[miket]

have any of you used southern pine(shortleaf pine-pinus echinata sp.) for a full in the round carving? i am not talking about white pine or sugar pine- i mean the native pine trees down here.(arkansas) i was going to use a full log of 12 inches or so in dameter and 4 ft. tall. the southern pine lumber doesn't carve detail very well, but i wouldn't be doing a detailed carving,(a full sized heron), since it would be set outdoors.

[Paul_Guraedy]

Mike, I have carved a couple of pieces out of southern pine. It is terrible stuff. There is a lot of resin that plays havoc with tools, especially burrs. But the main problem is the difference in hardness between the dark and light wood. It is even difficult to sand without the dark wood ending up raised. Then the finale is the look of a finished piece. Are you intending to paint your carving? If not the lines of dark wood may be so busy that they take too much attention away from the overall piece. If you plan on displaying it outdoors, pine does not do well exposed to the elements.

[hruukki]

Hi,
About logs in general: I read somewhere they can warp quite a lot when they're carved and subsequently dry up, and crack, ruining the piece. One idea is drilling away the heartwood - but I cannot tell how much to drill, not having worked whole logs (Oh I have carved a head out of applewood. It cracked and got ruined ). Worth finding out before you try it.