Thread: One of my first attempts at relief carving

Very well done. You have chosen a very difficult timber to begin with however.
Radiata pine is certainly cheap but it could present you with discouragement. which would be a pity as you are off to an excellent start. Any timber can be carved but some timbers will be more compliant to your efforts and more likely to reward them.

David, thanks for the reply. I understand that basswood is somewhat of a preferred wood to carve, but I have found it very difficult to come by. Do you have any other suggestions for carving woods? I live on the West Coast of Canada if that helps. Also, thanks for the encouragement, I am really enjoying carving so far!

Originally Posted by gcconspiracy

David, thanks for the reply. I understand that basswood is somewhat of a preferred wood to carve, but I have found it very difficult to come by. Do you have any other suggestions for carving woods? I live on the West Coast of Canada if that helps. Also, thanks for the encouragement, I am really enjoying carving so far!

I had assumed you were from Australia and had used Radiata Pine. We know Basswood as Lime and it's fairly expensive here. I have used Rock Maple which is one of your timbers and it is one of my preferred timbers, but then I prefer very hard timbers.

I think you also have some softer types of maple. Walnut should be good and though I've never used it poplar might be a fairly cheap and easily carved timber. You might also want to test out the local knowledge. I wish you well with your future carving.

Thanks again for the info, I will seek out local knowledge and keep my eyes open for the types of wood you have mentioned!

I don't know very many Nth American timbers either, dispite being a Canadian myself. (I escaped in 1973). One I have used for whittling is called Eastern White Pine and I found that very good for a lot of things. Yellow cedar is also supposed to be quite good... not unlike our Huon Pine.

There is a guy in your part of the world that would be able to be much more specific. His name is Rick Wiebe and you can contact him here if you want to.

www.woodcarvingbiz.com

I've used some Yellow Cedar, it's not bad to carve but is quite a bit softer than and not as fine grained as Huon (doesn't smell as good either