wood for duck carving

[miket]

i want to carve a decorative(not decoy) duck but i see almost all blanks are tupelo. apparently almost all ducks are power carved; but i want to use my hand chisels and i have heard tupelo may be a problem for hand carving.is thiscorrect? i dont want tospend 40-50 dollars for a blank and then find it won't carve to my satisfaction. does anyone know of a source of duck blanks made of basswood?

[slivers&dust]

The Woodcraft Shop www.thewoodcraftshop.com has Basswood blacks for a Canvasback, Green Wing Teal, Mallard, Wood Duck and a 1/2 size Canada Goose

[miket]

thanks silver dust for the info on basswood duck blanks-am i right to avoid tupelo if i am not going to power carve the blanks but use only hand chisels and gouges?

[Clifford_Parker]

Originally Posted by miket

am i right to avoid tupelo if i am not going to power carve the blanks but use only hand chisels and gouges?

You might be "right" for you but Tupelo is the traditional southern wood for decoys and was hand carved LONG before power carvers like Foredom and Dremel were even invented. IMO, avoiding certain woods because they are "hard" or "difficult to carve by hand" limits your experiences and, since I carve to explore my artistic side, I want to learn as much as I possibly can.

[squbrigg]

Tupelo does carve better with power, Basswood would be my choice for edge tool carving. You could also use Clear Pine or Eastern White Cedar, depending on availablilty, as they are old time standards for duck carving.

Bob

[RUssL.]

Last year I was looking for the same thing, a modest priced duck blank.
I was pointed in the right direction right from this board:

http://www.slimswoodshed.com/carving...dsandducks.htm

I have yet to carve it. It was a 13" Mallarad for $14!
They also sent a nice diagram to carve by.

RussL.

[miket]

thanks fellows for your replies on the tupelo- slivers and dust-sorry i mispelled your handle-can't read w/o my glasses on !!!!!!

[falconer]

You can carve tupelo,however if your going to carve with a knife you should have an ultra sharp curve knife blade about 2 inches to "slice" the wood. Never try to carve tupelo like basswood as the grain and fibers will seperate. Slicing is the key. You can also carve tupelo wet, which makes it easier to carve. When your finished for the day just put the wet wood in the freezer to keep it wet. I know it sounds funny, but, that's the way the oldtimers used to carve tupelo. Thats our history lesson for the day!!


www.sierracreekstudios.com

[miket]

falconer: thanks for the info- based on these replies i think i m going to stick with a basswood blank since i will be using carving chisels.