Q & A: What are the Best Kinds of Wood to Use?
11-Nov-2008 06:14 AM Filed in: Q&A
I
get a lot of emails from my newsletter subscribers
asking for advice and help... I thought that I would
start a new segment of this blog (Q&A), where I
post some of those questions and the corresponding
answers. I'm hoping this information will help
everyone, not just the original subscriber.
Question:---------------------------
Gary R writes and asks;
Hello,
I just received my wood carver, so I don't have much experience yet.
My question is what are the best kinds of wood to use? I tried poplar and
it seems not to hold much detail. Kind of splintery.
What do you experts advise?
Thanks,
Gary R.
Answer:------------------
I have to admit that for the most part all I've ever used for my carvings has been oak - either white or red. These seem to hold great detail but I really didn't know the complete answer to this question so I did a bunch of research and the best advice I could muster was from the CW Forum itself. Here's what I found.
Hard materials with tight grains produce the best finishes. In most cases, feathering and chip out will increase as the grain size increases. Also dry materials tend to produce a better quality finish then material with high moisture content. The CarveWright Designer Software has several tools to control chip-out to help when working across all types of wood grain.
Question:---------------------------
Gary R writes and asks;
Hello,
I just received my wood carver, so I don't have much experience yet.
My question is what are the best kinds of wood to use? I tried poplar and
it seems not to hold much detail. Kind of splintery.
What do you experts advise?
Thanks,
Gary R.
Answer:------------------
I have to admit that for the most part all I've ever used for my carvings has been oak - either white or red. These seem to hold great detail but I really didn't know the complete answer to this question so I did a bunch of research and the best advice I could muster was from the CW Forum itself. Here's what I found.
Hard materials with tight grains produce the best finishes. In most cases, feathering and chip out will increase as the grain size increases. Also dry materials tend to produce a better quality finish then material with high moisture content. The CarveWright Designer Software has several tools to control chip-out to help when working across all types of wood grain.
Tip #8 Released
25-Oct-2008 07:56 AM Filed in: Updates
Just issued the next release of my wood carving tip
newsletter.
This is tip #8 and the theme of the newsletter is "How to Find Help". I show you how to find help on user forums when you have a problem or question about your wood carving project. It's a little secret that generates huge results and gets you the answers you need.
Of course the only way to start receiving these tips is to sign up for my newsletter. It's fast, easy, and FREE!
Just fill out the form in the sidebar on this page or go to the main page and fill in the form there.
This is tip #8 and the theme of the newsletter is "How to Find Help". I show you how to find help on user forums when you have a problem or question about your wood carving project. It's a little secret that generates huge results and gets you the answers you need.
Of course the only way to start receiving these tips is to sign up for my newsletter. It's fast, easy, and FREE!
Just fill out the form in the sidebar on this page or go to the main page and fill in the form there.
Another Software Video
06-Sep-2008 06:28 AM Filed in: Updates
Hello again everyone. I just posted another video
tutorial for using the Carvewright design software.
This episode teaches you how to customize the tool
bars to your own liking. Head over to the Video Tutorials page
to watch.
New Video about Software
19-Aug-2008 03:54 AM Filed in: Updates
I began a new series of video tutorials today on how
to use the Carvewright Design Software. This is going
to be a very comprehensive series. The software is
pretty sophisticated so I’m anticipating there will
be quite a few videos to this set. Scoot over to the
Video Tutorials page
to watch the first in this new series.
Another New Video
19-Jun-2008 05:56 PM Filed in: Updates
Made a new video to followup on the last. Titled:
How to Clean Your CarveWright
Visit the video page to view it.
Visit the video page to view it.
Built a Cool Cleaning Tool
02-Jun-2008 10:04 AM Filed in: Ideas
Built myself a cleaning brush to use when I clean the
board edge sensor under the carving head. I took a
couple of horsehair
brushes and a squirt of glue to make a brush
that has a 90º head.
Next Video is Available
18-Apr-2008 07:20 PM Filed in: Updates
The next video is now available. I want to thank all
you folks for being patient with me (again). I hope
you enjoy this film. I finally get the machine doing
some work. I realize I'm new to this tool, but I
can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy working with
it. The video is a bit longer (15 minutes) than my
usual lot, but I do cover quite a bit of material.
Visit the video page to view it.
Visit the video page to view it.
Capture Your Notes
06-Apr-2008 07:21 PM Filed in: Ideas
Been spending a lot of time on the CarveWright forum
these last couple weeks. I've been reading every
single post and the corresponding replies. There's a
ton of great information there and the first thought
that went through my mind was how can a guy catalog
and organize this information for later retrieval...
I know you can do a search on the different posts, but sifting through all the posts can take time and may not render the answer you are looking for. In addition, not everyone would categorize these posts in the same way I would. This also applies to all the other data and information I've come across in other places.
I put my thinking cap on and came up with a great way to do just what I want. I will be putting this idea into another one of my tip newsletters. Yes, this is a hint to sign up for the tip sheet.
I know you can do a search on the different posts, but sifting through all the posts can take time and may not render the answer you are looking for. In addition, not everyone would categorize these posts in the same way I would. This also applies to all the other data and information I've come across in other places.
I put my thinking cap on and came up with a great way to do just what I want. I will be putting this idea into another one of my tip newsletters. Yes, this is a hint to sign up for the tip sheet.
Look & Listen
03-Jan-2008 08:18 PM Filed in: HowTos
found this video on YouTube.
watch as the founder of Carvewright®
demonstrates this amazing
cnc carving machine geared towards the home hobbyist.
cnc carving machine geared towards the home hobbyist.