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Wildlife From Wood

     

About The Wood

Treatment
There are 3 conditions in which woods can be used for carving; "air dried", the traditional way, "kiln dried", which is really just air dried in controlled conditions, and "green", ie undried. Either air or kiln dried timbers are suitable for carving, the majority of the wood used in Bob's sculptures is kiln dried. Out of the thousands of woods available, only a few are traditionally used for carving and those which Bob uses are never taken from trees which are endangered in any way.

American Basswood (Tilia americana)
A large tree with a long trunk. Matures with a height of 20-35 metres and a girth of of 2-3 metres. Basswood is the wood of choice for many wood carvers as it works very easily with hand tools and can be finished without difficulty.
From Eastern USA and Canada.
Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
Trees over 40 metres tall have been recorded in England and Ireland, the largest measured girth exceeds 8.9m. The wood is a moderately hard, straight-grained, even-textured wood with great strength properties. Works well with hand tools.
From Europe.
European Lime (Tilia Europoea)
A relative of Basswood, this tree will grow to 45 metres in height and when in bloom perfumes its whole locality.The wood is specially valuable for carving, being close-grained, smooth and tractable in working, and allows for great sharpness in minute details. Grinley Gibbons did most of his flower and figure carvings for St. Paul's Cathedral, Windsor Castle, and Chatsworth in Lime wood.
From Europe.
Jelutong (Dyera costulata)
A very large tree about 65 metres tall and a girth of up to 8 metres. The trunk may be straight and clear for 90 feet. The wood is plain and straight grained and used by many wood carvers. The texture is fine and even and is very easy to work, although it does not polish easily.
From Malaysia, Borneo, Suma.
Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum)
May reach a height of 50-70 metres; with a straight cylindrical trunk clear to 30 metres and a girth of up to 6 metres. The wood is rather fine grained, interlocked, and sometimes wavy.
From Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
Easily the largest member of the maple family in Europe, this large round-topped tree can reach 40m in height with a 1.5m girth. The grain is usually interlocked and irregular. Large crowded, brown rays often contrast with white wood tissue in background to add to the beauty of the wood.
From Europe.
Walnut (Juglans nigra)
A moderate sized tree reaching about 33 metres and with a girth of up to 6 metres. Has a fine but open grain with a moderately coarse texture. It is excellent to work with.
From North America.