already noted the dryness of the basswood is a great cause of fuzzies as is the sharpness of the tools, and if you are an under cut digger like I am you get lots of fuzzies.

Unfortunitly for many of us our carving plaques are purchased at the local hobby store. They have been on a shelf perhaps for years drying out. An easy way to check how dry a board has become is to place the board against your cheek. If the board feels cool then it still has some moisture content to it. If the board feels warm or as if it doesn't have a decernable temperature then the board is very dry.

You can mist a board with a mixture of water and a couple of drops of alchol ( to avoid mildew ) as you work. This moistens the surface areas of the board. I perfer an old fashion technique where you put the board in a plastic bag. With the board, not on the board, put a piece of water wet bread! Close the bag up with a twistie and let it set for a couple of days. Over these few days the board will soak up the moisture relesed by the bread. That moisture will slowly go throughout the wood, not just the surface. The reason you use the bread is to keep the water from puddling onto the board.

Another easy method of restoring the moisture contents of a carving board is to take it with you the next time you shower in the bathroom. When you are done your shower, shut the door leaving the plaque in the room. A very dry board will soak the steam right out of the air.

Basswood is a favorite relief carving wood because it takes so much fine detailing without the grain lines of the wood desturbing the finished look of the carving. So when you want lots of detail, like dragon scales, go with basswood. When you want the grain to compliment the carving go with butternut!

Susan Irish



OK gang, being new to the forum. Can anyone point me towards the spell checker

[BobD]

Sorry Susan, We don't have a spell checker...at least I haven't found one yet. I've gotten into the habit of writing my messages in Word, spell checking them there, and cutting and pasting them into the message area...

Thanks for your advice on the basswood--i've use a similar trick in my humidor for cigars (when I still had a taste for them). I never though about using it with wood!

That project stalemated for a little bit for me...the hazards of writing for WCI means that I'm constantly exposed to new and interesting projects...and we just got a woodburner in the office and I want to play wiht that! With SSW always lurking around the corner--All this woodworking is seriously digging into my video-game playing time LOL!

Right now I'm roughing out Gunnar the Viking--my first caricacture (SP?) And I'm hankering to start a songbird and an Owl...and since I've been talking to Wayne Barton and Dennis Moor, I want to do some chip carving...and I'm working on an Intarsia St. Bernard...and I'm carving another spoon...and I'm working my way through Jeff Phares books on carving faces...and I'm carving another Raven in the Northwest Native American Style...and I'm planning to carve in some trees in my back yard...and my wife wants a dozen dovetailed boxes for the holidays, and several of my friends want scroll sawed puzzles...In addition to all the articles I'm writing...LOL

Bob