Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 27
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Melbourne knox
    Age
    59
    Posts
    60

    Default Is wood carving the scummy end of wood working

    It maybe just me! but i always get the impression from timber supplyers and others in the timber industry that they think wood carving is just a waste of timber, Even most wood supplyers seem to give me attatude when trying to source timber. Am I alone in this?

  2. # ADS
    Google Adsense Advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Age
    2010
    Posts
    Many





     
  3. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Garvoc VIC AUSTRALIA
    Posts
    11,464

    Default

    They are used to dealing with construction and furniture people and are not familiar with artistic woodies. I expect turners may have similar perceptions.
    Regards, Bob Thomas

    www.wombatsawmill.com

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Towradgi
    Posts
    4,835

    Default

    It all depends on where you go. As noted above, most timber suppliers are interested in the building industry dollars, not the art/craft market. I personally go to Brad's Burls at Penshust NSW. In Mexico try here for the Victorian Woodworkers Association list of timber merchants. The Tasweigens have this to say . . . Hope this helps!
    Pat
    Work is a necessary evil to be avoided. Mark Twain

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    SA
    Posts
    507

    Default

    Same with intarsia ... we don't use enough timber and we take too long to use it!

    Cheers
    Tikki

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Perth hills
    Age
    45
    Posts
    1,060

    Default

    You'd be amazed at what you can carve from a roof truss.
    Cheers,

    Adam

    ------------------------------------------

    I can cure you of your Sinistrophobia

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Christies Beach
    Age
    59
    Posts
    972

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MeTaBo MaN
    Is wood carving the scummy end of wood working
    Heck no!

    I am in constant envy of those who have artistic talents.
    The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.
    Albert Einstein

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Stratford, New Zealand
    Age
    61
    Posts
    734

    Default

    Small amounts.. unusual sizes.. they aren't really interested

    Have you tried making contact with anyone running a portable sawmill?. They would be able to cut unusual (larger) sizes and may have interesting types of wood. If they know what you are looking for they may be able to cut you short blocks from what is otherwise waste logs.
    Other option is to salvage your own wood from local trees, you will need a decent chainsaw and something like an Alaskan sawmill jig, but that will let you cut almost anything you come across into boards / blocks perfect for carving. You are going to have to dry the wood yourself, but air drying is pretty simple and all that you will need. Just takes some time.

    Cheers

    Ian

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Melbourne knox
    Age
    59
    Posts
    60

    Default

    Small amounts.. unusual sizes.. they aren't really interested
    Yep I thought that it might of been it.But since I buy ten sleepers at a time the garden supplyers love me :P hehe. I think thats why traditional carving will never be that big in Australia because of the timber is hard to source not to mention being as hard as concrete. You think that some of larger Timber supplyiers might try to grow there market and exploit some of the garbage offcut timber that can't be used in furniture or flooring making... Oh well just a thought.

  10. #9
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    brisbane QLD
    Posts
    16

    Default woodcarving timber and tool supplies

    Go to Lazarides Timber Agencies ,Big blocks in different species and carving tools and sharpening stones .www.lazaridestimberagencies.com.au
    Give them a go .they have about 80+ species of wood including turning stock

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Brisbane
    Age
    68
    Posts
    78

    Talking

    I have been beating my head against the wall for several years trying to keep up a continual supply of carving timber .I now have enough to keep me in projects for the next couple of years .
    Persist , persist , persist , good carving timber will not suddenly arrive at your shed door .The internet is the perfect place to track down timber .

    Couple of years back , I googled ' WHITE BEECHWOOD ' ( a particularly nice wood to carve ) I located several large boards in Pt Macquarie , the boards were 350mm wide X 200mm thick and 1 metre lengths , 8 boards in all .A fair wack of timber for not a lot of outlay .

    Make a goodwill contact at a timber yard or sawmill , so if anything of interest comes in you will be the first to know . However , NOT ALL timbers are suitable to carve and you will probably pay a good price for a block of a good size and specie .I quite often have friends and rellies tell me they have found a lump of timber for me .More often than not , the wood is rubbish BUT every now and then a pearler piece turns up . So keep the friends ands rellies onside !!Contact the local tree lopping services in your area , a mate of mine scored a truck load of mango , simply by bunging the tree lopper a six pack .

    Our desert hardwoods are great for decorative additions on carvings but you seldom find them in blocks large enough to do a large bust etc , and besides our hardwoods , are rarely without checks and flaws and they are a FAIRCOW to carve !!A couple of years back , I needed a specific timber which was only available from the US , so I imported 2 blocks , no problem .Here is a list of some of the better woods to carve :
    White beechwood ( local)
    White beechwood ( Solomon Islands)
    Chilean Myrtle
    Red Cedar
    Qld Walnut
    Qld Maple
    American Hickory
    English Limewood
    Tupelo Gum ( US)
    Tas Myrtle .
    Blackheart Sassafras
    Huon Pine .
    Fruitwood ( pear , apple are VG , cherry is good too )
    French Boxwood ( very good for fine detail but hard too get now )

    If you find a salesperson , disdainful of woodcarving , politely remind them ,that a carver of the Calibre of Don Powell , regularly sells his carvings for several thousands of dollars .One in particular that sold for approx $18,000.00 which was carved out of several different timbers that would not amount to more than a couple of coffee table legs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    regards
    Veebull

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Beauty Point.Tasmania,au
    Age
    75
    Posts
    19

    Default

    well i for one have never looked on woodcarving as the scummy end of the wood chain as myself and my father spent many a year in the saw mill end of wood in the late 50's,and like many timbermen,most have a deep appreciation as to what can be carved or found in the "Chunk"of wood,I find that if i take a few photos of what i carve,it helps.

  13. #12
    Join Date
    May 1999
    Location
    Grovedale (Geelong) Victoria
    Age
    74
    Posts
    12,183

    Default

    Scummy end.... You have got to be joking, it's the pinnacle, at the pointy end.

    Timber yards don't as a rule think that woodcarving is a waste of timber. They are however extremely likely to think that a woodcarver is a waste of their time. It is not uncommon for a carver to pull all the timber out of the racks looking for the perfect piece then ask for 600mm to be cut off for them from a 4 mt length and top it off by complaining about the price.

    Timber yards aren't all that interested unless you are buying a fair swag of timber. I often used to buy many hundreds of $'s worth of exotic timbers to be used for furniture carving and in classes. Because of this I never had a problem.

    The scummy end of woodworking? I paid $2,500 + $1,200 air freight for a piece of Hon pine to carve the 3 coats of arms for the Vic Supreme Courts and many thousands of $'s for mahogany and blackwood for the carvings in the ANZ bank complex in Melb. These 2 jobs, on todays rates would be worth well over $150,000. The scummy end of woodworking. I think not.

    Cheers - Neil

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    syney
    Posts
    19

    Default

    Dont know what you mean by scummy but at 80 years plus i still manage to pick scummy paying work .

  15. #14
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Central Coast, NSW
    Posts
    3,330

    Default

    Yep, I think the perception is that there is no market there. Add to this the fact that they probably realise that woodcarving is a dying art. It doesn’t appeal to millenials and Gen Ys, who are into instant gratification and not psychologically attuned to spending months of effort acquiring new skills with very little to show for it. Mostly it’s us Boomers who are interested and we’re not necessarily the group people want to build markets around.

    I used to belong to Sydney Woodcarvers group and every week a new person would turn up hoping to take up carving. I never once saw one of them come back for a second week. I guess it took one evening for them to realise they weren’t going to be a master carver in a few weeks.

    Hence no one importing or marketing woodcarving timber.

    Fortunately I like having esoteric skills so it doesn’t matter to me.
    Apologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Perth, Australia
    Posts
    1,813

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ubeaut View Post
    The scummy end of woodworking? I paid $2,500 + $1,200 air freight for a piece of Hon pine to carve the 3 coats of arms for the Vic Supreme Courts and many thousands of $'s for mahogany and blackwood for the carvings in the ANZ bank complex in Melb. These 2 jobs, on todays rates would be worth well over $150,000. The scummy end of woodworking. I think not.

    Cheers - Neil
    Got any pics of those pieces from ANZ and the Supreme Courts? Would love to take a look!

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Wood working or timber quiz 06/05/04
    By Ralph Jones in forum Woodies Quiz Forum
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 7th May 2004, 12:34 PM
  2. Timber & Working With Wood Show Melbourne
    By Neil in forum ANNOUNCEMENTS
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 6th October 2003, 06:03 PM
  3. Back to basics for me.
    By Ivan in Oz in forum TIMBER
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 1st September 2003, 01:46 PM
  4. Working With Wood Shows
    By Shane Watson in forum WOODWORK - GENERAL
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 23rd January 2001, 08:52 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •