liquid amber

[schaf]

I just asked this question on a thread in general wood turning,maybe I should be asking a wood carver.
What are the characteristic's of Liquid Amber to carve ?.
soft, hard, is it brittle,does it hold detail.
I have a log cut last week and the owner of the log would like a statue carved straight into it.

many thanks
terry

[schaf]

Looks like no one has a clue in the wood carving department.
I will find out as I go.

Terry

[springwater]

Looks like no one has a clue in the wood carving department.
I will find out as I go.

Terry

g'day Terry, I haven't any experience working with Liquid Amber but think it highly likely that you would be met with some splitting unfortunately. I did a search for <Liquid Amber> on the WWForum which indicated some favourable and some not so favourable responses, the worst being the thread in Wood Turning General where you asked your question, the heartwood was obviously the problem. A google search didn't throw up much except for a spoon carver.

If you persevere, good luck.

[schaf]

Thanks Springwater. Yes,it seems to be the general opinion on the wood turning page that the heart wood is a big problem with splitting.
Maybe it is not a problem if the heart wood is still sealed in the centre of a carved statue.
Terry

[Toymaker Len]

Hi Schaff I have been using liquidamber for a long time. It is nice and stable and easy to cut though I don't know about carving I think it would be very good as it doesn't tend to split or chip. However the idea of sealing the centre inside a carving might not work because all timber shrinks more on the outside of the log than the inside and this causes the outside to split. But it would be an interesting experiment. Good luck with it.

[ribot]

My recolections of L A are that it's an easy timber to turn and looked like a reasonably quick growing timber so not so dense a timber.
I have always stayed away from heartwood so can't help you there except to say I don't like your odds at keeping it free from splitting regardless of what you do to it.
cheers

[schaf]

thanks fellows,I will give it some more thought and let you know the outcome.

Terry