What is the best wood for carving?

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JRay

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I once made an attempt to carve an eagle out of elm, and I didn't get back to it for a couple months and found it to be cracking, therefore I never finished it. Is a certain species better than others. Thanks,
 
I supply hemlock and white pine to a local carver. I don't know if that is because it is good for carving, or because its cheap. She makes some cool stuff out of it though.
 
It depends on what you are doing with it, if carving wet, then a dryer wood is better, since it will move less.

If you are going to carve dry blocks then soft, straight grained woods like basswood and butternut. They are very forgiving and easy to use. Basswood is a favorite for painted carvings like decoys. Very boring grain though, sorta like plain vanilla.
 
Butternut is pretty, but tends to fuzz a little unless tools are sharp, cedar can be nice too but does split easy.

One thing to prevent cracking to tp put the finished work in the freezer for a couple months after working. The moisture is drawn out evenly and cracking and warping is limited.
 
One thing to prevent cracking to tp put the finished work in the freezer for a couple months after working. The moisture is drawn out evenly and cracking and warping is limited.

For turning greenwood blanks I will double bag in paper grocery bags and place them in a cool place, like the basement or garage floor. They dry sloser, so the wood moves less.

Don't know if it will work for fine cravings, but maybe if it's a roughed blank?
 
I just got done sanding some hemlock floors. I noticed it was very splintery. I also have some slabs drying in the yard and it is checking a lot. I don't see how that would be good for carving.
 
Almost any wood can be carved. A favorite around here is catalpa.:clap: :clap:

You took the words out of my mouth! Catalpa is a great carving and turning wood - interesting grain and VERY stable - very little shrinkage in any direction. I find it about as hard as basswood and not quite as hard as sassafrass. You would think the coarse grain would have hard and soft rings, but it's really pretty consistent.
 
The best carving wood is FREE wood! Cracking is a part of the deal when using whole logs. Put a kerf down the back to relieve some of the stress of drying. Also keep your carving away from heat sources,put a plastic garbage bag over it and turn it inside out every day so it won't get moldy. You can varnish it if you're not going to get to it for a while, then just carve it again. Basically, the slower it dries, the less it will crack.
 
dumb ?...sorry!!!

sorry guys, just seen a few responses from the north east,(Md.,W.V.) what is "Catalpa" wood? i've never heard of it??...(From southern PA.)
 
A work buddy of mine says that American elm is the best for carving, but you need to put some type of oil or varnish on it immidiately after carving.
 
A work buddy of mine says that American elm is the best for carving, but you need to put some type of oil or varnish on it immidiately after carving.

Never tried elm. It has an interesting grain - seems like it would be tough to carve. Now that I think about it, I think Peter Toth carved a large one in Wheeling about 30 years ago. I don't recall if he used chainsaws or not. I know he did a lot with chisels and gouges.
 
Carving wood

Almost any wood can be carved. A favorite around here is catalpa.:clap: :clap:
From my reading n study bass is the softer easier to carve but will not carry detail as well as catalpa, which is about fifty percent heavier and holds details better .l am trying to find some catalpa trims or drops from tree services around to experiment.
 
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