essentÊrving±72

Essen tial W o o d c a r vin g Techniques

Alder {Alnus glutinosa) Pale yellow or pinkish cvcn-graincd timber, rough and slightiy woolly. Will cake dctail. Somewhat likc limÄ™.

Apple {Malus spp.) Dense, pink, even-grained heartwood. Tougher than pearwood. Takes detail. Can split badly when drying. Prone co woodworm attack when damp.

Arbutus {Arbutus unedo) An ornamental cree. Very bard, pink timber, requiring strengrh and persisrence. Litrle figurÄ™. Can splir badly when drying. Takes detail.

Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) Actractive whice or pinkish ring-porous wood. Easier co carve when slow grown (morÄ™ than 10 rings to 25mm [lin]). Renowned for coughness. Carves easily when green. Noc suirable for fine derail. Somerimes has brown, streaky figurÄ™ in hearc (olive ash). Of che same family as the olive cree.

Balsa (OchroniÄ… pyramidale) The lightest commercial cimber. Whitc or pinkish. Very soft, requiring the sharpest of chisels. Besr avoided cxcept for carving model aeroplanes.

Basswood (Tilia americana) The American form of the limÄ™ tree. Similar working properties to Europcan limÄ™.

Beech (Fagus syhatica) A whitc, very tough, evcn-grained wood. When sreamed is pinkish and morÄ™ cheesy to cut. Excellent for lecter cutting. Will cake detail but requircs great effort and patience for carving unless cut green. Prone to beetle attack and rot while seasoning.

Birch (Betula spp.) A whitish, close-grained, cvcn-tcxtured wood much carved in Scandinavia. Pleasantly lustrous. Dcnser than limÄ™ and inclined to break short. Verv difHcult to season without mould staining or rot.

Blackwood (African blackwood) {Dalb er gin melanoxylon) Very black and one of the hardest woods there is. Chisels need to havc thicker edges than normal. Easier to work with rasps.

Box (Buxus sempewirens) Beautifui, very dense, yellowish wood. Available only in smali sizes. Takes extremely fine detail.

Broom (Cienista aetnensis) A pale-brown, dense, hard wood. Slightiy stringy but takes fine detail. Distinctive axial parenchyma pattern similar to that in acacia and other ieguminous trees visible on end grain. Availablc only in smali sizes.

Catalpa (Indian Bean Tree) (Catalpa bignonioides) An ornamental tree that can have a wide trunk. Pale-brown, lightwcight, ring-porous wood. Carves very easily. Seasons very quicklv. Distinctive smcll. Can takc fine dctail but inclined to be stringy. May be mistaken for elm or ash.

Cherry (Primus avium) A hard, dense, pale-yellow, brown or orangey-coloured semi-ring-porous wood with noticeable figurÄ™. Pale sapwood that splits badly in drying. Heartwood also hard to season. Takes fine detail.

Chcstnut (horse chcstnut) (.Aesculus hippocastanum) A very pale, beautifully, lustrous timber with even texture but prone to have spiral grain, ripple figurÄ™ and large areas of silica deposits. Can be carved with care but tends to break off short like birch.