wood selection

[Chahlie Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chahlie]

howdy all,

just decided to try carving...have loved to work with wood all my life... after a somewhat un-satisfying experience with match-i-techure I decided maybe carving would be more to my liking. To shorten this up some...the wife got me a Santa carving book and basic tools(carving knife, detail knife and a Flexcut #3--7/8 palm gouge)for X-mas. The book recommends Bass wood blanks as a carving medium...have searched long and hard here in Portland, Oregon and all I get is funny looks. Closest thing I could find was laminated poplar at the big box stores. Any suggestions.Also-honing/stroping, all the stuff in the specialty stores seems way over priced.

thanks in advance for any help,

Charlie
'let the chips fly!'

[Guest Close Donna_T]

Re: wood selection

Welcome Chahlie,
You've picked a good hobby to explore. If you will stay with it for awhile, it will prove to be a very satisfying and challenging activity. Reading old posts throughout this site will give you opinions and good advice about every aspect of woodcarving and painting your projects. You got questions? Post them here and get answers from many carvers who have already experienced the problems and solved them.

First, I would encourage you to contact wood carving club in your area. Meeting with them will provided you with a network of information and help also. They may have classes for beginner carvers and they certainly can help with supplier information. A quick check of the club listings with the Colwood Electronics (woodburners) site shows the following one in Portland:

Western Woodcarvers Assoc
World Forestry Center
4033 SW Canyon Road
Portland OR 97221
Email: [email protected]

or
Larry Piper
Guild Of Oregon Woodworkers
P.O. Box 1866
Portland, OR 97207
(503) 665-0752

Most of us aren't lucky enough to have a wood carving supplier in our immediate area, so we shop by catalogue and mail order. In our state, there are retailers 2-3-4-5 hours away, but there are wood carving shows once or twice a year where the suppliers attend and sell their wares--blanks, books, tools, wood, etc. There's an especially knowledgable carver/supplier in you neck of the woods -- he posts here as Rick-in-Seattle -- he sells carving supplies and I'm sure someone can post his contact information.

Basswood is the best medium to start (and finish) carving--sooner or later you will try other woods for various projects and it's all a learning process. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask for help.

Donna T

[Guest Close Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Re: wood selection

Charhlie... contact Don Wedll..has good basswood and very good prices.... http://members.tripod.com/~woodsource/index.html

[Guest Close alarchie]

[Guest Close plain_ol_ed]

Re: wood selection

Little Shavers (206)767-7421 ask for Rick

[Guest Close rws]

Re: wood selection

Hello Charlie. Woodcrafters in Portland, Just south of 205 and East of Martin Luther King 2 blocks has the basswood blanks. They also have a bin of basswood scrap that is more affordable for small pieces, and practice materials. I order my larger carving blocks from Itascawoodproducts.com. Woodcrafters has leather strops and stropping compound as well, along with a good price on heavy leather thumb guards. Fishermans Supply out in Delta Park has the best price on a metalic filet glove, which is a must to guard your wood holding hand. Use the thumb guard on the thumb on your carving hand. Woodcrafters has a large supply of sharpening devices, and youg guess is as good as anyone elses as to which system is best. Just avoid the perforated diamond sharpenming devices. Dick in Vancouver

[Guest Close big_wayne_p]

Re: wood selection

you might want to go to Google and do a search for:

Wood Carving Tools (your state)

Wood carving suppliers (your state)

Wood carving clubs (your state)

Wood carving or craft events (your state)

craft shows or events (your state)

wood carvin tool suppliers ( this will give you lots of suppliers main site. Some might even have stores close enough for you to drive and a lot will have a catolog and be happy to send it to you

you will be surprised at all the suppliers and events you will find

[Chahlie Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chahlie]

Re: wood selection

Thanks for all the replys to my queries...it's hard to be a newbee at 51 years old...

There is a Woodcraft store about 5 blocks from my work...and I forgot all about Neighbors of Woodcraft down off MLK. will check it out this weekend. Also a friend at work suggested Cross-cut hardwoods out off Front Ave.


Chahlie
'let the chips fly!'

[Guest Close big_wayne_p]

Re: wood selection

Well i am 52 and I am a newbie. I had not carved anything since I was a teenager untill this year. Since I am unable to work and it looks like i will not be able to return I needed something to do so I started carving. Each and every piece is better than the 1 before. Just keep doing what you are doing and carve and read and ask questions. The regular stores like Lowes and Home depot do not stock or sell any carving tools or basswood

[Guest Close colin_Partridge]

Re: wood selection

Chahlie,
Being a newbie at 51 is nothing new in fact you may be a young starter carver a lot of us myself included didnt carve a thing until we were well into our 50s of better. I didnt start carving until a double total hip replacement forced my retirement when I was 55. I envy the young people that are starting wood carving now I can only imagine how good I could have been if I had started in my 20s or younger. So being 50 is certainly not a disadvantage, enjoy a new and great way to relax.
Colin

[Guest Close big_wayne_p]

Re: wood selection

Very well said colin

Age is a state of mind
My mind thinks its 25
My Body thinks its 95
I am only 52

[Guest Close jamesfa]

Re: wood selection

well like a lot of us you have taken up a neat, and interesting hobby,my first carving was made with laminated pine that was left over from a woodworking project. have used pieces of cedar rail fence and any found wood that i thought might work.because i was new to carving i did not want to spend big bucks for basswood.in may area a piece3x4x10 at Michels' sells for $48.at the time i felt that was to much for fire wood.
but since then it might i have aquired some basswood a lot easier to carve than construction pine.
as a new carver myself this is the group to belong to read some of the old posts,and if you can't find an answer to your question, post it and it well be answered,