Replies

1. 
   RickL | Sep 20, 2007 03:46pm | #1

   Seems to me that hardwoods are better for small jewelry to keep any detail.  At least al the wood jewelry I've seen is hardwood. There's power rotary tools and micro carving tools available. Search out books on the subject...http://cambiumbooks.com/books/carving/

   There are very few areas of woodworking that haven't been explored or written about except pin routers, stroke sanders and certain specialized machines in factories. All the hobby realms are pretty well covered. 

   Look at Grinling  Gibbons Work. Hundreds of years ago they were carving lace from Linden wood. If that doesn't relate to jewelry I don't know what does. There's a walnut sized scene carved from a dense hardwood with tiny figures at a local museum that is mind boggling and it too was done 500 years ago.

2. 
   mapleman | Sep 20, 2007 04:43pm | #2

   Pioneer,

   To answer your question:

   Try basswood or tupelo gum (also called black gum) - both are used for carving ducks extensively, they respond well to power carving and hold great detail.

   Lee

   P.S.

   As for sources, if you can't find any of these locally, both are available from Woodcraft via mail order.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 9/20/2007 9:44 am by mapleman

1. 
   8318Pioneer | Sep 20, 2007 05:12pm | #3

   Thank you for your timely response! Do you know if Balsa,Spruce,Tamarack, and European Yew are good for carving and shaping with power tools, routers, etc. like Basswood? Also if you can suggest a good brand of router that's not too awfully expensive? Thanks for all your help. What state are you in?

1. 
   frenchy | Sep 20, 2007 06:09pm | #4

   pioneer,

     I can say catagorically Tamarack is not a wood you'd like to carve if you are looking for the softer woods..

     First it's not a softwood at all. It sheds it's needles every fall. It winds up drying extremely hard. Plus there is a real definition between early and late wood so the grain is something that you would be fighting with constantly..

    Basswood is really the prefered wood for carving however you might also consider butternut.. while not as easy to carve as basswood,  it carves well, easier than most of the woods you listed..  and offers you  a darker wood more like black walnut

    Speaking of black walnut, that's really the Cadillac of woods..   when cut with a sharp knife etc. the wood gets a waxy finish to it that is wonderful to behold.  No scrapping, sanding,  buffing, etc.  nothing except a sharp edge is required.   

1. 
   saschafer | Sep 20, 2007 06:25pm | #5

   "First it's not a softwood at all. It sheds it's needles every fall."

   Most softwoods are evergreen, and most hardwoods are deciduous. But there are exceptions on both sides. Tamarack is a softwood, but it's one of those exceptions. Baldcypress is another deciduous softwood (over the northern part of its range--it's evergreen further south). Live oak and madrone are examples of evergreen hardwoods.

   -Steve

    

1. 
   frenchy | Sep 20, 2007 07:59pm | #6

   saschafer,

   I'll bow to your apparent expertise.. However Tamarack is the hardest softwood out there,, (and the heaviest) 

2. 
   saschafer | Sep 20, 2007 08:47pm | #8

   Tamarack is indeed very hard (for a softwood). I think it and longleaf pine may be neck-and-neck for the top honors, though.

   -Steve

    

3. 
   JiminFla | Sep 20, 2007 08:08pm | #7

   Pioneer,

   What wood you should be using for carving depends on what you're carving it with.  If you are chip carving, you will need a softer wood such as butternut or basswood because you won't be able to develop a lot of power with a chip carving knife.  Butternut has a nice color and texture to it, but basswood is softer and easier to carve.  The downside of basswood is that it doesn't take stain very well (at least in my experience), but it's an easy wood to get started with.

   If you are using gouges to carve with, you can use a wider variety of woods such as mahogany (Honduras, not Philippine), cherry, walnut, etc.  You want to look for straight grained wood.  It is difficult to get good results with figured woods such as curly maple because the grain direction keeps changing.

   If you are doing power carving you can use many different hardwoods.  It's worth trying different ones to see what works for you.

   You can get lots of different woods from mail order vendors if there is no other source near you.  Check out the ads in FW and you can find a number from which to choose.

   Good luck with your carving.

   Jim