I started carving heads out of entire logs, butternut, fairly green. Whats the best way to dry em to minimize cracking? Wait a few years before carving? Tried drilling/carving out the inside from the bottom of one and it seemed to help
@chadirvine9700 - As I've tried to show in these videos, whole logs are very likely to split when they lose water. There are a few species that resist: elm and yew, for example, but it's so unpredictable. Several times I've found an un-split log that went on to split after I carved it. So I never use them for the sort of work I do. Medieval whole figures were hollowed out at the back, so your idea of boring etc to relieve the pressures produced as the wood shrinks would seem to be the way to experiment. Sorry not to be more help.
I dont know who you are but thank you! I will be binge watching all of these! Happy New Year!
I started carving heads out of entire logs, butternut, fairly green. Whats the best way to dry em to minimize cracking? Wait a few years before carving? Tried drilling/carving out the inside from the bottom of one and it seemed to help
@chadirvine9700 - As I've tried to show in these videos, whole logs are very likely to split when they lose water. There are a few species that resist: elm and yew, for example, but it's so unpredictable. Several times I've found an un-split log that went on to split after I carved it. So I never use them for the sort of work I do.
Medieval whole figures were hollowed out at the back, so your idea of boring etc to relieve the pressures produced as the wood shrinks would seem to be the way to experiment.
Sorry not to be more help.
@@woodcarvingworkshop thanks! ya i kinda figured there was no magic solution