[Woodcarver] Need adviced on relief carving panel construction

[Joe Dillett]

Hi Alex,

There is more then one way to skin a cat. hehehe, (just had to say that for cat lovers and I'm one of them.)

I'm guessing that the initial carving would not have warped if you had sealed it on all sides and exposed it to the same moisture on all sides.

Bill Judt uses the camber method with great success. His web side has very good instructions for how much to camber using what side of the board. His system works well.

I don't use camber and compensate for the warping by alternating the grain when gluing the boards together. For me its just easer to leave my table saw or jointer set at 90-degrees.

I think that you'll have good success with either method. I would use wood that holds up better outdoors, like white oak, mahogany, cedar, catalpa, hedge, etc. Only cut about half way into the wood and no deeper tends to have less warping.

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 [business web site]
http://www.carvingmagazine.com ['Ask Joe' column]
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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Alex Bisso 
  To: Woodcarver 
  Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:20 AM
  Subject: [Woodcarver] Need adviced on relief carving panel construction


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      At one time I carved a sign - sort of a cut out relief - of an elevated lighthouse.  I did not  but any initial cambre into the the pieces of basswood that were glued up for the piece (the center piece with the lighthouse and the two wings - see photos named Summit Lighthouse and Summit Lighthouse Painted  in carving album at http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=abisso&x=19&y=15 ) and the wings have badly warped outwardly.  I also did not seal the back which I think also contributed to the bad warping.
      Now I plan to recarve the sign, this time as a complete relief carved panel that will be approximately 24" wide and 26" tall and I have conflicting thoughts about how to glue up the panels.  Although I would like to be able to use the original wood carving for the outdoor sign, I am thinking that even with building in cambre, sealing, etc. there will still be some warping and weathering of the wood (sign is exposed to harsh weather and afternoon/evening sun).  Therefore I am thinking about keeping the carved sign for inside use and doing a mold and cast of it for the outdoor sign.  Here are my questions:
  1.  If gluing up the panel with the boards running the long way, how many boards/joints are recommended and what degree of cambre should be put it each?
  2.  If I build in the cambre, will this make doing a mold and casting more difficult because the panel might not be flat upon completion? 
      Discussion:  My original sign was nice and flat after carving and only warped after exposure to the elements.  It would have been easy to make a cast of it.  Since I have almost no experience with relief-carved panels, I am concerned that after initial carving, a panel with cambre might arc up some in the middle causing some difficult in the molding and casting.  
  If you have any experience with doing something like this I would like to consider any advice that you might have to offer.  Thanks.
  ALEX


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