[vic n]

I was wondering whether anybody uses green wood to carve? Are some woods better carved when green? I know the woods I buy for carving, basswood, is cured and maybe kiln dried, but some of you are out collecting found wood. Does that have to be cured? Thanks, Vic

[hobo]

vic what are going to carve ?

[Mitchell]

See the "similar threads" below for more discussion....although you may have to search a bit for exactly what you may want to know.

Emil Janel carved green wood.....most of his work turned out OK.....

As hobo mentioned (asked) - it may depend on what you want to carve. Many woods are MUCH softer and easier to carve when green or wet, but will split and check as they dry. There are ways to REDUCE the cracks (search on it, or look in the similar threads already mentioned), but it takes a bit of work and practice.

[vic n]

Hobo and Mitchell - Thanks for replying. The similar threads helped some. I really don't have a project in mind ..... more or less curiosity, I guess. There are lots of areas where a person could get some limbs or saplings for walking sticks and I was curious about curing. Looks like it kind of depends on the type of wood more than anything, and even then if care is used, I could keep the project from most cracks. I'll be out looking for mushrooms some day and spot the perfect piece of wood .... got to know what to do with it! Thanks, Vic

[Alice in Wonderland]

Vic I have carved wood in all stages ,I have never been fussy at what stage the wood was in, from green to 100 years old , you may have to change your carving technic I use mostly powertools and carve in the round
Alice

[Clifford_Parker]

Generally softer woods can be carved green with less chance of cracking or checking while harder woods are more prone to cracking if they dry too fast.

[hobo]

VIC N . The best time to cut green wood is when the sap is down.Even then checks sometimes will develop.Vic the general rule of thumb is a year per inch of thickness. Also cutting wood when the sap is down will keep the bark tight in most cases.With that said the wood should be stored outdoors undercover for six to eight months before bringing it n tha shop and avoid extreme heat at that.you also can wax the ends of the green wood a # of things will work for this.Also cut the wood a bit longer in case of cracks.also wood stacked vertically will speed the drying up horizontally will slower down . hope this helps .
HOBO

[Mitchell]

There are some more threads on how to keep carved green wood from cracking.....and many especially targeting walking sticks.

You can treat with pentacryl to reduce the cracks and/or keep the carved portion wrapped in plastic so that area does not dry faster that the uncarved part (to put it simply).

Polar, Sourwood and Sweet gum are three woods that carve much easier when green (from my experience).