I've been doing some wood carving here lately. I work with rough cut pine and aromatic cedar but would like to try some other types of wood. I usually do my carving on stock about 2 or more inches thick. I want to try carving something with Spalted Maple or something else with some really striking contrasting grain.....Any suggestions? and has anyone tried to buy wood online?...Did you receive quality pieces to work with?
I've bought exotic cutoffs from Bell Forest before. Most of them are either thin long strips good for cutting boards or blocks for turning, but you could always glue them up for bigger pieces. I'm not into carving or hand tools, though. I'm sure it'll be a different beast once you get into hardwoods. Pine and cedar being softwoods are easy to work with. I heard basswood is a decent wood for carving.
Basswood/lime/linden (all the same thing basically) is one of the best carving woods. Walnut carves well but requires more force. edit: since maple is a softer hardwood that is a logical progression too.
I believe it's @Corrosion who does some really nice stuff, someone on this bbs. I do things, but I'm not that good.
I a lot of exotic wood stuff from furniture to lathe work ... Check out the link in my sig for our Instagram for examples. We're also on Facebook & Tic Tock Pecan is something that's readily available , dirt cheap and can turn out some spectacular pieces. There's a guy who runs a tree trimming business that sells firewood on craigslist and I get logs and process them into usable lumber. This guy's on the north side but I'm sure there are others if that's out of the way for you. Those logs would probably be ideal for carving , he usually has oak , pecan , peach , pear and plum and maple. Once in a while odd stuff like mulberry. You can leave there with a truck load of wood for a fraction of the cost of lumber and you aren't limited to 2x2 pieces. Here's a link to his add .... https://houston.craigslist.org/grd/d/post-oak-firewood-for-sale/7167130080.html
I have no talent for anything like that, but I do pay for good woodworking. A guy chainsawed this for our lake house
@Buck Turgidson has me pegged from years on this BBS. I have no talent whatsoever. (My grandkids would disagree, but what do they know)
ok might as well ask in this thread..i am looking to make a "home" sign for my front yard like the one from clockwork orange: no durango 95 unfortunately.. this is basically a wood box with lettering and light inside. i have the light , black paint ,and i have the translucent part for the words. im not a diy guy and i think it would be relatively straightforward for someone to make but easy for me to say..i have no concept of how long or effort. anyone know where i could get something like this custom made?
What you are asking for appears to be the inverse of what was done in this video. How tight is your budget for this project?
yes the inverse would be one way.. in many ways its a black box with one side that has the letters.the light is connected by extension cord so more the box than anything.. the letters could be a big square the blacked out to show the letters. i will pay for the wood too. as far as budget..no idea..it probably more the mess with it mindset and who wants to or can.. i suppose $150 labor might be enough to be worth a hour or so. i dont know. i expect the light to be stolen but that doesnt change the labor effort. maybe make 2? thank you
Believe it or not , yes. Commercially pecan is expensive but sourcing it from people who would otherwise throw it away or burn it .... yes , Its dirt cheap. I can walk away from that place with a truck load of wood for ~$50. If I bought that from a commercial source , It's easily ~$1500. Then again , I have the tools to turn those rough logs into useable lumber .... those aint cheap. Bandsaw , planer , jointer I probably have $12k invested in those three tools alone and I'm considering buying a "sawmill" to make slabs for acrylic river tables and other projects. That's a pretty big investment tho ....
Can we be friends? Are you using that wood right away or letting it air dry for a couple years? Unless you got a kiln...
double sided or single side ? Not all that complicated , I'd do it ... What dimensions you wanting ? TBH You might be better off doing that out of metal or acrylic so it doesn't weather.
Your momma the best wooodworker I know. First she got me hammered. Then she nailed me Then she screwed all my friends Nothing says claththy like Sylvester the Cat.
I usually let it air dry before processing , on rare occasions I'll rough out a green piece of wood on the lathe , then let it dry out and finish it just to get a "warped" finished product. Yeah , you have to plan ahead some , have this batch ready while the next one is drying out. But it sure beats the hell out of paying $18 a board foot. You'd be surprised how fast it dry's out in a hot Houston garage ....
