Seasoned wood?

[James_m246]

Ok so I want to have a go at carving wood for the first time and have been reading up on it, in doing this I discovered that the wood needs to be seasoned which when done properly takes AGES!

So my question is how or where can I get my hands on some readily seasoned wood so that I can get stuck in?

 

[woodmunky]

I'm in exactly the same boat there James... also looking at starting!

 

[Montivagus]

If you really can't find standing dead wood...to dry...or you think you can't use green wood and hot oil the results.... you can go to somewhere like Axminster and pay a pretty penny for their carving wood!
E-bay also
Your local builders yard if your starting
Have you heard of Yellow pages?

 

[woodmunky]

What would be the best woods for carving would you say? got a few timber yards near me, might try for some off cuts!

 

[woodmunky]

Dont think i could carve much out of a yellow pages

 

[Montivagus]

What would be the best woods for carving would you say? got a few timber yards near me, might try for some off cuts!

I've mostly got experience with uk species so there's a whole world of wood I have no idea about.....but from my own experience I found ash a really good wood for starting out on, not too soft not too hard. Now with a bit of experience I really love to use oak first and foremost but really like beech and willow too. I've tried to carve all sorts of other types and really, as long as the wood is not too soft, I enjoyed using them and have nice things made of them all. Two foreign woods I've used are rosewood and olive both are stunning!

Dont think i could carve much out of a yellow pages

 

[Marts]

Depends what you are carving, but there is no reason you can't use green wood - for instance if carving a spoon you can rough out the blank while green and then let it dry fully before finishing it . This helps speed up the drying process as there is less wood to dry.

Alternatively one of the best carving woods to use is lime. You can pick up suitable seasoned pieces for a few pounds from www.axminster.co.uk

 

[James_m246]

How long roughly do you think it would take for say, an 8 inch ash spoon to dry?

 

[Marts]

How long roughly do you think it would take for say, an 8 inch ash spoon to dry?

Once it's roughed out - a few days

 

[James_m246]

Cheers, I'm gonna go find some wood now and my spoon knife should be delivered tomorrow.

 

[weaver]

Carving wood in the green is much easier. When you have it roughed out, soak it in alcohol for a few days then put it in a brown paper bag or roll it in newspaper to slow the drying. In less than a week it is done and ready to smooth, add any details and put on a good coating of oil. Done this way it will not crack from the shrinking that drying too quickly usually causes.

The best wood for spoons that we have in the States is Sycamore. It does not absorb flavors from food nor impart any into the cooking. Next best is Hard Maple then White Oak.

Any hard wood is great for carving, the closer the grain the better detail and smoother finish it will take.

 

[mick spain]

When carving wet wood you can stabilize it with some stuff called Pentacryl, It stops wood cracking while it's drying and when your working it, just give it a soak. it works well

www.msknives.net

 

[James_m246]

Also is wood from your local DIY store any good for carving?

 

[weaver]

Hadn't heard of it so I checked their web site and found this. So, don't use it on spoons.

Q: Can PENTACRYL be used on salad bowls and eating utensils?
A: Although PENTACRYL is considered non-toxic, it is not registered as food grade. Therefore, we cannot make any claims that it can be used on items intended for use with food. We are however, working on a food grade PENTACRYL.

 

[Montivagus]

A less hassle and less toxic way of treating green wood
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=15398&highlight=splitting+headache

 

[James_m246]

Cheers for all the help guys, I think I'm on track now.

 

[ilan]

phone your local tree surgeon or any one that advertises fire wood ? dont forget the obvious skips are a good scource old beech table legs /furniture . however a walk thro the local woods would normaly give somthing to pratice on .

 

[James_m246]

Come to think of it theres a house not far from me thats always selling sacks of firewood out the front.

 

[Biddlesby]

If its a particularly hard wood you are carving it is much easier to work with when green, so being green is a virtue. But these tend to split more readily i find when drying out. Ironically, of course, softer woods don't split, but they are soft so you do not need to carve them green and let them dry!

 

[jojo]

Hi James AS you live in Gorleston, you could try North Heigham Sawmill in Norwich. Thet have quite a large selection of woods, both native and some tropical as well. They have a shop where you can look and pick what you want from. They even have bowstave wood, Hickory, Box and Lemonwood
http://www.northheighamsawmills.co.uk/