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Thread: Bass wood

  1. #1
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    Question Bass wood

    G'day everyone

    I have been reading a number of American carving books lately, and the majority of them talk about Bass wood being a common and very good timber to carve. They also seem to use it a lot to whittle with.

    The timber I have been playing around with locally here in Hervey Bay is pretty hard (other than pine). I found the wood from the dead trees in our yard very hard. I attempted a bit of whittling, but could hardly dent the wood with a knife and thought it pretty dangerous. I have also damaged the edges on a couple of chisels I have used with it.

    Does anyone know of a similar type of timber to this Bass wood growing in Qld or even Australia which we can acquire?



    Cheers

    Grant

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  3. #2
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    Hi Grant,

    I do a lot of whittling and use a lot of different woods. A great deal depends on what you are making. If its basswood you are trying to get close to, try jelutong. It grows in tropical Qld and Indonesia. Its available from specialist timber merchants. Mind you, if your going to a timber merchant you might just want to try asking for basswood or english lime or linden (the european version of basswood). If that's too difficult to find, you could try poplar or willow. Both work well and are much easier to find as they grow wild in most of settled coastal Australia. They aren't native so most councils don't mind too much if you cut a bit now and then.

    I've attached three photos for your interest. The carved part of the first walking stick is made of Jelutong (the pipe is Jarrah) The head of the second stick is Willow and the little carved man is poplar (painted with acrylic paint wash).

  4. #3
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    Do you have paulownia there? its fun to carve! also would be easy to grow there I would think?

  5. #4
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    I have also been trying to find the elusive Basswood in Australia and have the same issues. Camphor Laurel is nice to carve (thx for the tip Wendy!).

    Paulownia is a growing industry here, havent carved it, might hunt some down. There are vendors on the forum.
    "We must never become callous. When we experience the conflicts ever more deeply we are living in truth. The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil." - Albert Schweizer

    My blog. http://theupanddownblog.blogspot.com

  6. #5
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    Default Paulownia

    Grant,

    From all accounts well dried paulownia is good to carve. One of my customers sent me a small sample of his work and it looks great both the subject and the finish. The problem is getting the timber in sizes that suit your requirements. At the moment sizes range from 25 x 25 mm to 200 x 50 mm. Anything outside this range is very very difficult to come by.

    John

  7. #6
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    hoop pine carves ok and should be easy enough to get
    Regards, Bob Thomas

    www.wombatsawmill.com

  8. #7
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    Thumbs up Thanks

    G'day All

    Thanks to everyone for your advice. I will chase around the saw mills here and see if any of these woods are available. I know we can get hoop pine, but the other types of timber are new to me. I have a friend knocking down a mango tree shortly. Does anyone know what this is like to carve? I have asked him to keep some for me on speck.

    I was a bit remiss when I posted my question. I was going to post an image of the wood I was relating to and forgot. So I have attached an image of my beginning to attempt a single maori spiral that I have started. I attempted to whittle it initially, but gave up and used chisels on it. This wood is like concrete but looks lovely when sliced with a chisel. I don't actually know what wood it is, but the live trees that the wood is from look like large tea-trees to me.

    Thanks again for the advice

    Cheers

    Grant

  9. #8
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    G'day Grant,

    Not sure of the spelling but there is a tree called Melaluka (phonic spelling) that looks a bit like what you describe. The wood in your carving looks similar too. I did a walking staff out of a piece a while ago... whittling with a pocket knife. Hard yakka! but the relsults were worth it. I attached a photo for your interest.

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grunter53 View Post
    Does anyone know of a similar type of timber to this Bass wood growing in Qld or even Australia which we can acquire?
    Grant
    Hey Grunter,
    my suggestion would be white beech (Gmelina Leichardtii) sp?
    used to grow up your way (up on the ranges) use it once and you just won't use anything else

    what if the hokey pokey is really what it's all about?

  11. #10
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    The melaluka walking staff looks great. The wood looks a bit lighter than the stuff I am using, but I guess the colour varies tree to tree. There was no way I could whittle this timber with a knife. I reckon you need a medal for your effort in creating your walking staff with one.

  12. #11
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    Hi Underfoot

    I have heard of the white beech you are referring to, but I am not sure what the tree looks like. I will make some enquiries and might have to get a book to identify what all these trees look like.

    My neighbour chopped up a fallen tree a few weeks back, he called white cedar. I salvaged a couple of small logs. The timber has a beautiful red centre with a white outside. I stripped the bark off and painted the ends to try and stop it splitting as it dried, but sadly each end split on both logs.

    I am stll looking forward to having a crack at carving it although it seems quite fibrous and may not hold detail very well.

    Thanks again for everyones input on this subject.

    Cheers

  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grunter53 View Post
    There was no way I could whittle this timber with a knife. I reckon you need a medal for your effort in creating your walking staff with one.
    I reckon I need to clarify before you get the wrong impression. First, my stick was a lot smaller in diameter than the one you're working on. Second, I used a draw knife to form the basic shape of the stick and to rough out the 'V' crest for the face. I only used a knife to carve the face itself. Finally, I used the end of a bench mounted sander and 40 grit paper to rough out the draw knife marks and 4 grades of paper to 880 on a penumatic drum sander to get the final finish before oiling and wax.

    I hope I didn't give the impression that the whole thing was done with a knife... that would be worth a masochistic award I reckon...

  14. #13
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    G'day Whittling

    I assumed you had only carved the face with a knife, but thanks for clarifying it.

    I was interested in the fact that you said that you used a draw knife to form the basic shape of it. I haven't used one before, but bought a second-hand draw knife the other day and was going to use it to remove bark off some of the bits of timber I have around. When you use it for shaping how do you support the stick or piece you are shaping? I have read that they were often used in shaping carvings like fish, but thought if you used a vice it would be pretty awkward. Also, do you have any basic advice in how to operate one of these things?

    Cheers
    Grant

  15. #14
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    Hi Grant,

    Yeah, I use the drawknife a lot as quite a bit of my work centers around walking sticks and staves. I always place one end of the stick in some kind of vice or holding device. Eventually you have to turn the stick around to get at the area that was in the vice.

    I have tried the european way of putting one end against a brace and the other against your chest, using your body weight to hold the stick steady, but I don't recommend it for any major stock removal. Even with something to pad your chest I find it awkward and uncomfortable.

    Tips for using a draw knife.

    Get it SHARP. This is not as easy as it sounds. The handles get in the way of a lot of normal sharpening and honeing processes. I find that if you can mount your honeing leather on a paddle board, you can take the hone to the knife rather then trying to take the knife to the hone. The same applies to stones... rubbing them across the knife while holding the knife still is easier than trying to rub the knife over the stone. I hope that makes sense. Its easy to demonstrate but hard to describe. If you are still not sure what I mean, say so and I'll try to take some photos to clarify.

    Associated with this is the bevel angle. The ideal angle will be dependant on the type of wood your carving but remember that you are using two hand and will be exerting at least twice the force that you can exert on a conventional knife. I tend to keep my bevels fairly steep to avoid blade damage. I also tend to favour a rounded bevel. This too is a matter of preference but I find that bevels that are too geometric tend to gouge the work. Rounded bevels give you a greater degree of control by making it easier to roll out of your cut. (see next point)

    Use the draw knife BEVEL SIDE DOWN. This will allow you to control how deep you cut by varying the tilt of the blade as you pull it toward you. If you try to use it bevel side up you will find the knife alway digging in and taking dirty great hunks out of your work. It takes practice to become competent but perseverence brings rewards.

    PAY ATTENTION TO GRAIN, especially on sawn timber where the grain may not be running parrallel to the edge of your wood. You may find that you have to change the direction of your stroke a number of times to accomodate grain. This applies to knots as well. Wood tends to tear out on the lee side of knots, therefore knots need to be aproached from both sides.

    Finally, as good as drawknives are, they cannot compete with modern power tools like Arbortec wheels for stock removal, especially when working in hard seasoned timbers like eucalypts and mallees. They are at their best in softer woods with relatively straight grains. Experiment. You'll soon learn what works and what doesn't.

    Hope that helps. Let us know how you go.

  16. #15
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    G'day Whittling

    Thankyou for the advice about draw knives. I have already sharpened it, but will put a slight bevel on the bottom as well, because I can see your logic in trying to prevent the blade diving into the timber. Should be an interesting exercise learning to use it properly.


    Cheers

    Grant

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