Use of orange oil and beeswax: Update!

Good or bad idea?

I'm "over-wintering" a carving-in-progress indoors. The heat of the furnace causes an inevitible dryness to the indoor climate. As a result, fresher and especially unsealed wood tends to dry and crack dramatically. I've been treating the carving with an orange oil and beeswax product (originally made for furniture restoration) that I've used before on smaller finished pieces. So far results have been favorable and the product doesn't seem to interfere with the woods carvability. From experience I know this product also doesn't affect stain application.

If this experiment is of interest to anyone, I'll be sure to post my results.

[ Edited by: FreakBear on 2004-11-23 16:35 ]

[ Edited by: FreakBear on 2004-12-03 15:28 ]

It's of interest to me. Lemme know how it goes!

Mahalo!

Dido, let us know .

In addition to the work in progress I've started a brand new carving (softer wood than previous piece) and am using the product on it as well. This stuff is called Howard Feed n' Wax. I will document my progress here as it develops.

I started this new piece yesterday, brushing on the feed n' wax in between sessions. When carving out some detail around one eye, a good size chip crumbled loose. This could be due to chisel dullness or possibly oversaturated wood. (This happened with a similar cut on a previous tiki also, so it could just be a problem with cutting angle, too much force, etc.). Stopped carving and coated the piece for the evening.

On inspecting this afternoon there was some very light cracking on one side of the freshly cut area. No problems with crumbling. Stopped work and carefully applied an even coat, covered with a piece of cloth. I will monitor the cracks for widening.


This log started out with some light checking which may be to blame for the cracks I saw today. Time will tell!
-FB

[ Edited by: FREAKBEAR on 2004-11-23 16:32 ]

[ Edited by: FreakBear on 2004-12-03 15:25 ]

Not a great idea for softer woods in the working stages. The wood tends to get "chewy" causing problems with pronounced edges and finer details (upper corner of left eye). While beveling the edge of the nose, a good sized chunk flaked off on either side.

No significant damage to the piece I'm working on. Working mallet-free with various "V" and "U" type gouges to shape these problem areas. I'm covering the piece with a cotton cloth and not appling any more feed and wax.
I will continue using the product once or twice a week on the other tiki to prevent cracking until I can finish carving and finally stain and seal.
-FB

[ Edited by: FreakBear on 2004-12-02 14:31 ]

[ Edited by: FREAKBEAR on 2004-12-03 15:23 ]

FYI: Edits and photo updates above.

freakbear, is that beechwood you are carving? if so thats a big problem right there.anytime i've carved beech i've had nothing but problems with horrible cracking and pieces chipping off. if its not, nevermind. jimmy.

That could very well be! If it's any indicator, note the redish patina that occurred while aging the wood. It carves almost like pine, just chewier and flakier. The carving is coming along with ease as long as I sharpen chisels regularly. I'm using my Millers Falls set (non-mallot set with plenty of specialized blades) more than usual for the shallower cuts though deep cuts with the flat Marples set are pretty worry free.

-FB

As Chisel Slinger points out, problems may be due to the type of wood not so much the Feed n Wax. I may try carving a test spot on a non treated part of the log and follow up with the results.

The overwintering piece (pictured in first post) is a much harder wood, possibly some sort of maple, and has been treated through much of the carving process. I will assume for now that treating harder woods is relatively safe. The effects of saturation over time are yet to be known (probably spring).