[dixie]

being a beginner in wood carving I've just read a little about cypress knees and carvings.........a couple of months ago i was given quite a bit of cypress wood ....quite air dry from years of sitting......not rotten, and I'm wondering if this will be good for carving ?......since I have quite a lot of it I was thinking about using this very dry stuff for more practice than anything......weight size it was so light i couldn't belive it.....four quartered pieces from the same trunk, they are about 4 ft long and the largest cross section of each piece is at least a foot........each weighed under 75 lbs........that is light weight stuff.....I cut off a chunk as a bowl blank to turn on a lathe, but haven't gotten to it yet to see how well it turns......but this stuff is dry.......any suggestions for carving ?

thanks
dixie

[wade clark]

Dixie,
It carves great...it's easy being soft,it's just fair to ok on holding detail (again, soft). If using power tools, use a good dust mask. I get sinus headaches off the dust and have read that it can cause other health problems. It's worth carving, have fun with it!
Wade

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I just finished my first one and carved it with hand tools, carves great! I was wondering about getting some cut cypress for carving...let us know how it turns out!

[Thomp]

dixie
You mentioned cypress knees?, and from the demintions you mentioned i only suspect you have cypress planks?

there is quite a bit of difference in carving the knees or planks as to my experiances,,

the knees, and the big stump of the tree close to waterline are soft and spongy wood. easy carve with a very sharp tool, no grain, and very unforgiving if you let the tool get dull, much like carving styrofoam.

while the planks from the log, is much like sugar pine as to my experiance, with hard and soft grains. and some pitch

The wood is bug & desease resistant naturaly and causes sinus problems if you breath much dust, take precautions.. as others mentioned.

tupergum ot tupulo gum is another wet growth wood that is a favorite of duck decoy carvers in the south...
the stump end is all i heard is used 3-4 feet of the log, anybody know what they do with the rest?

[wayne culley]

hi dixie, carving cypress knees is a blast.don't let the lightness fool you though, it has to be carved with tools as sharp as you can get them. it does take a little more work than bass wood. but it is worth the extra effort. good luck, hope to see your work on the web. wayne

[dixie]

thanks for the info guys......haven't been able to check these posts in the past week or so and just caught up on your replies.......don't think that I'm not interested or appreciative, I am both.........I'll shoot a couple of pics of this wood and try to post to let you know what I have here.....pretty good size pieces, and don't think they will be good for much because they are so old and so very light........I'll see if I can't get them loaded to the site in the next couple of days......been up since 0330 today getting ready to run a route for a local post office this morning......cudn't sleep.........0330 is about the best I can do at times lately.....

dixie

[Thomp]

dixie,


dont let the age or lightness in weight of the cypress fool ya,
most woods harden with time, it may get a little more pithy'
it shouldnt be paperweight light but much the weight of same size of balsa.

i think you will find it to carve to the middle between balsa and sugar pine which is a lot of leeway i know but its hard to explain,,
but it should hold its form and be suitable to carve, but not maybe minatures.

just hang in there sharpen up your knife and get some experiance with it ...

thomp

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I would like to get some cypress lumber in anything between 2x2 up to about 4x4 to experiment with...if you know of anyone that sells cypress lumber let me know, thanks!

[Blake Lunsford]

I am working on my first cypress knee santa and am finding that some of the areas split and flake off instead of carve smoothly. Unfortunately it appears to be around the face area that this is happening. Has anyone had this problem carving Cypress Knees? I love carving them, and you definitely have to be very creative to "find" what you are carving in them, but the one I am working on has been a real blast. I'm just wondering why certain parts carve smooth, and I have a hard time getting a tool or knife through other parts.


Just wondering!!

Blake
Vacaricature carver

Carve On!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

try misting with water or rubbing alcohol..........helps the chipping.....also make sure the knife is "very" sharp!