[Woodcarver] Sign wood

[Joe Dillett]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the idea on Western Red cedar.

White oak is good for outdoors. It's the other oaks like red oak that don't
hold up to weather. I've used white oak for exterior doors with extreemly
good weathering qualities. They use white oak for boat building.

I agree that logging practices by some companies are very harmful. My wood
supplier has even gone to see first hand that they are doing what they say,
but he says there is still no gurantee they're harvesting all their logs
that way. I think we should be mindfull of trying to screen out the ones
that are hurting our environment.

Joe Dillett
The Carving Shop
645 E. LaSalle St. Suite 3
Somonauk, IL. 60552
(815) 498-9290 phone
(815) 498-9249 fax
http://www.thecarvingshop.com
jdillett at thecarvingshop.com
http://www.carvingmagazine.com Carving Magazine web site and Readers Forum
http://community.webshots.com/user/joe_dillett
http://www.citizenactions.org
http://www.safeguardsystemsinc.com
**************************************************



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ramsey" <ron at carvedbyramsey.com>
To: <woodcarver at six.pairlist.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 12:26 PM
Subject: [Woodcarver] Sign wood


> DONATIONS to the Woodcarver Mailing List can be made using PayPal OR
regular mail. Click this link: http://wwwoodcarver.com/WWWList/WWWList.html
>   Western red cedar is a great sign carving wood.  It weathers much
> better than redwood and if you find a tight grain board it carves
> very well.  Redwood is hard to find in tight grain anymore and I try
> to stay away from old growth redwood anyway. I don't want to
> contribute to the logging of the last bit of old growth redwood.
> Second growth works fine for router work but is terrible for incising
> and detail.  White oak is not a good choice.  It does not hold up
> well in exterior applications.  I agree with Joe that genuine
> mahogany, also called Honduras mahogany, is a good sign carving wood
> but that brings up the question of using tropical hardwoods.  I have
> used mahogany extensively in the past but have stopped using it
> unless it's Smart Wood certified.  As I have become educated about
> some of the logging practices in tropical countries, I have become
> much more selective in the wood I use.
>
> Ron Ramsey
> http://www.carvedbyramsey.com/signs2.htm
>
> >Mahogany would be my first choice of wood for that sign. It carves nice
and
> >holds up outdoors well. My second choice would be redwood and maybe third
> >would be white oak. In fourth place might be cedar because of the coarse
> >grain and not carving very well. Use exterior paints and varnishes for
> >finishing.
> >Joe Dillett
> -- 
>
>
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