Hurricane wood

I'm a brand newbie to carving and have questions about different wood. Due to the onslaught of hurricanes this year, there seems to be a bounty of wood lying around. I personally don't have alot experience with some of the exotic trees that have become available - even though I have stock piled some pieces for my own use.

Here is a list of some of the trees that I have seen: Ficus (Very LARGE Trunks), Banyan, Australian Pine, Live Oak, Carrotwood (I don't know if that is right), Gumbo Limbo, and many types of Palms (what are the best?).

Is any of this wood good for carving?

Do I need to prpare the logs in any way other than sealing the ends?

edited by me

[ Edited by: Chip and Andy 2009-02-23 10:24 ]

Thanks for the input.

A great resource is to go to the dump on Powerline and check out some of the stuff people are dumping. The fewer trees in the landfill makes everyone happy. i also have seen some good logs at the county parks. You just have to find out where they are stockpiling thier cuttings.

The Ficus and Banyan are brothers and Fantastic for carving. Once the milky sap dries out it is Beautiful, Easy to carve and Very Stable in that it rarely splits. Carrot wood is terrible for carving as is Austrailian pine and Live oak. Coconut, Washingtonian and Sable(cabbage) are the best carving palms.
Good luck.

I'm sure all trees are different but how long will it take for a trunk to naturally dry out on its own? Is there a way of telling when it's ready? Thanks.

Thats hard to tell, depending on the tree like you said. Also depending on the need. If you have nothing to carve then you open a wet log. The Ficus will not usually split at all when carved fresh. The bark contains All the white, milky, Sticky sap. Once you skin the bark it's all gone and you have a beautifil carving piece of wood. Other typesare not so stable and need to dry out more . Norfolk Island Pine is another that can be carved Fresh and most of its sap is also in the bark so whan that's gone there is another good log. Ready for carving. Fla mahogany should dry until the bark is dry. Also keep in mind, here in South Florida especially, thet there are beetles that lay their eggs on the bark which produce grubb worms. These worms feed off the bark until they get large enough to dive into the wood, When that happens it is impossible to remove them and they can eat a log from the inside out, Even after it is carved and finished!!! Removing the bark stops them dead in their tracks.
Other types of wood you have to experiment with as far as drying.
Hope this helps and Have FUN.
happyhappyhappy

Man, that would suck to finish a piece only to watch it gradually deteriorate! Especially if you didn't know why it was happening. Thanks for the reply.

From death comes life!

Here is my first attempt at carving. I started off with clay and once I got the fever I dove dove into a piece of ficus that I had gotten from one of the many trees down around my house. I sealed the ends and let it sit for a few weeks as I worked in ceramics.

But the tiki fever caught hold and I started on on the logs. Ficus has a thin, very moist bark - but once you get the skin off the meat of the wood is great for carving. There was mold starting to grow under the bark at each end - is this normal?

It took me about 6 hours to get this point. But it was mostly practice with the different chisels and gouges.

The next ste will be playing with the dremel. As I am still trying to figure out all of these tools. What a blast!! I will post more pictures when I have time to get back at it.

[ Edited by: AlohaStation on 2004-10-13 08:35 ]

[ Edited by: AlohaStation on 2004-10-13 09:00 ]

[ Edited by: AlohaStation on 2004-10-13 09:03 ]