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S K L K C T l\G AND B l Y I N G Sl'l T A B I E W O O D

Fig 2.7 The tiuisted bark on this ancient sweet cbestnut will be matched by spiral grain within.

rherc is considerabie disturbancc of thc pattern where thc t\vo grains meet. This knot wood may look beautiful but can be very bard, and ccrtainly mcans that thc chisel entcring thc wood has to constanrly change direction to cut clcanly.

The Grain - thf. Figurę The pattern of the grain, known as thc figurę, can be very attractivc on simple shapes but can also be distracting in finely detailcd carving. The figurę of knots can be exciting, but othcr factors which affcct the figurę are the way the tree has grown. If you see thc bark of the tree twisting you can be surę that thc grain cwists too (Fig 2.7). This is known as spiral grain. An evcn morę awkward feature, morę commonly found in rropical hardwoods, is intcrlockcd grain. This is causcd by the wood spiralling in one direction for a year or rwo then spiralling in the opposite direction and so on alternately. This is called stripy or ribbon figurę (Fig 2.8). In most timbers this makes clean cutting very diflficult, as one side of the chisel may bc cutting well while thc other is tearing thc grain. Cutting across the grain is the only safc method. For this rcason you should be wary of the mahoganies (Swietcnia macropbylla), iroko, afrormosia (Pericopsis elata), satinwood (Chloroxylon swietenia) (Fig 2.9), obeche (Triplocbiton swietenia), utile (Entandrophragma titile), khaya (Kbaya iuorensis), African walnut (Lovoa trichilioides) and many other exotic woods. I have met it in elm, oak and even in limę. It is

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