help please.......sycamore & cherry

[running bare]

hi all , can any one help me??
firstly . how do you identify sycamore???
secondly. is cherry any good for carving and if so is it better green( a couple of weeks old) or seasoned?
thanks for any help you can give


tom

 

[wolf]

hi there ,sycamore leaves look like maple leaves,ie the leaf on the canadian flag.the best place to see them are over run places ie railway embankments,this time of year the sycamore are dropping leaves,and some left on the tree are tinged with red,not to be confused with a field maple,which is splendid aray of red this time of year,also the sycamore has the famous helicopter seed pods.hope this helps a little....

 

[JoshG]

hi there ,sycamore leaves look like maple leaves,ie the leaf on the canadian flag.the best place to see them are over run places ie railway embankments,this time of year the sycamore are dropping leaves,and some left on the tree are tinged with red,not to be confused with a field maple,which is splendid aray of red this time of year,also the sycamore has the famous helicopter seed pods.hope this helps a little....

Yeah I think those helicopter seed pods are your best quick identification method.

 

[running bare]

cheers guys,is there a way of checking with the bark as well?? and any idea about the cherry question?????


tom

 

[JoshG]

cheers guys,is there a way of checking with the bark as well?? and any idea about the cherry question?????


tom

Sorry man I don't know about the bark or cherries too much, my identification is pretty poor. But if you want a field guide kind thing I highly reccomend Collins gem "Trees" book. It's pocket sized and absolutely perfect for the amateur, but it doesn't rely solely on bark identification, but it's still an excellent guide.

 

[running bare]

gr8 mate. i'll get 'er indoors to have a look see in whs


tom

 

[Fenlander]

Cherry is a hard wood to carve, but gives great results Work it green as it will make life a lot easier.

If you let me have your email address, I will send you a Sycamore fact File from a project I'm working on, which includes pictures of leaves and bark

 

[rich59]

cheers guys,is there a way of checking with the bark as well?? and any idea about the cherry question????? tom

Sycamore bark is distinctive by its smoothness. Not glossy, but no ruts (like oak), and no regular pattern (like cherry).

I think cherry can be calved. Take a look at http://www.archcarving.com/Carving/carving.htm .

 

[running bare]

cheers rich, carving looks fantastic, i can barely carve a toggle let alone anything as ornate as that!!!! but seriously great info . thanks mate,i was just wondering coz i got a couple of bits when they cut some local cherry trees down,i couldnt bare to see it go to waste.



tom

 

[Eric_Methven]

Cherry is good wood for carving but it is dense. Carve it green whenever you can. If it's thin branches you have, they make great spoons. You'll get a lovely colour and grain especially when you oil them with vegetable oil. All the fruit woods make great spoons and of course there's no problem with eating with them. None of the fruit woods are toxic. Sycamore is best for carving spoons and bowls though - no taste residue and a clean white wood.

Eric

 

[running bare]

cheers eric i picked up a trunk about 12" dia 48" long. and a few branchs. pure lil' suzuki swift didnt no what hit it the wife wants stepping stones for the garden but i'll try to con her into making bowls it seems a waste of beautiful wood. baught a chainsaw from netto today for £50 dont expect miracles from it but it'll take hard work out of cutting the trunk

tom

 

[JoshG]

Cherry is good wood for carving but it is dense. Carve it green whenever you can. If it's thin branches you have, they make great spoons. You'll get a lovely colour and grain especially when you oil them with vegetable oil. All the fruit woods make great spoons and of course there's no problem with eating with them. None of the fruit woods are toxic. Sycamore is best for carving spoons and bowls though - no taste residue and a clean white wood.

Eric

What is hawthorn like for carving? It's not the sexiest wood ever but there's a green belt directly behind my back garden and the stuff is abundant, as is elderberry, are either of these woods nice enough for spoonage?
Cheers,
Josh.

 

[Eric_Methven]

Josh, I've never tried either for carving so don't really know.

Tom, I really hope you also have safety gear to go with that chainsaw. I've been using one for many years and have seen some horrendous injuries and amputations.

Eric

 

[swamp donkey]

Elder is a great wood for carving . A nice clean wood best carved green, hardens off pretty quick. Only one thing to remember it has a pithy middle so choose a bit that will allow you to get a spoon bowl out of half. Has a tendancy to trick you because often the pith does not go straight

 

[Jack]

Sycamore is a very underrated wood, to me it is has everything going for it, rapid growth, straight grained, grow any where and light. You just don't want it in your coppice as it will soon become the dominate species as it is very invasive and casts great shade. Some would say that in habitat value, it second to Oak..........now that is, saying something!

 

[Fenlander]

I carved this out of Cherry wood. The colouration is due to my use of Walnut oil to seal it

 

[running bare]

eric ref safety gear no i havent. but if i get hold of the little b****** charvers that put my back windscreen in at 1.30 this morning no end of safety gears gonna save them from this lil' baby!!!
sorry guys just had to let off steam every slice of cherry trunk was one of them... very theraputic really..calmed me down no end after all i value my freedom too much and chances are if i did do anything to them ( im not talking serious harm ) i would be the one that would get a greater punishment

tom

cheers for the ears, soz for blowing off. know its not bushcraft and hope it never happens to any of you guys

 

[running bare]

fenlander that is one sweet spoon out of curosity when you carve a bowl or spoon which way does the grain run? obviously with a spoon it runs along the length but what about bowls??


thanks

tom

 

[Fenlander]

fenlander that is one sweet spoon out of curosity when you carve a bowl or spoon which way does the grain run? obviously with a spoon it runs along the length but what about bowls??


thanks

tom

I have only made small bowls, but use the wood as with a spoon

 

[Kepis]

Got some Hawthorn a few weeks back, quite nice to work, wonderful grain, a little tricky to split straight i found, but this may just have been the bit i had, when i split the log it naturally follwed the grain and i ended up with a spiral, still i carved yet another spoon out of it, now looking at making something ornate for the garden, lounge or kitchen with the larger of the two halves that will incorporate the natural spiral.