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Hi folks, in the past I have had two seperate hobbies...carving...ususally basswood Santa's or wood wizard canes from vines that I cut on my property and building rustic furniture (jelly cabinets, fireside chairs) usually from white pine that I rough up and treat to make it look antique. Now I wood like to combine my two hobbies and carve some details on the furniture. My question is what type of wood should I use to make the furniture. Sturdy enough to make furniture and still carve easily and hold an edge. The pine that I have used does not seem to cave well. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
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Re: furnitutre carving
How about poplar, cherry, or walnut? -
Re: furnitutre carving
I haven't carved it, but we have a lot of carved Teac furniture and hit as quite a bit of detail and has held up real well (like for over 20 years). I have no idea how it is to carve, availablity, or cost. Ours is stained Walnut and then oil finished, no varnish or anything and it has held the stain well. Even the heavy wear areas like where my arms rest on my desk have only lightened a slight bit. The teak is a very light colored wood so it must take stain really well.
Probably not much help, but it's a thought.Comment
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Re: furnitutre carving
Hi Greg,
White pine usually carves pretty good. some other choices might be poplar or aspen. I cringe to offer up woods like cherry or walnut for a rustic 'roughed up' finish but both carve well and finish beautifully. I've seen bass used for boxes and such but it is probably to soft for large furniture pieces. If you have a good source for white pine you might want to tune up your tools and try it again I've seen lots of fine work carved in it. Good luck.
DaveComment
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Re: furnitutre carving
Hi Greg,
You don't say where you are located but if you use pine you need to make sure it is northern grown white pine. Pine and basswood grow much faster in the south and have much coarser grain than the northern grown trees of the same species. I have carved some northern white pine and it carved well and held detail without a lot of problems.
Birch, aspen, and poplar are also good woods for carving and strong enough for furniture.
Good whittlin, Cliff
Charles City, Iowa
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Re: furnitutre carving
Does anyone know a good source for white pine?
Teri"Santas for the Soul" &&Original Carvings by Teri Embrey&&http://www.teriembrey.com&&[email protected]Comment
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