Fishwood

[thewoodlands]

I need this gone so I can access this area, so is basswood good for milling and if it is what type of lumber would you make out of it?



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[JustWood]

Carving blanks.

 

[thewoodlands]

I'm sure the size is different but what would some of the carving blank sizes be?


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[JustWood]

Don't know. Probably depends on the end product. Whoever needs it for carving may want the core dead center in the blank.
Side boards make light strong shelving.

 

[fishingpol]

Carving blanks are anywhere from 2" x 3" x 12" long and up in size. Caricature carvers love it for making their figurines. Maybe allow extra length for checking. Many carvers buy blanks at carving shows or suppliers that are kiln dried ready to go. I wonder if you put a CL ad out there if you would get any prospects.

I don't know about strength for useable boards from milling. Basswood always reminds me of poplar. Pretty clear, tight grain but nothing remarkable. Serious carvers may want larger pieces for bigger projects. I always wanted to make a cigar store indian, not sure why either.

 

[snowleopard]

I saw your picture of the trees and salivated, and I'm pretty sure my pupils dialated a bit, too. Is this a bad sign?

 

[Thistle]

3 x 4 x 12,4 x 5 or 6 x 12 up to 24 etc. 2 x 2 x 12 are among the normal commercial sizes.Carvers like variety,if its clear & straight grained thats their main concern.

 

[purplereign]

A business around here uses basswood lumber for making "bee boxes", the internals of the hives. Also yardsticks and other trinkets where light weight and little apparent grain is a plus.

 

[thewoodlands]

I saw your picture of the trees and salivated, and I'm pretty sure my pupils dialated a bit, too. Is this a bad sign?

It's a good sign snowleopard, that all stops when you can't keep up unless it's sugar maple or beech that comes down, then the salivating continues.


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[Battenkiller]

I made a beautiful pack canoe for Lady BK using basswood strips instead of cedar. It won 1st prize at the Northeast Woodworkers Showcase two years ago, so it ain't all that bad for that use. A wee bit denser than cedar, but the strips can be made thinner to compensate because it is stronger. This one came out at just around 20 pounds when it was finished. Plenty light to carry all day long if you want to get up to those distant mountain ponds for native brookies.

 

[fishingpol]

Very nicely done indeed BK!

 

[thewoodlands]

I made a beautiful pack canoe for Lady BK using basswood strips instead of cedar. It won 1st prize at the Northeast Woodworkers Showcase two years ago, so it ain't all that bad for that use. A wee bit denser than cedar, but the strips can be made thinner to compensate because it is stronger. This one came out at just around 20 pounds when it was finished. Plenty light to carry all day long if you want to get up to those distant mountain ponds for native brookies.

BK, very nice job on the canoe. We have plenty canoe's in the woodlands. :zip:


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[Pagey]

Now that's some spectacular wood working, BK!

 

[Battenkiller]

Thanks, guys!

Hey, if I can't brag about having 20 cord of very high-quality hardwood on hand, at least I can show off what you can do with very low-quality hardwood.

 

[smokinj]

Thanks, guys!

Hey, if I can't brag about having 20 cord of very high-quality hardwood on hand, at least I can show off what you can do with very low-quality hardwood.

Well, I would trade 6 cords of very nice seasoned hardwood for that there stick of softwood?

 

[weatherguy]

I made a beautiful pack canoe for Lady BK using basswood strips instead of cedar. It won 1st prize at the Northeast Woodworkers Showcase two years ago, so it ain't all that bad for that use. A wee bit denser than cedar, but the strips can be made thinner to compensate because it is stronger. This one came out at just around 20 pounds when it was finished. Plenty light to carry all day long if you want to get up to those distant mountain ponds for native brookies.

Nice canoe BK, how long does it tke to make one?

 

[Battenkiller]

Nice canoe BK, how long does it tke to make one?

Hard to say.

It's supposed to take about 100 hours or so to make a cedar strip/fiberglass canoe, but this one was done a few hours at a time on spare evenings over about a six month period. My wife wanted to help, so I only worked on it after she got home from work, on nights when she still had some energy left.

This particular canoe was a tedious process because of the way I built her. That walnut recurved area at the rails seemed to take forever to get it to come out perfect. The stems at the ends were fitted after the fact and hand-shaped to look and function like the stems on bigger pulling boats. The rails were a matched set that were hand planed from a curly basswood board I had on hand, double tapered to give the boat a lighter more elegant look (and to shave off a few ounces of unnecessary material). The decks were cut from a beautiful and very hard and dense cherry crotch that contained some burl figure to it. It was salvaged from my firewood pile and sat around for years until I found something nicer than a bowl to make from it. The fit and finish of the entire boat was done with the idea of entering it into the show when we were done.

All that considered, I like to say that it took as long as it took, maybe as much as 160 hours or so... but was worth all the effort. She turns heads around everywhere we go, whether on the water or sitting on the roof rack of the car in the supermarket parking lot. She is also a featured boat for Chesapeake Light Craft, the company licensed to sell the plans. Go to the link below to see photos from their website of our little Nymph with Lady BK and our granddaughter Cadence. They recommend building it in 10' or 12' versions. We built her at 11'... rebels that we both are. :coolsmile:

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/boat-plans/canoe-plans/nymph-strip-planked-pack-canoe.html