One of my interests is sculpting on a moderately large scale. The challenge is to find large enough blocks of wood. I’m looking for blocks on the scale of at least 12″ x 18″ x 5′. I also try to use blocks that are clear of pith to keep the checking down – so they typically must come from logs at least 2 feet in diameter. I would love to work on an even larger scale (if I could move the monsters). Does anyone have any ideas where I can find such blocks at non-exorbitant cost? I would like to try a variety of species, but I am fond of maple. So far what I have used I have procured by sheer luck – a neighbor had a big old dying maple that needed to come down. I got a couple of good blocks – the rest of the trunk was rotten.
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Talk with an arborist -- there's one a few blocks from my house that's always trying to dump wood. It's usually short (he chainsaws trunk parts to 2' long so he can lift 'em into his trailer) but I could probably convince him to let me come to a site and save him the trouble.
Beyond that, if you know someone with the city or with the utility company, both parties often end up with wood to dispose of.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a try.
Large blocks will always be costly. We had some huge pieces of redwood left over from a job in our shop.
In a different approach of cheapness find a copy of Nicholas Roukes
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823030199/104-7791506-0609512?v=glance&n=283155
One artist profile was Wolfgang Behl who did full sized figures by gluing together wood from his firewood pile and it looked wonderful. If he didn't like how an arm came out he could just lop it off and start over. Terrific work and the idea of working wood like that was quite innovative at the time. No pictures of his work on the web but find that book and you will be amazed. The book profilesa bunch if wood sculptors.
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