[Woodcarver] New to the list

[Bill Judt]

Ken:

Welcome to the List.
It sound like you started carving the same time I did... on  
internship. Great time to start.

For relief carving, use only hardwoods... from deciduous trees. Do  
not use softwoods from coniferous trees.

Good hardwoods for relief: Birch, Maple, Cherry, Basswood, Butternut,  
Walnut, Beech, Alder, Mahogany, Red Oak, White Oak.
Some of these are dense and hard, others are light and soft. But ALL  
are "hardwoods" by species.

The nail stamps you can make on your own. I have a web page that  
talks about this... go to:
http://wwwoodcarver.com/TipsTechniques/StampingTool/Stampingtool.html

All you need is a 6" or 10" spike, a grinding wheel, and a 1/4"  
triangle file. The file is used to cut a cross-hatch pattern on the  
end of the spike.

A dremel plunge router is vastly underpowered for relief carving.  
Safe your coins and wait till you can purchase a large Makita plunge  
router... something in the 1500 watt range (2+ HP). And get the  
spiral router bits like the Onsrud bits sold by Lee Valley Tools:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx? 
c=2&p=42891&cat=1,46168,46171&ap=1

These bits are the best news I've found in years for straight router  
bits.

Hope this helps, and Merry Christ-Mas to you too.

Bill
List Owner

My books are for sale at: http://wwwoodcarver.com/Books/index.html
W.F. Judt,
46 Harvard Cres,
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
S7H3R1
PH: 306-373-6649
bjudt at sasktel.net
Website: http://www.wwwoodcarver.com


On 25-Dec-06, at 8:02 PM, The Rev K.R. Schaaf wrote:


>   I have a long way to go with carving wood, but these were done as  

> a gift from one of my parishoners to the congregation I serve and  

> they asked me to do the work.  They told me what they wanted and I  

> tried to fulfill it.   I used Spanish cedar which I have mixed  

> feelings about.  I am still not too sure on what is good wood to do  

> various carvings with and am looking for a guide or book to which  

> wood is good for what.  Any suggestions?

>

> Also Bill, do you by chance sell those nail stamps that you show in  

> your book?  I would love to purchase something that could do  

> background detail as you show in your book.  Also, does anyone have  

> any thoughts on using a Dremel plunge router in their carvings, or  

> has anyone used one?  I don't have a plunge router and was thinking  

> about getting an attachement for my Dremel.

>

> Sorry for all the questions, but thanks for taking the time to read  

> them.  Have a Merry ChristMas and a Happy New Year and happy carving!

>

> Kent Schaaf


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/woodcarver/attachments/20061226/baec7fa1/attachment.html