What kind of wood is good when doing wood carvings?

1. 67

   Stickyponyposted 12 years ago

   What kind of wood is good when doing wood carvings?
   
   What types of wood work and don't work when you're doing wood carvings. I love doing sculptures in clay and other materials and would love to start doing some wood carving but I could use some advice on what to think about when doing wood carvings.
   
   I want to do small sculptures in wood.

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2. 82

   Janis Goadposted 12 years ago

   Cedar is good.  It is soft to carve, smells wonderful, and has beautiful colours and burls.  You can see pictures and examples of carver Peter Ryan's work in yellow cedar on my hub "Husqvarna in Hope."
   
   Good luck, and have fun.  I hope you will post pictures of your project in a hub.

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3. 98

   Rochelle Frankposted 12 years ago

   A lot of carvers use Basswood because  it is very consistent and does not give you the problems of  some woods that have a strong grain.
   Jelutong and Tupelo woods are also good in this respect. If you have seen  a cross section of a tree, you have noticed the annual rings, which indicate seasonal growth where growth is slower in the winter and greater in the summer. The slow growing wood is denser, and the summer wood can be a lot less dense, especially in wet years.
   If you want to experiment with pine-- like sugar pine or white pine, you want to select a piece of wood that has a tight grain-- the rings are close together. This is especially true if you are using hand tools.  (Sugar pine can be a little 'sappy', too.)
   Some hard woods like Walnut or even Manzanita are very beautiful for sculpture, but they almost require power tools (and a good dust mask).  Look for my hub about Manzanita-- to see some of my husband's woodcarvngs.
   Make sure you know the qualities of your wood-- especially if you are making a lot of dust-- some of them can be toxic to breathe the dust.

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4. 56

   kmaskreationsposted 12 years ago

   I'm not a carver, but I do sell Cypress knees on Ebay.  We harvest them from our farm near the East Coast and from what I've read from carvers, this is one type of wood they seek out.  I don't know if I can put a link here, but read my hubs and you'll learn about them and see what we've got.  Good luck on your new venture.

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   1. 98

      Rochelle Frankposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, a lot of carvers like Cypress knees. I don't think my husband has ever used them, but we do see them for sale at carving shows.

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5. 85

   ChitrangadaSharanposted 12 years ago

   Rose wood and teak wood are considered good for carving, here in India. It is so exciting to know, you are going to try wood carvings. I just love wood carvings.

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