This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

[SantaCarvinLady]

8) Oh, alriiiiiight. Somewhere in another post, I was popping off about the pine lumber that I use for most of my carvings. Somebody said just wait til she uses basswood...and of course, I said, no, never...I like the pine too much.

Well, the basswood thingie stuck with me ???...kept nudging me...hmmmm...maybe I SHOULD give basswood another try...a fair shake, so to speak - everyone seems to love it....

:Well, I bought some.
:-/Then I stared at it for another few days.
8)Then I broke down and started hacking at a piece....
then another....
then another.

:Yeah, let's see...it does carve nicely....
mmm hmmmm...does hold detail well...
well, there are no knots, not much character to the grain, something I do like about pine......
but of course, this does carve so nicely....
:-/well, we'll just see what happens when I paint it. Probably won't take paint the way I want it to.....

oh. hmmmm. really??? hmmm. this is nice. this basswood soaks in the paint very nicely....nice washes....hmmm, yeah, I might like the way this takes my painting style....

:-/ oh, but there are no knots...no real character in the grain, like my pine.....

<looking soulfully at the pile of 2x4s sadly wondering what's happened to their carver>

hmmmmm.....let's see how it feels when I've gotten one fully painted.......

alright.....

<the saga continues>

[masker001]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

santacarvinlady ya aint never been to heavi til ya carve in basswood.Darn near perfect wood. :

[ibrewalot]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

I only use basswood, but maybe that's because I get such a good deal? My Father-in-law cuts it down in his woods in Maine, saws it into 4x6 or 6x6 planks, dries it and then delivers it to my door. I guess I married the right girl, huh?

- Brian

[Guest]

[/quote]

:P Have you ever considered adopting? :

[Callynne]

[Callynne]

[chele]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

Ah, Bass
It is the best try for Northern Grown, less punk . Must be the hard winters. 8) Michele

[ibrewalot]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

I don't know about adoption, but there are a couple of sisters and one brother still single in the in-law family...I'd even give you their names, but then there wouldn't be as much bass wood bein' delivered to 'my' house, now would I? 8) Their farm with all the wood on it is for sale tho', if any of you want to move to Maine. Believe me, I just put in an order for more stock before my source dries up! :'(

- Brian

[santacarvinlady]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

Okay!!!!!

I'm sold on the basswood. I'll probably never stop using pine, but I'm certainly adding basswood to the mix. Thanks, you guys, for planting the 'basswood nudge' in my mind.

You can see my first basswood carvings at my new picture album at picturetrail. Had fun playing with that, too!!

http://www.picturetrail.com/santacarvinlady

Teri

http://www.picturetrail.com/santacarvinlady

[pyrogite]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

Teri, your new santas are great! How on earth did you do so many so fast?????
You are my new hero!
Now I'm really feeling lazy.....I'm gonna hafta do SOMETHING!
I knew you'd love the basswood!

Donna

[santacarvinlady]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

Thanks, Donna - to answer your question, POWERTOOLS. My automach gets the job of knocking off all the wood til I get the general shape I want. And to tell the truth, my 'quilt' santas are my most popular, AND really the easiest to carve. They take more time to paint, but I love quilts, too, so I don't mind the extra painting time.

Teri

[email protected]

http://www.picturetrail.com/santacarvinlady

http://hometown.aol.com/santacarvinlady/santas.html

[Callynne]

[santacarvinlady]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

Thanks, you guys. Don't think I did all three of those in the two days that passed since I started this thread and then told you my final analysis. I had already carved most of 2 of the 3 of them, and was experimenting with painting when I decided to start the thread. Even knocking wood off with Arthur (my automach) doesn't give me THAT great of an edge!! I can only wish

Teri

[email protected]

http://www.picturetrail.com/santacarvinlady

http://hometown.aol.com/santacarvinlady/santas.html

[SantaCarvinLady]

Re: This Basswood Thing/aka Open Mouth Change Foot

Today, I HATE this basswood. So far, on the same carving today, I've lost a foot...then a nose...then part of a cheek...then a bird's beak. So much for holding detail better than pine. Harumph.

Teri

[Guest]

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'wet it down with a mixture of 50/50 alcohol and water, and on the thin parts you can always put a little crazy glue on them for strength.'