Beginner at wood carving - have a few questions

[llgallan]

I notice the wood carving section is pretty much empty, so I thought i'd post here.

I am new to wood carving, but I have built things out of wood before (mostly on construction...). I bought some tools from Lee Valley (just a basic set) to get me started. My question is about the type of wood I am using. I would like to mention that my goal in all of this (my first project...) is to make a mask, that would fit on a human's face.

For some reason, the type of wood I am using is black ash. From my understanding, this is a "hardwood". Any comments on using this wood for carving for my purpose would be appreciated.

The other question I had is that this wood is still damp in the middle. Is this OK for carving, or should I really let it dry out. I was thinking to reduce my block (about 4"x16"x8") to the shape I need (a smaller cube for my mask) and to chisel away a general shape of the mask, and then to let THAT dry up.

The previous questions are ones I cannot answer and I would really appreciate the advice of someone who knows more about it, so that I can get going on this. Thank you.

[Robbie@Napanee]

Hi, Your right Black Ash is hardwood. The problem with it is the grain. It's pretty wild and for carving that can be difficult. When carving wood you have take into consideration the grain pattern. It's always best to carve with it than against it or across it but it can be done with sharp tools.
Are you using power tools or chisels?
Good carving woods are, tupelo, basswood, pine, cedar, and I have seen some nice stuff carved out of butternut. Cherry is beautiful when carved and is a hardwood. You can carve any wood but some are better than others(easier).
I love carving. It gets me away from the basic super straight edges and acute angles that furniture building requires most of the time. I have a love for woodworking but decoy carving is really where I find my passion. Only problem is, it takes forever for me to finish a project; most times a year for each decoy. That's not full time. I have to want to do it or I find I rush things and botch'em up real good.*L*
Cheers, Robbie.

[llgallan]

Hi, and thanks for your reply.

I do have powertools, but am trying to do it all by hand (except for hole which I will start off with a drill). I have a dremel, but ideally i'd rather not use it to finish the project.

For now i've started a test project where i'm just carving out letters, and that has been going alright. Some feedback about the dampness of the wood would be good...

Also, what are the thoughts about how this mask (or other things) would look?

By the way, the tools I am using are from a carver's set. (parting tool, gouges, skew chisel). Any tips are appreciated.

[Edward G. Burlington]

:) Llgallan: You have some good advise on wood in the previous post, but to much moisture can be a problem as things can crack as the dry, so start with a stable piece of good carving wood. Practice pieces should be relatively soft until your hands harden, so start with some basswood, pine or butternut.
You should also have an idea of what you want to end up with. Are you doing some relief carving to hang like a picture or to add to furniture? Do you want to carve flowers, characters, scenes, etc. Have you seen anything you would like to do? If so start with that in mind and work up to it.
I started out with floral pictures with a goal of creating furniture Appliqué. At first I used hand tools (No dust masks necessary) but soon gravitated to power tools (lots of dust and certainly needs a dust mask).
I now am happy with my own technique and results, but it took a few years of trial and error.
If you can find a club to visit or join you may benefit from that for a while as well. It could help you define your passion.
If you would like I will send some pics when I get home. (post a request if you would like to see some)

Good carving

[whitecree]

You sau your black ash is still damp in the middle? This can be good AND bad.

Good, because it will be easier to cut. Greenwood is always easier to carve, and when working with greenwood, it is best to cut it roughly to shape, then hollow out as much as you can before letting it dry completely.

Bad, because a solid lump of green wood of any sort tends to crack very easily. Small cracks are not hard to glue up and fill in, but larger cracks will ruin your project.

My advice: Start working your mask while the wood is still green. Cut it down to the approximate shape, and dig out at least an inch from the back. In between sessions, wrap the wood in several layers of newspaper, then cover in plastic. This allows a controlled drying of the wood, so cracking is less likely.

I don't which tools you got from Lee Valley, but having dealt with them several times, I can almosr guarantee those tools are good quality. I've yet to see 'crap' from LV.

You may want to thknk about a good bent knife to assist with the hollowing.

[Edward G. Burlington]

llgallan: Didn't hear from you but here are a few pictures.

Edward G.

[llgallan]

Hi Edward,


I don't see any pictures. You can post them here or email them to me. My address is gmail, and my username is lucgallant.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I think then what i'll do is carve the general shape of the mask and give it some time to dry out. For a mask the size of a human's head, what would be the appropriate time to dry out? I guess you guys don't know what the current humidity is (neither do I!), so it is hard to tell, but any advice is helpful. Thanks!

[Edward G. Burlington]

Now I will try to send 3

Edward G.

[Edward G. Burlington]

Last Three...

Edward G.

[Edward G. Burlington]

Ll: As you can see you can carve in amost any wood especially if you use power tools. Currently I am doing mostly power carving and adding the pieces to my furniture projects. Generally adds about 8 hours per carving. I now have about 10 projects adorned with some level of carvings. Here is one we have at home that is in service.

Edward G.

[llgallan]

Edward,

those are some very nice patterns that you have carved out, very nice indeed. For now, my main goal is to do this mask, and afterwards I don't even know what I would be doing, it would have to be based on what I could give to someone or something.

[whitecree]

That is some nice work Edward! Cabinet work is beyond me - but I like to look at works in progress.

llgallan: what you carve will depend on what size of wood you have available locallay, or what you can afford to buy. Just be flexible and let your imagination roam. Do a Google search on "wood carving" and you will spend the next couple of hours wading through all the hits.

Drying time on your piece of wood, I'm not too certain about as I've never worked with ash. A piece of maple which has a similar density of the size you mentioned would likely be half dry in a day or two. If the temperature in your area is hot, then keep it in a basement where the humidity is higher and temperature is lower.

[Robbie@Napanee]

Real nice work there Edward. I once saw a rose carved into a pine raised panel door and really liked the appearance. Nice stuff.
Cheers, Robbie.