softening hard wood to carve relief

[Guest]

[AlArchie]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

I haven't trid this, but carving friends tell me that a mixture of alcohol and water spritzed on the surface will make carvng easier, and doesn't permanently discolor the wood.

Al

[Guest]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

MIx a spray bottle with halve alcohol halve water and spray on.It works pretty good.

[Thor]

[FatEddy]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

If you can stand the smell wd-40 works also ... evaporates after awhile leaving no trace ... takes a couple days though

[pyrogite]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

Be careful when using the alcohol and water solution on walking sticks :-/
I had a hard wood (not sure what kind, maybe maple) twisty stick that had been around for a very long time before I tried carving it. Someone told me about the alcohol solution and I tried it on that stick, but the stick started checking and splitting the next day :'(
I think it was probably because I was working on the very top of the stick on the end grain and I may have soaked it too much. I was using a spray bottle and guessing how much to spray.
My theory.....for what it's worth...lol... is that you shouldnt spray liquid on the dry end grain of an old stick.

Donna

[jimb]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

I wish that I had tried the alcohol and water spritz on the carving I was doing today; maybe I would have prevented destroying the 12/20 V tool I was using. I am doing rough-out on a carving in Butternut that has been drying for about 18 months. It sure has got good and dry(and hard). The alcohol and water does help as you are carving if you are not trying to remove too much at one time. The mixture softens the surface pores of the wood well, and makes the wood easier to carve. I have never tried wetting real heavy, so I wouldn't know what the results might be. The fast evaporation of the alcohol will be quite differant from natural drying, I would think???

I guess I have shortened up my V tool by about 3/8', but the good metal Pheil uses should be hardened back much farther than that. That is a first for me; maybe the bevel was too long for the hard wood??

Jimb

[jimb]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

I wish that I had tried the alcohol and water spritz on the carving I was doing today; maybe I would have prevented destroying the 12/20 V tool I was using. I am doing rough-out on a carving in Butternut that has been drying for about 18 months. It sure has got good and dry(and hard). The alcohol and water does help as you are carving if you are not trying to remove too much at one time. The mixture softens the surface pores of the wood well, and makes the wood easier to carve. I have never tried wetting real heavy, so I wouldn't know what the results might be. The fast evaporation of the alcohol will be quite differant from natural drying, I would think???

I guess I have shortened up my V tool by about 3/8', but the good metal Pheil uses should be hardened back much farther than that. That is a first for me; maybe the bevel was too long for the hard wood??

Jimb

[Guest]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

jimb,

first of all I do think the pfiel should be good all the way to the handle. Second: 3/8 inch?!!... wow carving could get expensive for you. If you can truly attribute that much sharpening to the wood you are carving, then you should look into grinding your tools a bit steeper. third: if you are roughing out with a #12 consider a #9 to get rid of the extra wood. Best of Luck,

Dave

[jimb]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

Dave,
Thanks for the input.

I have had these carving tools since 95, and this was the first time one has broken on me. I think you are right about the degree on the bevel. It was more suitable for carving in softer wood. The big problem with changing pitch on the tools is that I never know what I will be carving from one time to the next, and to be right all the time I would need a couple sets of tools. I was lucky to get the first set, if you know what I mean.

I am working on a large piece of butternut that I have used everything from a bandsaw to the Lancelot carving discs. I thought I was at a point that I could safely start seperating masses of wood, but apparently it was a bad guess, Huh?

If I ever get it done, I'll put a photo on the new site if it is still there--LOL.

thanks,

Jim

Wood is Wonderful

[Guest]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

The bevel on pfeil tools does seem to be made for soft woods. I have both pfeil tools and Robert Sorby tools and the Sorby tools have a much thicker bevel, about 22 degrees as opposed to about 15 degrees for the pfeil. I strongly caution against re-bevelling unless you have a grinder like a Tormek that can hold a consistent angle. Besides, it will eventually eat up your expensive tools. Consider buying a few English tools that are bevelled for hardwoods.

[AlArchie]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

Just a thought, but it might not be the hardness of the wood that was the problem. Were you running straight cuts, or applying a prying force to the edge. If you were down in a deep cut, and tried to pry the piece out, that may have caused the break. I've broken one small v tool and that is exactly what I had done. Also when teching Scouts to carve relief, we have had several tools break because of prying.
It's an easy thing to do, and it has to be thought about constantly when doing deep cuts.

Al

[FatEddy]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

I ordered a number of Stubai midsized tools and was a little miffed when they arrived with different sized handles. But, after studying them a bit I discovered that the size of the handle and thickness of the steel varied with the intended (theirs) use of the tool. i.e. those meant for making deep/large cuts had larger handles and thincker steel while those meant for lighter work had smaller handles and thinner steel. Seems to work o.k. because I just finished an oak acanthus leaf with no problem . Might this be the case with the Pfiel tools? Curious, because I'm thinking of getting some to add to my collection.

[thor]

Re: softening hard wood to carve relief

Hi, just wanted to stop back by and say that the project is done and turned out better than I thought it would as frustrated as I was with it.

It is a 3' X 36' poplar board with a Nordic design on it that is now incorporated into a bench.

The water/alcohol mix wasn't working as I think I was afraid to get it very wet. I didn't want it warped at all since it had to fit into the piece of furniture. I tried putting lemon oil on it (soaked) and it did soften it. I carved away all of the oil stain, and now with the tung oil finish it looks very rich.
Thanks for all of the suggestions.
Oh, sorry to hear about the broken Pfeil tool. That's what I use, and I would be heart broken if one of mine broke!

Thor