Orange wood.

[Ted Wooller]

Hello All.
I have just started to work on an orange wood stick - the first time I have used this wood. I cut it last year from an orange tree and it has been drying for about 12 months. My original intention was to carve a wood spirit into the stick but it is so hard that I might give it a rethink. It really surprised me as I always thought orange wood was quite soft. Anyway, anybody got any experience or hints on carving orange wood?

[Donsexton]

I carve orange wood when I can get it. I have a standing order with several tree cutting operators in my town if you cut down fruit wood trees bring me the wood and I will pay a negotiated price for the wood. It is hard but all fruit wood that I have dealt with is hard. Power tools don’t care how hard the wood is in fact some burrs cut better in harder wood.

[Marvin Little]

Ted, I have made stick handles out of osage orange and as you say it is very hard. It does hold details well.

Marvin

[Ted Wooller]

Well, I did carve a woodspirit after all - really nice clean wood to carve.
Picture of the finishe job attached.

[Dan Wegiel]

Hi Ted,
Nice job on the "spirit" stick!!!
Dan

[Ron T]

Hi Ted,

Nice carving. The wood may be hard but it holds detail really well. I carved a nice lemon stick and love the wood.

[Ted Wooller]

Thanks for the comments. Apart from olive wood, lemon and orange trees are really abundant here. I will certainly be looking for some more orange wood and Ron, I'll be giving the lemon a try too.

[Clifford_Parker]

Ted, as you found out, fruit woods are hard. My answer to hard wood is to simply slow down and take smaller cuts. If you are going to use a lot of harder woods it can be helpful to have a dedicated "hard knife" with a slightly thicker bevel or a secondary bevel. The thin bevel that is used for soft woods like basswood can dull relatively quickly if used on harder woods like oak, maple, or fruit woods.

Nice woodspirit and the orange is a beautiful wood. I prefer harder wood species for my walking sticks because of the warmth and beauty of their grain structures.

[Ted Wooller]

Cliff. Thanks for the information. Can you suggest a commercial "hard knife" that is available over the net?

[Ron T]

Ted, you can take a look at the knives at Little Shavers. If you like any of them and decide to buy one, Rick will sharpen it specifically for carving hardwood.