Easy Carving Wood

[Dale Critchlow]

I have a friend who has been an excellent carver for many years. However, his is now in his early 90s and his health and his carving ability are failing. He is looking for wood which is very easy to carve. He has tried Vermont "bass wood" but it is grainy and he has a difficult time and gets frustrated.

What type of wood should he be using? Where is a good place to buy it? He needs a piece about 8" by 12" by 1". I assume we would have to order it over the internet.

Thanks,

Dale

[Mel Fulks]

In the area you are in north eastern white pine should be easily found. If you are going to order something sugar pine might be a little easier for him.

[Karl Andersson]

If the grain is close to quartersawn and the rings are close together, Douglas Fir is easy to carve as well as Radiata Pine, both of which you can usually find in the construction lumber at Home depot or similar; you just have to get the right grain and have very sharp tools for the soft wood. It would be an inexpensive experiment at least. Look for rings that, from the end of the board, are as close to 90 degrees as possible to the face of the board.

Butternut is a little harder and very easy to carve, and has a nice dark color; Soft Maple (broadleaf maple) is similar to basswood in hardness but doesn't "fuzz" as much.

[Alan Schwabacher]

I'd try basswood again. It sounds as if what he got wasn't.

[Mike Pounders]

heinecke is the best basswood. http://www.heineckewood.com/

Send them an email regarding the size and quantity from their catalog on their web site and they will ship you the wood and your bill. Great people to deal with and excellent basswood for carving.

[Dale Critchlow]

Thanks Mike. I will pass this information on to the carver.

Dale

[Morey St. Denis]

Suggest some other readily sourced domestic alternatives he might also try: Tupelo wood (aka Black Gum) and Linden are also well known for their low hardness, light weight and uniform properties that lend frequent use to hand carving application. For something with more pronounced color variegation and interesting figure once you get into it 3-D, he might try Sumac wood; exclude the pith. Typically going as Staghorn Sumac, readily distinguishing it from the highly allergenic "poison" Sumac tree.

[Jess McKenzie]

I agree with Alan, despite the first results: Basswood--and really sharp tools--is the way to go.
We have some 8/4 basswood that, so far, has worked like a champ.
Send me that gentleman's mailing address, and we'll mail him a 12" length of it.
Our treat. Don't forget the sharp tools!!
Anyone older than 82 is our kinda guy... ~jess, AF5X @olypen.com

[Joe Butler]

heinecke is the best basswood. http://www.heineckewood.com/

Send them an email regarding the size and quantity from their catalog on their web site and they will ship you the wood and your bill. Great people to deal with and excellent basswood for carving.

I can only second what Mike is saying, great people to work with . .JoeB

[Dale Critchlow]

Hi Jess: Thanks for the offer of some basswood. Unfortuneatly, he passed away a week or so ago. He was in his early 90s. He kept carving up till the last few weeks. They moved his carving bench into his bedroom. He did some great work. He kept his tools very sharp. He sent them out to get them sharpened professionally.

Dale

[Earle Conklin]

Hi Dale, My favorite carving wood comes from the rubber tree, called Jelutong. Easy to carve. I use it for small 3d caricatures. For relief carving projects I like to use clear pine, not kiln dried.