[Woodcarver] Re: relief panel carving

[Ramsey]

Steve,

The concern is the rate of expansion between the different types of 
wood.  Bruce Hoadley's book, "Understanding Wood",  has a table of 
expansion rates of different kinds of wood or you may be able to find 
one on the internet.  If you are planning on gluing the panel to the 
door and the door has engineered panels that have a veneer surface, 
or the wood expansion rates are significantly different, you may have 
problems.

The way that I have dealt with this issue is to attach the panels 
with screws in countersunk holes with an elongated screw hole that 
allows the carving to move independently from the door.  I then plug 
the hole with matching diameter plugs.  Don't crank the screws down 
too hard.  You want the panel to be able to move with the weather.

Make sure you flatten the back of the panel, after carving and prior 
to attaching because carving a  flat panel releases the stress on the 
surface and causes the panel to cup on the carved side leaving a 
convex surface on the back. Don't try to flatten it out by forcing it 
down to the door or it will crack later.  I sometimes machine the 
boards I'm gluing into a panel with a reverse warp with the hope that 
the panel will flatten just the right amount when carved.  It's a 
combination of guess work and experience to get the right warp to 
start with.  Sometimes I get lucky and sometimes not.

Ron Ramsey
http://www.carvedbyramsey.com



>Is it possible to carve relief work out of a softer wood such as 

>basswood and then attach it to door panels >made of a harder wood? 

>Are there any special considerations (other than the soft wood on a 

>door issue)



>Steve

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