205 articles in the archive · page 9 of 18
In depthAugust 30, 2024
Does dense wood float?
Fresh water weighs 62.4 pounds per cubic foot. A wood lighter than that floats, a wood heavier sinks, and the water still inside a board can move it across the line either way. Density figures from 68 of our own wood pages, and what they mean at the bench.
In depthAugust 30, 2024
What is the lowest density wood?
Balsa weighs nine pounds a cubic foot at twelve percent moisture, and the USDA prints about ten pounds for the same tree because it weighs the wood bone dry. Nine species are laid out with both units, and then the reason I choose limewood has nothing to do with weight.
In depthAugust 30, 2024
What is the densest wood ever?
Densest wood is not one settled answer. Real numbers, real sources, and what a heavy board does under a gouge. Shall we carve?
In depthAugust 30, 2024
Is thicker wood better for Carving?
Thicker wood buys depth, not safety. Real 8/4 and 16/4 numbers off my bench, and the thinnest I dare carve.
WOOD for Wood CarvingAugust 30, 2024
Is Alaska Paper Birch Good for Carving?
In depthAugust 30, 2024
Why is wood carving dying art?
Is wood carving a dying art? A master carver on what really shrank, where a CNC stops dead, and who fills his classes now.
Everything above is free and stays free. The courses are where I put your hands on the gouge and watch what they do.
See what is inside →
WOOD for Wood CarvingAugust 29, 2024
Is Birch alder-leaf Good for Carving?
In depthAugust 29, 2024
What boiling water does to wood, and what it quietly ruins
Heat plus water softens the lignin in a cell wall, so boiled stock squashes 25% to 30% along the grain and keeps a curve. It also darkens, lifts the grain and leaves the piece a shade weaker. Here are the real times, the real temperatures, and the three places a soak costs you.
In depthAugust 29, 2024
How long does wood take to dry for carving?
Drying wood for carving can take up to a year for each inch of thickness. Different woods dry at varying speeds based on type, density, and environment. For best results, slow and steady wins the race. Basswood dries fast, oak takes longer. Always check the wood's moisture level before carving.
In depthAugust 29, 2024
How Do You Seal Wood After Carving?
Oil, wax, shellac or lacquer on a surface full of shadows. What each one does to the hollows you carved, and how I finish a relief panel that lives indoors.
WOOD for Wood CarvingAugust 29, 2024
Is Beli Good for Carving?
In depthAugust 29, 2024
How do you know if wood is good for carving?
The board is already on your bench. Six checks I run before I trust a plank with a design, and the one fault that sends it straight back on the pile.