I’m trying to get into spoon carving, and have some nice air dried small maple logs and branches. I figured that they would probably still have some moisture in them and not be rock hard…I was wrong. Any chance if I soak them for a week or so that that will make my life easier or is this wishful thinking?
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Replies
It's free wood, right? Try it.
Good advice - I’ll let you know how it goes!
My money's on wishful thinking. A week underwater will not make a diff, but nothing to lose as JC2 says.
Steaming might work faster, search for times for bending wood and try it on your piece.
I will give that a go as well. I live in rural NJ so I could just go to the woods and snap off a branch, but I am moving to a place where green wood will not be so abundant and looking for work arounds. Thanks for the tip!
Maybe target different species. I live in south brooklyn so you could argue not a huge abundance of green wood. I’ve been carving spoons and turning bowls out of the same Norwegian maple for like 2 years.
Carving isn’t easy until you get the basics down, so consider that too.
Don’t even think about kiln dried unless you like dremels.
Thanks Chuck - I own a dremel and it serves its purpose, but I’m hoping to make this mostly a reprieve from power shaping. Appreciate the advice!
Some spooners rough out spoon blanks, boil them, and clamp in a form to make crooks. I have no idea if it also makes the wood easier to carve.
John Wilson, the Shaker box maker, always soaks the fingers on his cherry blanks before carving the tails. He swears it makes the carving easier. I've tried it, and just do mine dry. It doesn't seem to help much from my experience.
Harbor freight has a decent little pruning saw. I keep it in a saddle bag on my bike. If I see something worthwhile on the commute I hop off and grab a chunk. I keep a silky katanaboy in the car in case I see a tree down. Always on the look out for good greenwood! The katanaboy has more or less replaced my 16” chainsaw. There are usually always some greenwood options if ya get in to it!