Thread: Basswood

Wish you all the best Section1, hope you get home soon.

Terry

I appreciate that Terry

How are you, #1 ?

Now, not only are you a wood buyer but you are a carving wood buyer. You have little choice now but to try to kill two birds with one stone. The qualities of carving wood are somewhat beyond decent wood for cabinet making (as I will call your clock enclosures). You get carving wood, you will have cabinet wood.
Experiences:
I often stand in the wood store, staring at what I might buy. Some clerk always comes by to ask if I need help. I've learned to tell them right up front = " I'm a wood carver. Looking for something that I might buy." Hopefully, they will leave me alone.
What am I looking for?
I need straight grained, knot free wood. The color play is esthetics. For the kinds/species of wood that I'm interested in, possibly 15-30 growth rings/cm is good so take a magnifying glass. A little spit on the end of a board helps a lot.

The guys that I'm likely to run into are other wood carvers, natives in particular. It's been a real treat to talk wood with them. . . then they run off to see if there's more wood like I'm buying!!

I chanced upon a website for a Tasmanian "piner", licenced to harvest Huon. He had a picture of a great pile, labelled 'craft wood.' Fantastic! Somebody cares! By contrast up here, nobody gives a sweet rat's patootie. Last year's tone wood harvest in this timber supply area was 2,000m^3. Most of that went to Yamaha, National and Martin for guitar tops. Industry took 500,000m^3.

So, PM when you feel better and have any questions about what to look for. I'm a retired wood science/wood anatomy prof. (PhD LaTrobe, no less)
Regards
RV

Many thanks for your offer, I came home from the hospital last night as beds are a shortage and the cliental lists are long. The pain is ecruciating but what's worse today I received my LN no.7 jointer which I couldn't take for a spin. I hope tthis bloody stone comes out soon I have so much to do I'm afraid I won't meet the dealine.

I do hope things sort out soon. I got REALLY sick in early June, had no choice but to cancel all plans for everything and work at getting better. Here I am 6 weeks later and my R side ribs still hurt to cough.
STAR, Whittling and I got a wood carving tool sharpening thread going.

I've been spewing so much that I'm coughing up blood now, I just can't handle these bloody drugs they've given me. That's why I don't drink anything that makes my head spin I become ill.

But on the brighter side of things please do tell where can I find that thread of yours

@ Section1, Schaf, Robson, Whittling, Star and Durham.... everyone who has replied in this forum.

Thank you so much for this information, exactly what I have been looking for. I also have been looking for an alternative to basswood for chip carving. Burleigh is just over the hill from me.

I will also be going to Masters for some White Beech. Like Section I have been checking out the Barton books/videos and desperately want to have a go at some chip carving and also relief carving. I only signed up on the forum today and ... tahdah... all the questions I had have now been answered. I will be picking up my FlexCut carving knives and some chisels on Wednesday (my day off) from CT. I will now also be able to get the right wood. I tried to use some pine from Bunnings and was very disheartened with the result.

Hope you get well soon Section

Cheers for now and thanks again.
Aubrey

Originally Posted by Tauby

@ Section1, Schaf, Robson, Whittling, Star and Durham.... everyone who has replied in this forum.

Thank you so much for this information, exactly what I have been looking for. I also have been looking for an alternative to basswood for chip carving. Burleigh is just over the hill from me.

I will also be going to Masters for some White Beech. Like Section I have been checking out the Barton books/videos and desperately want to have a go at some chip carving and also relief carving. I only signed up on the forum today and ... tahdah... all the questions I had have now been answered. I will be picking up my FlexCut carving knives and some chisels on Wednesday (my day off) from CT. I will now also be able to get the right wood. I tried to use some pine from Bunnings and was very disheartened with the result.

Hope you get well soon Section

Cheers for now and thanks again.
Aubrey

-----------------
I know that Masters have Poplar but did not know they have White Beech, not to worry if they do not, it can still be found.

Good luck.

Pete

Hey Tauby, welcome.
Most of us live in places where there's little or no direct help available.
So, we have taken to helping eachother through experience.
This thread and the sharpening thread may read really chummy & clubby but that's due to the wildly popular number of contributors!

Woods: I've done a bunch of shallow relief carvings in poplar. Blocks for wood cut printing that I won't get to until our winter settles in again (November?) It holds reasonable detail and should be OK for chip carving.

Pine can be done if the density of growth rings is high (1mm each or finer) from slow growth. Still it splits like crazy. Just takes longer to understand what you can and can't do in the wood (sizes and depths of cuts, directions, etc)

I use western red cedar (Thuja plicata), local abundant and free. Dreadful for splitting where and when you least expect it. I've learned a lot about that wood so I don't come to grief too often any more..

Thanks Robson and Star.

I have tried Masters for white beech with no luck. If they definitely sell poplar I might try that instead.

One more sleep and I get my knives and a chisel or two... yay

Hi Tauby,
Welcome to the forum. Yes Masters sell Poplar, but only in 12 mm and 18 mm thickness, various widths. Ok for chip carving or shallow relief. They also sell as a dowel up to 50 mm dia, which is big enough for small cariactures.
Hope you enjoy the forum and would like to see your work in time.

Regards
Terry

Originally Posted by Tauby

@ Section1, Schaf, Robson, Whittling, Star and Durham.... everyone who has replied in this forum.

Thank you so much for this information, exactly what I have been looking for. I also have been looking for an alternative to basswood for chip carving. Burleigh is just over the hill from me.

I will also be going to Masters for some White Beech. Like Section I have been checking out the Barton books/videos and desperately want to have a go at some chip carving and also relief carving. I only signed up on the forum today and ... tahdah... all the questions I had have now been answered. I will be picking up my FlexCut carving knives and some chisels on Wednesday (my day off) from CT. I will now also be able to get the right wood. I tried to use some pine from Bunnings and was very disheartened with the result.

Hope you get well soon Section

Cheers for now and thanks again.
Aubrey

How did you go with the White Beech?
I have several Slabs of it approx 600mm wide 1.2m long and 75mm thick.

Was about to cut it up for carving blocks but if you would like a solid slab give me a PM..


Cheers


Steve