which woods for relief carving

[BullRunBear]

I finally can get back to some carving (amazing how life gets in the way of important matters) and would like to try some small, low relief carving. Any suggestions as to which woods are appropriate?

I'll use hand tools, not power, exclusively and some simple patterns to learn with: a flower, outline of a dog's head, etc.

I have some pieces of yellow birch, poplar, and white pine. Are these appropriate? Other thoughts?

Thanks for any help.

Jeff

[carver33]

Although Basswood is probably the preferred wood, of the three mentioned, the Poplar is probably the better choice. I've done a number of carvings in poplar, and it's not bad - a little harder and a little stringier than Basswood, but with sharp tools, it works and holds detail very well.

[Dicky]

I agree with Bill. I have used those mentiioned plus Elm, Beech, Oak and Maple as well as a few exotics. The harder woods are tougher to work but they force you to take smaller cuts which makes for smaller errors (or design changes as I have seen them called).

[BullRunBear]

Bill and Dicky,

Thanks for the help. It will let me save the basswood, which I can't get in town, for whittling and the wife's in the round projects. I do have some nice Honduran mahogany but I'm keeping that for special (non-learning period) efforts.

I started whittling again. Simple things like balls in a cage and the 5 minute wizard, which takes me a LOT longer than 5 minutes. But it is absolutely enjoyable and provides peace of mind. I'm hoping some simple relief carving will give the same kind of pleasure. Best of all, the only thing I have to lose is a few pieces of wood.

Jeff

[carverwood]

If you can,, find some butternut. It carves like butter and I love the grain.

[carver33]

Butternut is beautiful wood, but...

It can be a good choice for fairly high relief with very pronounced detail and separation, but may not be the best choice for low relief. I've seen relief carvings in Butternut where the grain pattern overwhelms and obscures the detail of the carving. It might be OK for a relatively simple or high relief carving, but might not be the best choice for a low relief carving with any amount of detail - something to consider.