Got a question about some wood (osage orange) I plan on carving

[maxmwill]

While I'll be going to the introduction threads to formally. introduce myself, I wanted to ask a quick question or so.

I've be carving for a little while, picking the wood when a particular piece or kind of wood feels right.

I'm about to embark on another project.

I have a few large pieces of green osage orange wood, logs actually, I lopped off one of the trees growing on my property.

While I've carved a few smaller pieces out the same variety of wood, I've never attempted anything off fairly fresh cuts.

Could anyone tell me anything about osage orange, in addition to the fact that it's quite hard and has an interesting color about it?

[Mitchell]

Too dang hard for me!

Use the search function for previous discussion:

osage orange question

osage orange.

Edit - I added "osage orange" to your title so that similar titled threads would be linked automatically. These links are at the bottom of the page.

[maxmwill]

Yeah, I know it's hard, almost like rock.

I carved a piece of it into a small spoon for my wife-to-be(we have since gotten married), and I did it with all basic hand tools(saw, palm gouge, and some filing), and it was a tad tricky(when carving the bowl of the spoon, the gouge seemed to have a bit of a mind of its own, and did slip into my palm once or twice, which made for a few "exciting" moments, complete with attendant language), but I liked the end result.

I never realized that the dust could be poisonous, though.

My plan is to carve a love spoon with the piece I have in mind, and I realize that this is gonna take time.

[Old Scout]

Forget it!!!

[Claude]

Osage Orange, like any really hard wood, can be carved. Most people tend to use rotary power tools for it, along with a really good dust mask. Carving green, it will be a bit "softer" than when dry, but probably still not soft enough for a knife. Small chips and patience seem to be the order of the day.

Claude

[maxmwill]

Well, from my experiences with carving a small spoon, as well as an incense stick holder, and these were from pieces of osage that was fairly seasoned, I agree that small chips and copious amounts of patience are the order of the day.

What I'm contemplating is quite green, so I appreciate you letting me know that it might be easier to carve .

And I do have a dremel and good size burrs, but will be getting some dust masks soon.

[Donsexton]

I say with the right tools that wood is no match. If you use the correct holding device and tap full size gouges with a carvers mallet the wood will submit.

[maxmwill]

Well, what I'm used to is holding it in my lap, and carefully going to town, using my palm gouge.

In addition, I also plan on using rotary(dremel), with an assortment of burrs.

[jmischel]

I carved one of my little dogs (about 2 inches tall) in Osage orange. That wood had been air dried for several years and was, as you would expect, exceptionally hard. But with a sharp knife, small cuts, and lots of patience, I managed to finish.

Since you've already worked it with edge tools, I'll assume that you know what you're getting into as far as actually carving goes.

As you expect, the green wood will be somewhat easier to carve. You might have problems with cracking or distortion of the wood as it dries. When dry, Osage orange is very stable, but it has medium to high movement as it's drying.

You can reduce the effects by letting it dry more slowly. Whenever you're done working with it for a while, put the piece in a plastic bag along with a damp rag. Keep it sealed whenever you're not actually working with the wood. That way, it will dry more slowly and reduce the tendency to crack or warp. Others here have better information about working with green wood.

On the dust masks, I very strongly recommend NOT using those paper masks when you're using the power carver. I suggest that you pick up a respirator that has built-in filters. Harbor Freight has one for $20 or $25. It will do a much better job of keeping dust and other things out of your lungs. Also, I've found that my safety glasses fog up if I wear a paper mask. That doesn't happen with the respirator.

I do wear the paper mask when I'm sanding by hand.

[maxmwill]

Ok, thanks.

I appreciate the pointers.