Birch & Maple

[shane_c]

Are birch and maple good woods for carving with? What characteristics do they have? If I was to get some from the woods how long should I let it dry out before using it?

[AlArchie]

My opinion.........neither birch nor maple are woods that are very good for carving. Now, as to why I feel that way. They are both HARD!

Here's a quallifier for that opinion. Both birch and maple can have extrodinary grain features and you may find some highly figured pieces. These can be used to do some exceptional work with pieces that will show off these features. Birds, fish, free-form, animal relief can all be fashioned from the figured wood and produce very beautiful results.

The caution here is that the grainy pieces are very hard to carve, and usually, not always, but usually, best worked with power. Keep your patience in your pocket when working with these harder, grainy woods......you'll need to use it a lot!

So I guess my answer to your first question is yes........and no.

If you rip those logs into workable size pieces, allow six inches on each end for checking or cracking, seal the ends and figure one year air drying time for each inch of thickness. If you're bold and patient youcan get some really nice work out of those woods!

Here's a couple fish I did in birdseye maple

Al

[Old_Gord]

In general I agree with Alarchie, but ....here's a web site of a carver that uses Birch for most of his relief carvings. His name is Bill Judt, Bill also started what is considered by many in the woodcarving community as the first internet woodcarving mail list, it's still going strong after about 7 or so years. He also is an author of a number of books on relief carving, published by Fox Chapel
Here's Bill's web site if you want to see what can be done with relief carving using Birch.Smile

http://www.wwwoodcarver.com/homebase/homebase.htm

Cheers.

OG

[Clifford_Parker]

I love birch for carving walking sticks. It isn't too hard and carves quite well. Maple is harder but still makes a beautiful stick when carved and stained. I carve both with hand tools and haven't pulled the last three hairs out of my head yet. For sticks both need to dry with the bark on and ends sealed for a while to reduce checking. Birch is a "catch-22", it peels wonderfully easy when green but can check badly, when dry it is stable but extremely hard to peel.

[wade clark]

They're both great woods! If you're after natural beauty, maple is incredible! Carve with sharp tools and strop often, because maple will dull those tools quickly. Few softer woods will hold the detail that harder woods will. Maple's one of the hardest!
Hard woods are considerably easier to carve green, and there are lots of opinions on how to keep them from checking (cracking) as they dry...everything from keeping them wet, freezing, deep frying, keeping the wood oiled until the oil has replaced the moisture, microwaving the carving, and several I don't remember or never heard of...I was told that old time wagon builders would shape wood green and bury it in a creek bed or a horse manure pile for several months, til it cured.
Back to maple and birch: It's beautiful and will make beautiful carvings with sharp hand tools, or power tools, with perseverance and persuasion. Try a piece and have fun!
Wade

[AlArchie]

Maple I.D.
Here's a link to an earlier discussion of "Hard" vs. "Soft Maple".

There is also white (paper) birch, and yellow birch. White, we all know, but it usually isn't available as lumber. Yellow birch grows considerably larger and is usually what your cabanite grade lumber is cut from......it's hard.

I'd still not recomend either for a starting out carver or as a first material to work with, but as mentioned above, they do have their niche.

Al

[mikeg]

I've got a related question for you more experienced carvers. Shouldn't you have a steeper bevel on your tools for "Hard" hard woods as opposed to "Soft" hardwoods like basswood or butternut?

mikeg