# What type of wood is good to carve big sculptures



## fireman

hey guys what type of wood is the best to carve large sculptures bears eagels ect.we have alot of pine oak willow elm maple.I was wondering what wood does less checking and easier to carve and last longer.Im a newby and going to start carving soon.thanks


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## carvinmark

Most of my carvings are from White Pine. Checking will occur in most all carvings that are in the round. I like to let the logs sit for a while before I start to carve so they will start to check, then you can try to make the worst checking towards the back of it. Keep the carving out of the sun when you are not working on it.
I did a Red Oak totem in a guys yard and that is holding up very good. Black walnut seems to work good too.
Good luck and have fun.


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## fireman

I have alot of customers looking for tree carvings in my area please pm me if you are interested Mc Henry Illinois


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## carvinmark

PM sent.


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## twoclones

fireman said:


> hey guys what type of wood is the best to carve large sculptures bears eagels ect.we have alot of pine oak willow elm maple.I was wondering what wood does less checking and easier to carve and last longer.Im a newby and going to start carving soon.thanks



Forget willow and elm. Western cedar would be my first choice but sycamore is quite good if it's been down or dead for less than 2 years. After that it's hard as stone. Oak carves very nicely before it dries. I've recently carved a huge silver maple that was pretty nice in spite of having been dead for years. 

Given your choices, I'd stick with the pine and oak. 


Butch 
www.WoodHacker.com


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## (WLL)

white pine is very good carving wood and should be all over your area


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## Tree Bones

Not sure where you are but out west here Cedar, and Redwood are the best. Monterey Cypress lasts a long time but is different than the eastern Cypress. We have sugar pine and that is real good but rare and highly prized for many projects


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## teacherman

*Time to try wood carving*

Well, I guess it's time to get off the fence and see if I can carve wood like I did stone years ago. I have a 6' tall 30'' diam hackberry stump in my front yard. It's starting to punk some but may still be carveable. Any suggestions as to a possible subject? I was an animalier when I worked in stone and bronze. I might try a bobcat. Do you folks make a clay model before you carve, or do you just carve direct like C. Brancusi did? When working in stone, I found it helpful to work in clay first to get the anatomy and design elements dialed in the way I liked it, then the carving was more of an execution. I have a feeling wood carving is a bit more freeform than rock, but that's the experience I have to draw on.


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## RobbinW

*What type of wood for carving large or small?*

Hi All, I carve almost any type of wood & willing to giove any type a whirl! I am located in Ontario, Canada & mostly carve maple of all sorts but have used Weeping Willow, Elm, Walnut, Oak & when on the West coast carving normally Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir or Pine is the most common out there. The typw of wood used for carving determines the speed at which it can be dried to limit cracking. It seems the larger the cells the slower it has to be dreid & I have learned many tricks by experience & also the finish used makes a huge difference also. This photo shows a Black Panther carved from Weeping Willow & is much like carving watermellon but if treated right it is as good as any other wood out there & the Willow has some of the nicest grain, almost like a birds eye swirl in it!
View attachment 76670


View attachment 76672


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The Panther is finished first with epoxy then 3 coats of black acrylic enamel. THe Griz is carved from hard Maple & finished with epoxy & automotive polyurethane enamel clear coat.
Thanks, Robbin
http://www.robbinsamazingart.com


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## carvinmark

Nice work Robbin.:greenchainsaw:


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## buzz sawyer

Any one work with silver maple?


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## twoclones

*Silver Maple*

This tree is Silver Maple. It was easy carving... 
http://www.spiritbrothers.com/amon/phpslideshow.php 

Butch


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## fireman

*carving*

that is some beautiful work wow two clones and robin that is amazing so detailed it is perfect.


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## spankrz

out of the wood that you listed, i would go with the pine. popular works well also. my favorite wood to carve is katalpa, but its hard to find around here.


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## buzz sawyer

spankrz said:


> out of the wood that you listed, i would go with the pine. popular works well also. my favorite wood to carve is katalpa, but its hard to find around here.



Hadn't thought about but Catalpa sounds like a good idea. I know it's good for handcarving. Ought to be fairly easy sawing too. Takes a good detail and is supposed to be a good exterior wood.


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## spankrz

one wood i forgot is hemlock. i got a bunch yesterday for carving and it reminded me. it's a little better than pine. the best part about hemlock is that when it cures, it doesen't change as much as other wood.


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## chipr

twoclones said:


> This tree is Silver Maple. It was easy carving...
> http://www.spiritbrothers.com/amon/phpslideshow.php
> 
> Butch



Hey Butch. I was bouncin around woodworking sites and there you are. Glad as I am to see winter leave? You gonna be in Milton for logs to frogs this year? "Chipr" Walla2


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