Bear is Splitting

[catbird]

Hey guys, I bought the cutest chainsaw bear from a guy in Tn. about a month ago. I think he said it was red pine or white pine. Anyway, it is splitting on one side! It wasn't painted...it was torched and then a sealer was applied. It is outside. What can I do to fix him?

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

if it splits all the way thru, you could pin it back together with dowels and glue?

[AlArchie]

Mostly nothing! Most any carvings made from a whole log will split. It ads to the character of the carving. Some logs that are treated with Pentacryl or P.E.G before and during carving will resist splitting, but once they split, they are split!

Al

[catbird]

Somehow I can't get my mind around that. Do you mean, drill a hole from front to back and insert the dowel? Then keep a clamp on it until the glue dries?

[catbird]

Al, would you suggest staining the split so it won't stand out so much or is that useless?

[AlArchie]

That wouldn't hurt anything, and might make you feel better about it. As a bit of salve......and this probably is not true of everyone, but I've never seen a chainsaw carving that didn't split eventually and I've seen perhaps thousands.

Al

[GeorgiaCarver]

Al is right on. Stain it so that it does not look so bad. It will develop more splits for about the first year.

Be sure to reseal the carving every couple months for the first year. Keep it out of the sun for a year (shade). Also, be sure the carving is blocked up.

If you want you can check out my website, in the chainsaw carving page is a bear care sheet that I give to all my chainsaw customers. It might help.

Here is the link.... Carving care for GeorgiaCarver chainsaw carvings
Greg

[Hugh-P]

I might suggest putting the oil to it, fill the crack, and soak it with oil. This has worked for me.

[Capt. Bandaid]

I have been told that if the carvers will saw a groove to the center of the log, top to bottom when they carve it, it will not split elsewhere. I do not know if that actually works, though.