Totoro crew

[BeckyN]

And there is the Totoro crew!
now on to the black poplar polar bears! That stuff cleans like butter, compared to willow. Better not get addicted tho!

[joepaulbutler]

Three more for the shelf, coming along fine. Curious was this greenwood

[BeckyN]

Always green wood with me!

[BeckyN]

They get shipped soon, for the niece to paint!

[woodburner807]

Fine work, Becky, and curious if they check when they dry? Do you paint them as green or wait until they dry? If painted green, what type of technique and paint?

Great job.

[Glenn Jennings]

Look great. Interested in Bills Comment asI am tempted to try Wet wood carving for roughing out as I think With bowls It Might reduce stress cracking that you get as the large wood blanks dry out which ruins the blank. One wouldn't have to wait for 2 years for a piece of wood to dry out as the thinner roughed out piece would dry in a quarter of that time at which time it could be finished off.

[BeckyN]

The tops of the head get fine cracks, and usually around the pithe.
I find the colder it is carving, then room temp to linseed oil, and the cracks are minimal.
I never wait for drying the green, it's straight from carving to burning the select areas, to oiling.
with tung oil, not linseed, it does crack more. Danish oil did not prevent any cracking period.
I do two coats of linseed on the polar bears, than 4 of tung oil. All spaced apart by 24 or more. Than in a dry warm area to cure for the 45 days.
to prevent cracking on the brown bears, they get 4 coats of Danish oil, spaced 45 minutes apart, wiped thoroughly and linseed oil applied about 2 hrs later.
Never had any issues with tacky or leeching, as long as I remember my times with the linseed and tung oils.
I have used acrylic paint on a few pieces, which is applied after the linseed, and before the tung oil.
but usually don't offer painted pieces. Painting is not my forte!
Did I explain that okay?

[joepaulbutler]

WOW,∙∙∙∙that is some process you do!

[BeckyN]

What can I say, us women can be quite tedious

[joepaulbutler]

OH wow, had never noticed

[Nebraska]

The tops of the head get fine cracks, and usually around the pithe.
I find the colder it is carving, then room temp to linseed oil, and the cracks are minimal.
I never wait for drying the green, it's straight from carving to burning the select areas, to oiling.
with tung oil, not linseed, it does crack more. Danish oil did not prevent any cracking period.
I do two coats of linseed on the polar bears, than 4 of tung oil. All spaced apart by 24 or more. Than in a dry warm area to cure for the 45 days.
to prevent cracking on the brown bears, they get 4 coats of Danish oil, spaced 45 minutes apart, wiped thoroughly and linseed oil applied about 2 hrs later.
Never had any issues with tacky or leeching, as long as I remember my times with the linseed and tung oils.
I have used acrylic paint on a few pieces, which is applied after the linseed, and before the tung oil.
but usually don't offer painted pieces. Painting is not my forte!
Did I explain that okay?

BeckyN,

I have tried to not comment on this post.

You are recommending a process of sealing moisture in the wood to delay cracking.

Are you aware wood is a material prone to molding and rotting if not allowed to dry before finishing?

I have done carvings in green wood not fresh cut but green enough you could feel the moisture in the wood as you carved. To reduce the chance of cracking I drilled out the pith except the last 3/8” at the top of the piece I slowed the drying by keeping the project in a brown paper bag when not carving. After carving it took an additional 4 months for the moisture content to reach a level that allowed for finish to be applied.

[BeckyN]

I am not recommending anything at all, actually.
I just explained my process. Nowhere have I said anything about what anyone else should do.
I could understand your concern on a large piece of log, but a willow branch will be completely dry, unoiled, in 2 days. With plenty of cracking
Oiled, it takes a few more days.
though I did fail to say all pieces dry in a window in my porch.
I have yet to see any molding, warping etc. I send firm instructions to those who want their carving before the curing process is finished.

[BeckyN]

Quite honestly, I would never recommend listening to me

[BeckyN]

Hmm, the rest of that post didn't make it! Weird.
I had typed that letting the pieces dry even for 24 hrs will get you a crack or split from top to bottom, and around each cut.
that is why I have this tedious process.
only once have I had a piece mold, on the bottom, but I had placed it on a cutting board, and it did not have adequate air flow on the bottom. Since then I have everything drying sitting on a mason jar lid, without the cap on it, and have never had another issue.
They do sit in a window, which sometimes gets day sun, when the sun is kind enough to shine.
But I am truly here to learn, not give advice. For that, I am as green as my wood!

[joepaulbutler]

Quite honestly, I would never recommend listening to me

Does that go for cinnamons?