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Sycamore....any of the carvers tried this wood before?

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8T

I just scored a couple of very nice large sycamore logs and got them delivered to my home. I have a plan for each of them but am working on some smaller pine pieces now. I just wanted to see if any of you have carved sycamore before and could tell me anything about it.

B

I've never tried it but have heard it is Great carving wood. Let us know how it chops..

All I know about Sycamore is that it's a dense wood sometimes used for Butcher Blocks, and that it sometimes has a low tensile strength making it unsuitable for load bearing members.

8T

UPDATE: Well after completing the first sycamore project which became the big green Pisco bottle dude, I can whole heartedly recommend this tree to you as a good carving wood.
It is very heavy but I like it because it doesn't splinter much and the cracking was not bad either. The grain is smooth and it is a very light color which would accept stains well. Luckily today I found out that the place where I got my first 2 logs just had a tree service take down several more of these trees. I got there this evening after the crew had left so I couldn't have any custom sized lengths cut but I did manage to select 3 nice thick 2-3 footers from the pile they didn't have room to haul off today. I guess you could say that it was a "3 LOG NIGHT".
Now I just have to decide how to transform them.

Does anyone know what an average price of a 2-3 foot log would cost at a saw mill?

Any wood that doesn't crack is all right with me. So, what's the plan for the next log?

8T

'Tis a secret for now AA. Hopefully I can give you some hints as I go along and post in-process shots. It probably won't take you long to figure it out. So, Be patient.

Pages: 1 6 replies