Wood types for carving

[Ropdoc]

Hello Folks,

I have been stressing over the best types of wood to use in the Carvewright. I have never put time into thought over this. But now is the time. Below is what I have. I started putting them in order of favorites. Starting with best down to worst. Please change this as you see fit. My goal is for me to setup a list so when I purchase wood I get the best. And then below that is Grain structure.

1. Ash - good - WOW.. came off looking like a mirror... but have to watch for splits

2. Elm - good

3. Cherry - very clean, very consistant grain... very little prep before finishing

4. Walnut - great

5. Maple - great - Nice, very clear.. doesnt show much grain... but nice finsh

6. Hickory - great - inconsistant color, but much like Ash

7. White Oak - better, carves alright

8. Oak - looks great on bigger detail... grain is open, therefore chips on tiny stuff

9. Poplar - a little furry... needs fair amount of work before finishing

10. Pine - great - very furry, tears easily, plus deep detail tends to chip due to softness (not alot of grain, but lets the detail come through better)

11. Birch - got some haven't tried it yet

12. Red Oak - bad, to much cell in the grain


Any species of wood with a closed grain structure works well, while a very open pored wood tends to chip more. Below is a list of each:

Closed Grain Woods. Below are examples
Cherry
Naple

Open Grain Woods. Below are examples
Oak
Walnut
Mahagony

[TerryT]

Most hardwoods will carve well. Oak, however, is my least favorite as the grain can often hide or camouflage the detail of the pattern. One wood that is beautiful and carves great with hardly any cleanup is aromatic cedar also called eastern red or virginia red cedar. It carves very crisp and clean. It isn't really a cedar but a juniper I think.

[cestout]

Try Alder. Kind of a foe-cherry but less expensive and more consistent color.
Clint

[TerryT]

Clint, you are right on. Alder carves well and looks great stained in walnut and cherry.

[ladjr]

I agree White Oak usually need to be sanded, and seem to dull bits

[toddreed]

i have found a black locus with a 24 inch butt cut if any one knows any thing about this wood let me know

[dehrlich]

i have found a black locus with a 24 inch butt cut if any one knows any thing about this wood let me know

You will find that Locust, either honey locust or black is very hard to machine. Especially a butt cut will be harder... on the order of mesquite. Will probably make a good carving though, but I would make sure you do it slow. I've never carved it but I am a lumber dealer and furniture builder that has dealt with it before.

Darren Ehrlich
www.kansaswood.com

[badbert]

I will add Hemlock. It seems hard and machines nice. The Antique shelves I recycled had been stained with something that went deep into the grain. When I machined off the top layer the color stayed in the pulp. It made for seriously marbled grain. At first i thought it might be something spilled. But nothing I know of could completely penetrate a 2" thick board. I think it might have been some colored spalting. Regardless, the grain is outstanding. But would be too powerful for something with a lot of detail.

[toddreed]

I havent tried the black locus wood yet but is very pretty wood. I did make a box from cherry and its the best wook i have found so far. There was no sanding for a perfect finish

[unitedcases]

I am a fan of sapele. It cleans up well and holds details very well. I just carved this today. In the past I have used oak and it is just a bear to finish. But this piece of sapele will not take long and requires no stain. Just poly.

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