[cedarshavings]

Which wood do you recommend for carving natural finished "smoothies"?

[cedarshavings]

I think this thread got lost in the shuffle, I'm still looking for some advice?

[William]

From your handle you may have already tried this but I think the grain in Atlantic White Cedar looks good with a natural finish. I have found bad spots inside the block with no visible signs on the outside but sometimes they may even add to the carving.

Bill
^v^

[Alice in Wonderland]

I think most of the Hard woods or Cedars are good for keeping carvings natural I have used just about every wood except Basswood, and everyone has some quality on can appreciate.
Alice

[cedarshavings]

Thanks,
I was under the impression that cedar might split or checker.

I like that duck Bill. Did you add stain to get the color in the right places or is that the coloring of the cedar,,,if that is what it is?

Steve

[William]

You are right Steve, cedar is a soft wood and can splinter if you are carving against the grain but with a little care and sharp tools it's a pleasure to work with. When you said "smoothies" were you referring to a waterfowl smoothie?

Many decoy carvers use cedar for working birds because the wood will resist rot and it floats well. A decoy or shorebird smoothie will be like the Oldsquaw in the picture with no raised wings or texture, the illusion of depth is done entirely with paint and most carvers will use basswood.

Most of the bird is the natural color of the cedar and I had planned to use thin washes of acrylic for the black and reds but before I got that far I bought an airbrush and could not wait to use it. I used blue painters tape and paper to isolate the painted areas and held the brush at a distance and gave it just a dusting of color but not enough to hide the grain.

HappY Trails
Bill
^v^

[cedarshavings]

By smoothies I just mean any carving with a slick smooth form and not carved detailing, such as your duck. I'm thinking of doing some small animal like a bear or maybe a giraffe. I can see how basswood could be carved to a smooth finish but wasn't sure about some of the other woods that have a prettier grain that would show through.

[Just Carving]

Steve,

You may know this already but I cover it anyway since it was a big help to me in carving red cedar.

Think of wood as a bunch of toothpicks compressed together in a block. Now, if I was holding a bunch of toothpicks and tried to push a super sharp tool through the side of those toothpicks, it would slice cleanly through those toothpicks. If I tried to do the same with a not-so-sharp tool, the result would be a ripping, jagged cut. If I tried to push the tool throught the end of the tooth picks, the toothpicks would in all likelihood--sharp tool or not--separate the toothpicks and result in a ripping cut.

So, my point? Just a bout any wood can be carved for any application. It's a matter of learning to work with that particular wood and having super sharp tools. So, I would take a piece of cedar and play around with it--see what happens when doing my explanation of slicing through wood. Also, bear in mind--not every piece of wood is the same. I have even experienced a complete difference of results when carving two pieces of red cedar from the same board. Every piece of wood can be different--even basswood.

Hope this might be of help. IF you knew this info. already, hopefully, it might be useful to someone else.

Bob L

[cedarshavings]

No Bob I've never heard it put like that before and it makes good sense. I appreciate that.
I've got an actual cedar log that I wasn't sure what to use it for so I might just try to get it cut up to use.
So from these replies I've gotten cedar has been the topic. It is a pretty wood no doubt. What are some other popular woods that are carved and left natural, not painted because the grain really sticks out and makes it pretty?

[BobD]

Butternut is another good choice for stylized carvings (that's what we call carvings like you are talking about at the magazine to separate them from bird-carving smoothies). I also like Spanish cedar (it's called cedar, but it's more closely related to mahogany).

Bob Duncan
Technical Editor