{"id":15277,"date":"2017-09-06T15:00:04","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T19:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcarvingillustrated.com\/?p=15277"},"modified":"2017-09-14T12:27:15","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T16:27:15","slug":"woods-carving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcarvingillustrated.com\/woods-carving\/","title":{"rendered":"Woods for Carving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members of the Woodcarving Illustrated<\/i> Message Board choose their top carving woods<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carvers today can choose from a variety of woods, but it can be difficult to know which wood to choose for a specific project. We surveyed the members of the Woodcarving Illustrated<\/i> Message Board to find their favorite woods and have highlighted the main qualities of a few of the most popular choices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Basswood<\/span><\/h3>\n

Basswood carves easily with hand tools and the fine even grain holds details well. \u201cIt is an extremely utilitarian wood, being used for both decorative and functional purposes,\u201d said relief and fish carver Al Archie. \u201cIt\u2019s easily finished, in either stains, paint or various oils, stable when cured, safe for food storage and serving, and fairly non allergenic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Chart based on polled responses from www.woodcarvingillustrated.com.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Butternut<\/span><\/h3>\n

Butternut carves easily with hand tools, but has a beautifully figured grain. \u201cButternut is my favorite wood to carve and I don\u2019t throw any away, no matter how small the scraps,\u201d said ship carver Bob Squarebriggs. \u201cThe color is beautiful. It can splinter and chip, so you have to be careful and pay attention to the grain and your cuts.\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n

Tupelo<\/span><\/h3>\n

Carvers turn to tupelo because it doesn\u2019t fuzz when power carved or char when woodburned. The interlocking grain makes it a strong light wood, but the grain tears when hand carved. \u201cI prefer tupelo because it bends better when carved into thin pieces,\u201d said wildlife carver Paul Guraedy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walnut<\/h3>\n

Carvers like walnut because of its dark rich color. Carvers usually use mallets to carve the hard wood. \u201cWalnut is a very clean carving wood,\u201d said professional carver Mark Yundt. \u201cIt finishes up very well. If you carve it with sharp tools, it looks like it has already been finished.\u201d\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"This article was first published in Woodcarving Illustrated\u00a0<\/em>Fall 2008 (Issue 44)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Discuss this material on the Woodcarving Illustrated forums.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Read more about materials for beginners!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of the Woodcarving Illustrated Message Board choose their top…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[764,795],"tags":[270,788,31,813,811,810,812,323,181],"class_list":["post-15277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-get-started-carving","category-materials-for-beginners","tag-basswood","tag-butternut","tag-carving","tag-favorites","tag-tupelo","tag-types","tag-walnut","tag-wood","tag-woodcarving-illustrated"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWoods 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