I hope you survived this week's solar eclipse! If you were lucky enough to be in the path of totality, it was quite an experience. Here in Austin, TX it was fairly cloudy all day, but thankfully the clouds parted just in time to provide a nice view of
the eclipse. 😎
On to the chip carving topic! While checking for comments on the My Chip Carving YouTube channel I came across the
following on one of the videos:
"Which wood do you use for this? I haven't been a hobby carver for long and I've always had the problem that the wood I buy is coarse-grained and my carving results suffer greatly as a result. I am currently using lime wood... unfortunately with the same problem. Are there different types?"
"Lime wood" is the European species of basswood, however
there are two different varieties - Sommer and Winter. The Sommer variety is the more desirable of the two because it shrinks less and is easier to carve. I would guess the commentor is likely using the Winter variety. It reminded me of how fortunate I am to have access to great suppliers of clear, straight northern basswood boards and plates. It helps remove the challenge of carving coarse-grained wood and the frustration that comes with it!
It made me smile that much more when I received Randy's email:
"Troy: good job on the last order. I received it on time and in my visual inspection I find the wood to be of top quality. The Basswood is without blemish and straight. The butternut discs have a well pronounced and beautiful straight grain for Butternut. I like highly figured wood but for chip carving it sometimes does not work well, unless I can
figure out a nice free form design. The Butternut appears to be grainy but nice and uniform. As always the wood has a fine finish which makes chip carving easy."
Thank you for the feedback Randy! I'm glad you are satisfied with your order!
Besides basswood, what other woods do you enjoy carving?
Made up entirely of 3 corner chips, it is fun to find the variety of shapes found in the carved and uncarved areas. I finished it with 2 coats of clear matte acrylic spray and then applied a Candlelight gel stain to the entire plate, followed by a Georgian Cherry gel stain on the larger carved areas. The center is 3" in diameter.
Do you want to carve one for yourself, or as a gift??
Check out how Jon is adding color to his carvings!
Troy,
Your discussions about painting led me to experiment with a couple of projects. After sealing and staining them, I lightly sanded the areas I wanted to paint, then used acrylic paints to add a "wash" of color to them.
I also leave the backs unstained, which allows me "transfer" a saying, quote, or message to it, to personalize or add meaning to the
carving.
They turned out pretty good, and I plan to experiment more on other projects.
Pretty good? They look GREAT! I like the "wash" of color and how it allows the grain to come through. I think that's a reason why some folks stay away from painting, but you've hit a nice balance between staining and painting. I like the ability to add messages on the back, that's a good tip!
I'll be
looking forward to seeing what your next experiments lead to.
Stock up on Good Carving Wood!
Basswood Boards, Discs, or try the Assorted Boards!
