#woodcarving #woodcarvingwood #whittling linktr.ee/douglinker In this video i go over a lot of common woods (oak,walnut,poplar,tulip,cedar,cherry,butternut,basswood,pine) to see which ones i prefer for woodcarving and why
3:40 Haha, I carve with hickory (mockernut) all the time and love it. Chips your chisels, dulls your knives faster than you can sharpen them, takes an eternity to make anything, but the quality of the end product is unparalleled. You can fit in the sharpest, tiniest details. Finishing a hickory carving feels like a real accomplishment.
I'm in the States but I don't have a Woodcraft store nearby so I go to Lowe's and I have typically used Poplar. Poplar does hold decent detail, at least for novice, it's soft enough to not hurt the hands, and it'll get you working on practice cuts and understanding the fundamentals of woodcarving without breaking the bank.
This was a great video, Doug! I am very new to carving, so this understanding of woods helps immensely. On my property I have cedar, alder (lots of it), and what looks to be fir. From a recent storm we had a couple of cedar limbs that fell to the ground, and I have started to mill that up for my next whittling project. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I started carving when living in New Hampshire. My first item was a Sandpiper made out of piece of Maple rescued from our campfire woodpile. I took forever... then I found air dried Eastern White Pine at a local saw mill. It was very good, Later we moved to Minnesota. I tried basswood from a couple of different craft store and woodworking store sources with mixed results. It wasn't until I attended a Harley Refsal class that I found air-dried Northern Minnesota Basswood. The northern woods grow at a slower rate thanothersh and the preferred method of harvesting is to cut in the winter, when the wood is the driest, and left to air dry. In the Spring the logs are cut into slabs, then cut into the desired dimensions. it is like carving a bar of soap compared to the other woods.
I agree. We live in northern Wisconsin. My husband cuts basswood for me from our property. He cuts it in the winter and air dries it. Nice white wood. Great for carving. Frog Creek in Minong, Wisconsin also sells butternut and bass. You can find him on the web. Nice guy, nice wood.
Hi everybody! I live in Finland, around here is very hard to come across linden(tilia cordata) aka basswood, but I found Aspen to be a good replacement. Pine is highly available... you can kick off the ground and cedar is sometimes foundable :) Have fun carving. Thanks Doug, always appreciate your videos!!!
I'm loving these wood carving vids! You are in your element Doug! I have no desire to carve but your videos keep me captivated. When you are doing what you love, your light shines brightly... and even gives off that warm sunshine feeling to those around you. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, I'm a bowl turner on Oahu Hawaii. We get an incredible amount of beautiful tropical woods but no basswood. I checked with our local WoodCraft store and they had a small variety so I picked up some. Now to sharpen my knife and get busy.. Thanks Doug.
I'm super super happy to have found your channel! I've just started whittling recently. It's been so super helpful. I'm from nova scotia! I've been carving using pieces of 2x2x8 pine from home depot. It's under 13.00 for 8 feet. I'd love to carve with some basswood but it only grows as close as new Brunswick from what I've been able to gather.
Thanks for the video, Doug. I've always said you're a great teacher & going through the basics is going to help so many beginners. Heinecke Wood has the best basswood in the US. Always clean and tight grain.
Great video Doug. Been using bass for a quite a few beginner carvings now but just made my 1st ornament out of pine and like you said it carves nice. I make a lot of utensils and such over the last few years out of hardwoods like walnut,cherry,maple and beech mainly done with the bandsaw and power sanding. Walnut cost the most but it takes less time per spatula to make so that’s what I’ve been liking the most and beech is way at the bottom as like you said before if I think I want to use beech I’ll hit myself in the forehead till I change my mind lol. Love the series your making as I want to keep learning.
Loving the series. You are going through all the things I have wondered about. I have been thinking about getting into carving as it is something I have always wanted to try. I knew about the woods you use since I have been watching your videos for a long while now. However, it was really nice how you went through a few types and what they are like. Now to just get me some tools and some wood and give it a try.
Gabe, I am an old woodworker and, like you, starting to learn to carve, sitting in a rocking chair next to the wife who is knitting. As a woodworker, I learned that it is best to start with a minimum. Get a single, inexpensive carving knife and a piece of soft wood. In process, you will perhaps discover the need for another, different tool. I think it a mistake to buy relatively expensive tool sets since, normally, you will end up using only use a few anyway and the rest are just clutter. Purchase of one inexpensive tool at a time because of need and you will avoid tools you paid for but never use. Simplicity.
@@ericdussell7421 I've been watching this Doug fella for most of the winter. I think he has special knives that make carving simple. I've tried a couple of 4 inch carvings, a native man in a blanket and a 4 inch little man with his hands in his pockets. It's only after you start carving that you realize the skill that Doug has. He certainly makes it look easy. These videos on different woods, stroping and different tricks to add shadows to make carvings just a bit more refined are great. It'll take some time but I'm going to try to train my knives a little more than they are now.
Hey Doug I just found your channel while searching for wood carving videos as I’m new to carving videos. I watched 1 video & immediately subscribed to you bc it seems like you have every sort of video that I need being new to the hobby!!
Doug my name is David. I live in the Mountains of Tennessee. And I have watched every video you have made. I really have learned a lot from them. I have been carving for almost two years now and I enjoy it so much. I carve mostly on Pine wood because Basswood doesn't grow here on the mountain. Sometimes I get Basswood from Hobby Lobby and it has cracks in it and knots but sometimes I get some good Basswood and that is I really enjoy carving. I live on Disability and so I can't really afford to buy Basswood from some of the places that sell it in the North. But I really like your carving program and a lot of my carvings are copyediting from yours.hope you have a Great Day and have another CUP OF COFFEE. 👍😊
Absolutely love the videos Doug, you’re a huge inspiration in the world of whittling, carving, craftsmanship and wood art! In the UK I’ve found Silver Birch, Scots Pine and Spruce to be the easiest. Though for interesting results with hardwood I would recommend English Oak for it’s beautiful ivory-like burr and Rhododendron for holding detail (it makes an almost indestructible walking stick!)! Keep up the good work my friend!
Thanks for the great videos! I am a beginner, and have only done a few carvings, but as I sat down to watch your snowman video, I had just peeled two carrots to snack on. I realized that a piece of carrot would make a great snowman. I also carved a couple of other things from carrot including a spoon. It was a good way to get some easy experience, with minimal time required.
I'm new to carving. I started last winter thanks to your christmas tree and Snowman videos. Thanks for your time and efforts. I'm from St. Louis and have to order my wood.
Thanks Doug, nice easy to follow series and you're careful when saying what works for you that you leave room for the views of others...well done! Here in Southern Oregon we have White Pine that carves very nicely, soft but also the grain resists splitting away like cedar. Red Alder also works fine, just a bit harder. Also, Ponderosa Pine works very well for master cane carver Mike Stinnett over at Stinnett Sticks on YT.
My favorite wood to carve is maple very satisfying but harsh, it's everywhere but I switch to bass once my hands had enough lol . Thanks for your videos you . I watched 4 or 5 of your videos, now I carve everychance I get, thanks agin peace an love.
Thoughtful, concise and well done. Basswood and butternut are my favorites. I believe shaker furniture was butternut because it was plentyfull. Carvings on antique furniture was from walnut.
Hi Doug, I carved waterfowl years ago & used Tupelo a number of times. I am able to find it in Burlington Exotic Woods... a shop to check out for sure. Great video again Sir!
Hey, a carver after my heart!.Your videos are informative and considerate, thanks! I started as a young teenager....63 now..no pro, but carving is next to heaven! lol. I used what I could ge my hands on.1x12 white pine shelving.Look specifically for fine grain. Did a ball and cage in high school wood shop from sweet gum. Sweet gum and white pine is fine, but basswood rules. Aspen is about as good as pine and bass. I have found good wood on pallets. Thought it to be aspen but probably bass. My genre is all kinds of animals and flowers in small the size of my hand.....elk, deer, bass bream, salmon, eagles, cardinals, hummingbirds, are a few....I burn, texture the scales, hair, and feathers.I have done a few wood spirits and Santa's. I'm down with Covid19 but am enjoying every comment. Thanks
I bought a block of linden here about 6 times the amount of that one stick of bass wood you showed here in Switzerland 21 Franks a frank is the same as a US dollar.I have only seen it to buy at one place here. But Yes carves great. I started with pine but hard to get nice grained pine here.
I’m in New York, I like basswood first that I order from E bay . I also use poplar and pine , cedar that I can get out in my woods. I have tried apple and oak to hard for me to use to carve but did make nice wooden mallets. Tried maple but keep breaking out the nose or some other spots so don’t use anymore
Hi Doug Chris here from northern Louisiana, I'm a fairly new Carver (I've always whittled a little) but now working on developing it into a craft with furniture/architecture. Bass wood is phenomenal but pine is the biggest abundance around here along with cedar and cypress both easy when wet but can be a challenge when dry. Really looking forward to future videos. Thanks for the schooling!
Thank you for this, Doug. Bass wood it is, then (probably easiest on the arthritis that is starting in my hands). Adding that to my Christmas wish list. :-) Looking forward to the safety video (already have safety gloves on my list).
Thanks Doug for sharing such a wonderful piece of information. I've in my vicinity more poplar & pine & both found a mention in your video. Always looking forward to your new videos, keep going 👍
I’m a noobie at this, so thanks for a good grounding of knowledge to get started. Silver birch, pine and rhoddies are in abundance where I live on the west coast of Scotland. So thanks for taking the time to make the vid.
Really? Well I'll be damned but I never saw any of those bins :/ it's actually my local pizzeria that does this lol. They have a brick oven and use wood for fire and sometimes they get small basswood mixed in and I usually go and ask them at the end of the day. Other than that, amazon and collecting fallen branches from forests...
Hi, Doug et al, I am from the UK and getting basswood through Amazon is possible. I also have some UK lime but it is a lot harder to cut. To get a bulk delivery of wood at a better price I went to my local lumber yard and bought planed pine inch and half by inch and a half. It is red pine and is close-grained but cuts OK as a suitable UK alternative. I have also bought Chinese balsa wood posing as Bassa wood from Amazon and it cuts beautifully. You can get some great detail too. The balsa wood is soft but if you saw it in any way use a breathing mask or extraction. The dust is a bad irritant. Keep up the good work Doug. You inspired me to have a go and I am hooked.
Basswood, lime, linden are all from the same genus (tilia) and are largely interchangeable. Lime is the long time favourite for woodcarving in the UK, much of the fine work you see in cathedrals etc is lime.
@@steveogden5774 Thank you for your reply. I always believe the Basswood in the US/Canada is a superior product to our UK lime. By that, I mean softer, smoother to cut and a lot fewer knots and blemishes.
Hi Doug, I am just starting out in carving and also collecting vintage pocket knives and absolutely love your videos..I am waiting on some bass wood to arrive and really look forward to starting, I have watched hours of your videos as I have some down time recuperating from a recent back surgery. Anyway thank you for passing your knowledge on to all of us out here, I actually do leather work, carving wallets & motorcycle seats etc. Oh! I am an Aussie. Cheers.......Glenn.
Over here in the UK we have a reasonable selection, I am just in the process of beginning to carve so as yet have not got a favourite, that is why posts like this one Doug are informative and useful. I have a friend who is a tree surgeon and I usually ask him what he has been cutting lately and take my pick from him.
Alan Scott I'm in UK too and I use lime which I think is as near as you'll get to basswood and it's great to carve. I get it from a place in penrith !! If you interested let me know and give you there details 👍
Alan Hurley it's a company called G& S specialist timber.There at stainton in penrith postcode isCA110ES website is www.toolsandtimber.co.uk they do allsorts , worth a look , good luck 👍
I am from Germany, just started because of your videos. I finished my first wizard and it was nice to see what comes out of a block of wood and a bit of imagination. And bought my first helvie knife :) Started with basswood which I ordered online. The actual piece is a bit hard to carve but that's how it is. Next time I will have a look for the wood from the sawmill. Continue with your great work and stay healty! Cheers!
@Niklas Kleine hello from Colorado. I also bought online bass wood and struggled with how hard it was. The Helvie knife looks a bit thinner than every other knife I have found and I imagine the this makes a lot of difference on easy the knife cuts through the wood. (My knifes - no matter how sharp it is - never goes through the bass wood like Doug’s knife. But the Helvie knifes are impossible to buy now at reasonable prices so I just have to cut thinner/smaller pieces off. Good luck! There are better basswoods out there.
Thanks Doug! I am new to this. Caught your first Livestream the other night. Thanks for that also! I can go through your back catalog and get many of the questions I have , answered.
I live in Tennessee. My favorite wood is basswood, but I am currently carving a wizard/santa on a 1" pine stick. I order my wood from Heinecke Brothers.
I'm from Austtalia too and wanted to start getting into carving.... I'm wondering is there any pine or something I can get from Bunnings or do I need to find a more timber specialist.
Carbatec sell Bass wood, also if you're from Perth the wood school sell it aswell and Pops shed in Melbourne. The only thing I've found is that they are all expensive unfortunately..
Hi there. I'm from Melbourne and yea, same. Haven't been able to find something appropriate. I've tried carving pine wood sourced from local bunnings but it is difficult and pretty hard. All they sell is construction wood, which i believe is hardened. Tried talking to local arts and crafts shop. Got recommendation for Balsa Wood. Please do not fell for it. It's shit. Waste of money and Time.
Just what I wanted to see, I have some logs of poplar and glad to see it looks easy to carve - after asking tree surgeons for a piece of branch from a lime tree being cut down round the corner - over three days it took - and they didn't leave me a crumb! Thanks for demo!
I live in Illinois and I mostly use Basswood . I recently bought some alder for 3.50 a board ft it carves really nice I think they call it the poor man's cherry! oh yeah thanks Doug your my favorite carving. you tuber!
Brain Thanks, trouble is that is 120 mile South West of me, mainly West. 20 years ago,before this Agent Orange problem got so bad, that was no problem. I actually got my two F150's truck beds sprayed with Line-X bedliner not far from there. It wasn't cheap, but great stuff.
I'm at the top of Vancouver Island in the Pacific Northwest. I've been using yellow cedar which carves like a dream, much less likely to tear and chip than red cedar.
@@Lzz79326 I get it from a local mill owner as scraps from the processing. You get alot of junk pieces but pay next to nothing. I would call around and if no scraps, try find a rough cut 2x2.
I've been tinkering with the idea of buying a couple good carving knives, quality sharpening stones, making a strop, etc and starting. I wish I could just try it with one of my pocket knives but I'm no genius knife sharpener yet. I can sharpen chisels and my hatchet scary sharp though. Anyway, the point of this comment is to say that basswood was $8.99 for a relatively small piece at Menards (2"x4"x8") and I walked. LOL I enjoy your videos and am artistic so there's still hope for me to try it. Keep up the great work, Doug!
Robert Emerson - Wow..they must have had it marked incorrectly. Bell Forest Products has 2”x2”x12” inch basswood blanks for $3.00. Check out WoodCraft or Rockler or Cooks Woods too. Our Hobby Lobby carries a good supply of small blocks that are perfect for many of Doug’s carvings (like last years Snowman).
Hi Doug, great videos. I’m in Ireland and I like to watch anything handcrafted and came across this quite by accident. I’ve never carved anything in my life but I cast and hand paint figurines. May take up carving after watching this.
I learned from a woodcarver from Persia to use Kerosene when my carving wood is dry. It almost seems like it replaces the oil in the wood. I lived in the desert and even Basswood could be hard and dry. I was taught to brush the Kerosine on the day before. The smell evaporates in time. I found alcohol and water evaporated too quick. Kerosine can also be used to clean your carving.
My favorite is also basswood. I use to buy from a local carving store but they are out of business. Now I buy my bass wood from a saw / lumber yard the deals with exotic woods. I mill and cut it to size myself. A lot cheaper that way . I enjoy your videos and ideas for carving. Happy New to you all in Canada .
Hey, I'm in the UK, just bought some of the basic tools a little while ago for when I'm sat next to the camp fire. This is just the channel I needed. Fantastic. Just made a spoon last week and turned out great. Used to whittle years ago but with no experience at all. Just made stuff up as I went along. My spoon turned out great but looking to do more elaborate things with the help of Doug and along with you guys. And of course I so need to get my first Kuksa carved lol
From the USA. Great video, as usual, Doug. You are an inspiration to everyone from beginners to seasoned carvers. Thank you for that. I love cottonwood bark, but I also carve basswood, butternut, pine etc. I was given in trade a very large piece of mahogany that was like a tabletop size. I carved a beautiful eagle out of that piece. I also had a friend of mine make a memory box out of part of it. I carved memories in the box sides for my granddaughter of her and her father. We lost my son to suicide 9 years ago and I wanted something for her to keep memories of her father in. It turned out beautiful. I still have plenty of that piece left. Keep inspiring and teaching, I learn a lot from you.
Hey Doug! I love your videos and your channel. You are such an honest, friendly guy. Thank you for your awesome service to the carving world. I too am in Canada (Vancouver Island). Where do you get basswood from, may I ask? Cheers!
at 71 I have just started carving hoping it will keep my hands a bit supple well one hand anyway the other has been plated to stabilise it . I would like to say thank you for your time guess I will have to source what type of wood we have in Yorkshire , think the hardest is going to be finding those crooked pieces of wood 5/6 foot long to make walking sticks as my sticks are metal sure looking forward to learn this beautiful past time thanks again Tom Holland please keep these vids going.
Hay Doug, I’m originally from the UK, but now live in northern Germany. I’m surrounded by huge forests full of oak. Basswood is my preferred wood for hand carving. I also carve with a chainsaw using oak, pine and ash as these are readily available to me on the door step. I can’t find anywhere near me that sells basswood. I have to buy it off Amazon. Love your videos Doug, very interesting and inspirational. Thanks Al.
I have uploaded some carvings to my channel I try to carve realistic faces so it takes me 24 hours or more to carve but that's because I'm still learning also.
Hi Doug, great video again, thanks for sharing. I am from Turkey and started carving last year thanks to you. I can find every wood from timber shops but ı prefer to pick the woods up from nature or neighbourhood, like pine, birch, hornbeam and beech.
Thank you Doug! I'm just starting carving this winter - as soon as my garden freezes (right about now) and I get my fall work done. I'm lucky to live near Wightman lumber - theres a town near me here in NY state called "Butternut". I've painted for years and worked with clay - but since we moved out to the country, I've been itching to carve - first we had to build our house by hand and work with the land. Both Butternut and Basswood are available here - and this is my year to start! I'm enjoying your channel - thanks for the great tips and also for how carving fits into your life. Warm regards Jennie
I was thinking about that. Probably done using a lathe. Should be accomplished pretty quickly. Need to sand ends to remove stubs holding the wood blank in the lathe. Cheap to just buy basswood eggs.
Great video Doug! I am also in Canada...one of the other woods I like to carve is Diamond Willow. Nice to carve and you can get some really interesting colours.
Thanks Doug, I am from Bahrain (Arabian Gulf) And I find it difficult to fine the type of wood you mention in the video But I will try and ones I get I will inform you Thanks again
Thanks Doug for theses video's which I have just come to this evening. I'm an outdoors/flyfisherman and spend a lot of time in the wild, forestry type places and around rivers where you find different types of trees and woods. I am usually in the West and south-west of the UK or the 'West Country' in which I am surrounded by Pine forestry, some Birch trees, Oak, Poplar and perhaps some willow and others. I see lots of fallen boughs and branches, logs of all sizes fallen on the ground and have often wondered what i could do with them. Wood is my all time favourite material (and a favourite subject in school lessons, now some 50 years ago) because it is so natural and eco-friendly and simply so nice to look at, feel and so on. Your video's have inspired me to 'have a go' at carving, so will be looking for some woods to bring back when I am next there and intend to buy maybe just two or three tools (rather than hundreds) as you suggest and go from there. Though if its anything like my fly tying kit (which began from a box of materials, but which has now grown into being stored in a complete writing bureau and draws) then who knows aha!..steve
Hi Doug, as you recommended in your video I told you which kind of wood I prefer to carve. I'm from Italy and it is quite difficult to find different kind of wood in our bricoshops. Usually it is easy to find pine or fir. But like you I prefer to carve basswood that I order to Amazon (chipper) or in Trentino Alto Adige (costy). Please continue with your didactic video about carve. Many thanks for your fantastic work and teaching that is very helpful. Luigi (Covo) Bergamo - Italy
Hi,Doug,Love the hooded jersey.I have seen you wearing one before and asked my daughter to do one for me as she dabbles in doing tee shirts ect.Alas she got it wrong and instead of printing i carve she printed i crave.So now everyone keeps asking what am i craving for.It gets embarrasing
love the videos, live in central states usa. i get my wood from new jersey. white cedar. try, it is the best cedar of the cedars. the smell is sweet and carves like a dream. this cedar is much different than main or southern states cedar. the cost is averaged around 2.50 and 3.50 a board foot. usa.
@@mikewells2191 hello mike, his name is spike wells, 888 rt 206, shamong, nj, 08088, phone is 609 284 1025. just tell him what you are looking for, size and he will set you up. this guy is not cityfied so to speak, lol. he is a limber jack so be kind, lol. tell him the guy from missouri who bought a lot of wood sent ya. may help, good luck call him spike.
Thanks, going to look them up. Here in Noord-Brabant I couldn't find any lumberyards or sawmills that sell these woods. Or maybe I wasn't searching in the right places.
I'm from the east slope of the Cascades in WA state. I have only done a handful of carvings all based on you tutorials. I used Aspen which grows right on my property. It seemed to work really well!
Same here.... Basswood is so stupidly expensive in the UK.... I live next to a larch forest, so use a lot of that.... Occasionally birch.... I use a lot of pine slats from pallets too, but you're quite limited to what you can make out of them given how flat they are....
Tulip poplar everywhere around here. Cedar, oak, walnut, cherry, elm, ash, and osage orange as well. I ordered basswood from amazon and it was as hard as a rock.
Thank you Doug. I love Cedar. I live in Washington state. I don't carve but I do paint using watercolor on cedar leftovers. It is the King of all trees so maybe that is why I love it so much.🍁💗🌹❤
My father-in-law more than 50 years ago milled acre's of family property in West Virginia. I'm the recipient of many pallets of black walnut, cherry, oak's, tulip & poplar. Many others, so I carve the popular! It's my favorite.
