[Thomp]

obtained a 5" dia. section 5 feet long, dogwood log

question, is this wood something i should hold on to and treasure for carvability or something to cut it into bark on disks for displaying my carving caraters on..
shouldnt be that hard to cut the cross section with my 10" mitersaw at 30 degreese to make ovals, about 2 inches thick...

thoughts or other ideas welcome.

[Paul_Guraedy]

I have not carved dogwood, do have some put back for future work; but, it was used to make shuttles for doing weaving. This because it was a dense wood that could be sanded down really smooth and lasted forever. To me, this would indicate that it is a pretty hard wood and would probably be best carved with power. At the same time, I can imagine it being wonderful for bases, especially when kind of quarter sawn as you are indicating.

I would take a piece and try carving it. You can always cut your ovals later.

[Doug Ridley]

I once used Dogwood to carve the tail curls on a Mallard drake. Best I remember it is very hard and tough(that's the reason I used it) and I believe it would be pretty hard carving with a knife. Might be okay with mallet and chisels, but if I were going to carve it I would think power. My $.02

[Thomp]

Sounds like it would make a better mallet than a mallard HAW~!

my son said he removed it becuse it was dead, its mighty heavy for dead wood i was thinking it might still be full of water.

apperently im to lazy to carve hardwood, cuz im still working on them christmas orniments i started of rick-in-seattles design from little shavers web site i made from birch so carving hardwood wont be the way for me to go.

[dutchmanmk3]

As a carving material the most unusual quality of Dogwood is that considering it's hardness, and density it cuts VERY Well. It also tends to finish out well. Much harder to come by these days ! I would suggest letting it slow cure but I'm not sure how that will work in your location.

[Thor]

My son has a longbow made from dogwood.
Thor

[Lightningbolt]

I love working with dogwood and have used it extensively in making walking sticks and using it for a "base" for mounting other carvings. Surprisingly it does cut quite well when carving in a woodspirit considering how hard it is.

I didn't use it for walking sticks for many years but I got tired of passing up what were some perfectly straight saplings so I started fooling with them. Yes, the wood is dense and very noticably heavier than all the other woods that I typically use for making walking sticks such as maple, birch, sourwood, you name it. The shaving horse provides the easiest solution for this since it allows me to shave the stick down to a more acceptable hiking stick weight but the wood is sooooo heavy that these sticks are noticably smaller in diameter than the regular sized sticks. That's ok since the sheer strength of dogwood makes up for the smaller size.

Oh, that dogwood polishes down to such a wonderful creamy luster and softer than a baby's butt!! A lot of times that creamy white is streaked with a reddish color that is breath taking! The dogwood sticks sell quite well too.

I also keep a healthy "stash" of dogwood in larger diameter's for turning on the lathe. Once again, all that I can say is ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, I love it and can make a pro out of an otherwise clutz. Gosh I've even cut my dogwood into small boards with the bandsaw then run them through the planer for some very unique woodworking material. It's really neat to hear folks reactions when you tell them that a certain board laminated into their project is dogwood!

Like other woods it will crack up on you so I'm always rotating a fresh stash of air dryed limbs, roots, and saplings so that I always have some cured wood to work with when desired. Yes, dogwood is a favorite of mine!

[Thomp]

Thanks for all the information and suggestions, ill use the information obtained well..
we are covered with wild dogwoods here in central lousiana
As for slow cure, ill chop off the apperent season cracks and paint it with latex house paint and store it in the loft of the barn, hopefully ill remember to weigh it and mark each piece with its own weight before storing it so ill know when its ready for use in the future, simply weigh it and see how much water it has lost. the summers comming and 6 months in that loft would dry anything were relitevely high in humidity but the tupergum live log reduced in 6 months

[woodcarver55555]

I have carved some andhad no problems. I have seen several mallets made from dogwood. And I mean mallets with BIG heads, like 6 to 10 inches in dia. and 3 foot long handles.One had been in the family for over 100 years.

[Thomp]

Dogwood i know is one of the woods suggested by the dude that stars in the eglectic workshop with the bandsaids...covering his hands by the end of the show... jock underhill?.
for use with a fro when splitting shingles or such, the root end is left on the mallet a club looking affair, but the root end with its tangled grain is great for weight and hardness he says