[Juhani]

I may have the opportunity to do some carving on some furniture for my brother. Mainly this furniture would be a foyer bench or something similar. My question is this. To make it easier to carve is there anything I can substitute for red oak that will be strong and hard enough to resist dents from normal everyday traffic past it such as a vacuum cleaner bumping it or whatever.

[mark yundt]

The oaks carve pretty nicely,,nothing I can think of to sub for them,,ash,,but it's just as hard. Thing is,,if you want a "hard" wood to resist denting,,it will also be "harder" to carve,,can't really trade off easy carving with hard wood,,at least none that I'm aware of.Easy to carve=softer wood basically.Cherry makes some fine looking furniture,,carves nicely but it too is fairly hard,,as well as birch.The mahogany species is one of my favorites,,fairly firm,,not quite hard,,subtle grain but great color,,then again,,if you were asking about oaks for their grain,,which is really pronounced,,then there isn't too much that will match it.It's always a trade off with these things.What is it you plan on carving in it anyway? Is it really detailed,,or fairly simple designs?

[AlArchie]

Pierre St.Marie posted an article on a wood substitute ealier, that may suit your purpose. Pierre left the forum, I think, because he didn't get a response to his "Lost Prarie Chronicles" postings. Too bad, he was an interesting guy with quite a bit to offer, but....anyway, I dug around and found his post on the wood substitute.

If you can find his posts, check out some of the sign work he has done in this material....grain has to be carved into it, though, but it looks like you can emulate just about any type of woodgrain in the stuff.


http://www.precisionboard.com/

Al

[mark yundt]

Maybe I missunderstood,,,I thought you were looking for wood that looks or acts like another wood but is just easier to carve.
I have used the stuff Pierre used,,its basically a dense foam board,,most signs are made from it today,,It's a cinch to carve,,nothing to it..,very stable,,holds paint ,,doesn't expand or contract,,basically beats wood in those ways,,but you can't make furniture out of it,,It's a harder version of the insulation board you can see at any home improvement center,,but I don't really think this is what Juhani had in mind.

[Juhani]

Sorry, I was out of town for a couple days. Basically my brother asked if there is something that could be used in place of oak to make the carving easier but yet not get dinged up just by looking at it. I don't think he would want the precision board. Not a big deal to do the carving in oak, from the sounds of it that probably will be the easiest route. I have yet to see a pattern of what he wants but it sounds as if it will be a fairly simple design.

[VAwoodcarver]

Well some hickory has a similar grain to oak, but is one of the hardest woods (and heaviest, 49-52 lbs per cubic foot) But when ive carved red oak ive had alot of splintering problems. White oak carves better in my opinion. But it depends on the piece of hickory, some looks like oak some doesn't. You would probably put a darker stain on to make it darker and look more like oak.
Good luck finding the wood your looking for.

[Juhani]

First bench started and hopefully finished by the end of the week. Will post a picture when done. Two more waiting in the wings. Went with the red oak and it seems to work just fine. I have noticed also some splintering issues if I try and take a bigger bite. I have just been taking my time and havent had too many problems to work through. Other times that splintering has been an issue is when I get too much of a hurry making stops cuts around thinner areas. We (being me and my brother) may end up doing all sorts of different woods if things turn out. (Getting a little scary if you ask me......being a newbie and all) Thanks for all the replies.

[mark yundt]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you (and your brother ) have been up to.

[Juhani]

"hopefully finished by the end of the week" I made this statement without thinking ahead. oops! It was my wifes birthday yesterday and my sons today. Thankfully I remembered in time and was able to get dinner and such planned. So if I get this thing done today it will be late in the evening.

[Juhani]

Pictures will be posted in the WIP section