Soft hardwood trees. High-quality preparation of wood for carving: the choice of material and its drying

Wood carving is considered to be one of the most ancient arts. In the most ancient times there were masters in this art. Woodcarving reached a particularly high development in Kievan Rus where the facades of all the houses were decorated carved elements. Fortunately, woodcarving materials grew everywhere. At that time, skill in this matter reached its peak. It was wood carving that gave Kievan Rus its own unique style.

Some of the secrets of the masters of that time have been lost, while others, on the contrary, have been carefully preserved by masters of many generations. Many of the secrets relate to carving materials. What types of wood are best suited for the job? How is the tree prepared for work? How old must a tree be for its wood to be best quality? What should be the moisture content of the wood?

Softwood and Hardwood

Coniferous wood is most often used as a material for woodcarving. Its advantage is in the resin, which is found in large quantities in wood and makes it resistant to weathering. Coniferous wood can be used at any age.

It is possible to use hardwoods. These are linden over 70 years old, poplar over 50 years old, maple over 90 years old. The wood of alder, mountain ash, ash, oak and other trees is also used. The wood chosen for woodcarving must be good. It should not have oblique layers, there should be no knotting. Only under such conditions, wood on wood will not break and chip.

Preparing wood for work

Materials for woodcarving should be well dried, humidity 15% or less. If you carve on a wet tree, then the product, having dried, will begin to crack and warp. It is more difficult to cut dry wood than wet wood, but products made from it are more durable. Woodworking requires a very sharp, well-sharpened tool.

Distinguish between hard and soft wood. On the hardwood the thread is cleaner even with a less sharp tool. The bars used as materials for carving can be both radial and tangential cut. With a tangential cut, the wood texture is more beautiful. And although in this case the wood resists the woodworker's cutter more strongly, most craftsmen choose the tangential cut.

The beauty of the texture should be taken into account when varnishing wood. It's good when a beautiful texture shines through a layer of varnish. Soft woods impregnate special composition. Canned. Impregnate most often with anti-rotten compounds.

It is not recommended to clean the workpiece with an emery cloth. Abrasive grains get into the wood structure. Subsequently, when processing wood, the tool quickly becomes dull. This reduces the quality of work and slows it down. You need to clean the wood in cycles.

Wood products

Ancient products made by wood carvers have long become antiques and have acquired great value. But even now there are many wooden products are part of our culture. Wooden spoons, wooden utensils, carved wooden furniture, inlaid wooden frames and mirrors. Wooden souvenirs in the Russian style are very popular.

highly valued wooden boxes, wooden toys. Rough materials for wood carving at the hands of the master turn into art panels and interior sculptures. In many villages of Russia, houses in villages are decorated with carved ornaments.

Other materials

In the manufacture of wood products, exotic materials for carving are also used. IN Lately American cherry products became popular. This wood has an unusual texture. cherry blossom. American cherry wood has good performance. It is soft, dries quickly, lends itself well to the tool.

Following the example of the American cherry, other stone fruits are increasingly being used: apricot, peach, plum, bird cherry, almond.

Wood carving is special kind artistic processing of wood, which allows you to turn an unremarkable blank into a magnificent picture or the finest wooden lace.

This folk craft appeared in Russia a very long time ago. Our ancestors honored trees and used wood not only as construction material and firewood for space heating, but also as a raw material for making household utensils, creating decorations for interior decoration houses, their exterior finishes.

Before the advent of Christianity in Russia, houses were decorated wood carving with pagan stories. Often one could meet the symbol of the sun, as well as images of animals and birds. Later, the subjects became more diverse, and the accumulated experience made it possible to create more complex and rich carved decorations.

Today, as many as five types of woodcarving are conditionally distinguished:

through carving, which includes works made by sawing and slotting methods, including openwork carving with a relief ornament;
blind thread, including all varieties of flat and embossed threads;
sculptural carving;
house carving, which is a combination of all the above types of carving;
and even chainsaw carving, most often sculpted, which is performed exclusively by this modern tool.

Whatever type of woodcarving the master does, initially he always carefully selects and prepares wood for work. Only well done preliminary stages- preparation and drying of a tree - allow to receive desirable results and relieve of problems during the work.

Wood species suitable for carving

Experienced craftsmen know that for carved decorations that will be on outdoors, coniferous wood is best suited.

The fact is that it contains a resin that naturally protects the product from decay. That is why for cornices, window, door architraves and exterior sculptures use the wood of spruce, pine, fir, larch, pseudo-hemlock, yew tree and cedar.

Of course, despite the natural protection, carved jewelry from these rocks also needs to be impregnated with drying oil or painted, this will greatly extend their service life.

To decorate household utensils, create furniture, frames, paintings, souvenirs and crafts, it is better to use hardwood with a fine-grained structure. Ideal Options are linden, birch, oak and fruit varieties. The only condition that makes the wood of these trees unusable is the presence of a large number of knots. Such material is not suitable for carving.

Wood preparation

the beginning preparatory phase is the felling of a tree, but you need to immediately tune in to the fact that a lot of time must pass until the intended decoration is obtained from the felled tree. The longest process of the material preparation stage is wood drying. The final result of all work depends on the quality of the drying: the more carefully it is carried out, the easier it will be for the master to work with the workpiece and the more beautiful and durable the product will be.

It is best to harvest wood at the end of autumn or in winter, during this period in the tree least amount moisture means the material will dry faster. In the old days, the attitude towards wood was especially reverent and careful, so the preparation of the material was always approached carefully and without haste. Preference was most often given to natural drying, the technology of which has not changed to this day.

For natural drying, the logs are stacked and covered with a canopy. They remain in this position for at least a year. Material intended specifically for carving is cut into chocks up to 1.5 meters and folded in a dry room where there are no drafts. Most often, a well-ventilated utility room is used for such needs. In it, blanks are stored for a year and a half, during which time they, as a rule, have time to dry to the required moisture content of 8-10%.

Nothing prevents modern craftsmen from drying wood in a natural way, except for impatience and the desire to get to work faster. Such aspirations have contributed to the development of accelerated drying methods such as:

digestion of blanks;
intensive dry drying.

What is better to boil or dry wood?

Craftsmen boil the workpiece in boiling water for several hours before drying. In this case, the dissolution and removal of intracellular moisture occurs, after which the wood dries faster. Practical experiments have shown that boiling in salt water or subsequent rubbing of the workpiece with coarse salt accelerates the subsequent drying even more. Depending on the type of wood, the blank can dry out in a few days to two weeks.

The digestion method is also good because it allows you to experiment with the color of the wood. For example, adding alder bark to water allows you to give the workpiece a coffee-brown color.

The method is not bad, but has a significant drawback - it is not suitable for large volumes of material. If the master wants to decorate the whole house, it will not be easy to boil down the wood for such a large-scale work.

Small blanks can also be dried on a simple battery central heating, and in the summer - in the sun, after wrapping them in newsprint and polyethylene. You need to change the paper every few days until it stops absorbing moisture, and condensation does not form on the polyethylene.

But if we are talking about a large number of blanks, it is best to use modern infrared cassettes for drying them. They are easy to use, do not require constant supervision of the master and are economical in terms of electrical energy consumption.

Infrared dryers can be used both indoors and outdoors. And in terms of drying time, they are in the lead among all the above methods.

The choice of material for wood carving is a very crucial moment and largely guarantees the quality of the future product.

The choice of material for wood carving is a very crucial moment and largely guarantees the quality of the future product. When deciding on the type of wood, it is important to clearly understand the desired end result and take into account the level of skill of the carver. You can learn more about woodcarving here (http://www.grandecor.ru/), on the website http://www.grandecor.ru/.

Types of wood used for woodcarving

In most cases, the following types of wood are used for woodcarving:

Birch
Aspen
Alder
Pine, spruce and others conifers
Caps and suveli - growths on the trunks.

The most popular material, especially among professionals, is linden. It is believed that its fine-fiber structure allows you to perform the most complex and openwork carving. However, increased softness this material requires it to be processed with an ultra-sharp tool, which can create problems for a novice carver.

How to choose material for carving

When choosing wood for carving, the following characteristics should be considered:

Hardness (softness)
Curl (ability to prick)
Moisture resistance
Density
Straightness and fiber color
tree age

Individual properties of each type of wood

Each master should approach the choice of a tree type strictly individually, based on his own capabilities. It is also important to take into account the plot and the degree of complexity of the thread, the purpose of the future product, the technology of its manufacture.

Characteristics of individual wood species and scope

Linden is the most technologically advanced material and allows you to make carved products of any complexity. However, this type of wood requires a highly skilled carver.
Aspen has a slight greenish tint and is most often used to make small kitchen utensils, including wooden spoons.
Alder wood is easy to cut and finish, and also allows you to imitate other tree species. Many masters consider this material to be universal.
Birch is processed somewhat more difficult, but provides high quality cut. It is recommended to use it for making small decorative items.
hallmark Maple is a white, slightly yellowish wood and has a beautiful viscous texture. This material is durable and hard. It acquires special beauty after polishing along the radial cut. Maple utensils are highly valued.
Even more durable material considered to be oak. It is widely used for making household items and large-sized decorative carvings.
Spruce and pine are characterized by a striped texture and increased softness. This material is most suitable for making large crafts and embossed carvings.

Light and solid wood varieties can be used to create sculptural portraits. Solid wood is also suitable material for openwork carving. Bright structural stripes certain types wood are useful in cases where the product needs to be given special expressiveness.

Woodcarving is a fairly complex type of arts and crafts. To master the craft, masters require constant practice, good tools, as well as creativity. However, the final result of the cutter's work depends not only on these factors. The quality of the material used for processing also plays an important role. What kind of wood is used for woodcarving masters, how to prepare it? The answers to these and other questions are provided below.

Importance of material quality

Not every wood is suitable for carving art. Since the materials have different properties: moisture, strength, softness, flexibility, etc. Therefore, the choice of a particular option depends on:

simplicity and speed of processing blanks;
visual appeal of the product;
the ability to perform small and complex ornaments;
durability of the product (figurine, furniture, etc.).

Which tree to choose with all the variety of species? The selection of a specific material is largely determined by the technique in which the master works.

Popular breeds

Hand carving can be carried out on blanks various wood. However, there are some of the most popular breeds that are preferred. Among them:

Linden. Blanks from this breed lend themselves well to processing with chisels and chisels. The wood itself has a fine-grained structure, thanks to which craftsmen can perform complex and delicate ornaments. The even white color of linden is another reason why carvers choose this particular breed.
Alder. What kind of wood is used for wood carving if the master needs a unique shade of the breed? First of all, of course, alder. Such wood changes color: initially, the blank is white, but over time it acquires a reddish tint, and then - light pink.
Birch. It is easy to process, so it is often used for relief and geometric carving. Due to the low strength indicators, birch blanks are used in the manufacture of paintings, panels and other decorative products.
Oak. What kind of wood is needed for carving if the master wants to make a figurine or decorative furniture? Oak will become the best choice. It is characterized by high strength, durability, resistance to damage. That is why oak is used to make benches, chairs, kitchen utensils etc.

What trees are suitable for carving, in addition to the named species? First of all, it's maple. Its wood is similar in color to birch, but has an attractive texture and hardness. Maple is more difficult to process with cutters (small chisels, ceraziks, cranberries, etc.), so large ornaments and relatively simple patterns are created on blanks. Pine, cedar, yew and fir are also widely used in carving art. They need to be better prepared before work, as the rocks contain a lot of resins.

Quality Criteria

How to choose a tree for carving, provided that the materials differ in properties? When preparing, it is important to consider:

Humidity. This indicator directly affects the durability finished product. Excessive wood moisture threatens with deformation, cracking, loss of attractive appearance. Therefore, freshly cut material is not suitable for processing. If there is a need to create a relief and an ornament, the craftsmen choose dry blanks with a moisture content of about 8%.
State. What kind of wood is strongly recommended to use? The one that has knots, growths and other defects. Such material is difficult to process due to twisted fibers. They prevent the master from moving the tool in the right direction. In addition, in place of knots, chips and cracks form faster, which leads to breakage of products.
Weight. The heavier the material, the higher its strength. Therefore, craftsmen try not to use heavy wood in the manufacture of panels, paintings and other products that require delicate processing. Heaviness can also indicate high humidity.

This is basic information about which tree is better to choose for further carving. When selecting a specific workpiece, craftsmen are also advised to always take into account the technique in which they are going to work.

Features of preparation

The choice of wood is First stage. After the master has decided on the breed, he will need to prepare the material. This measure is necessary in order to prevent early damage to the product and deformation. How to prepare a tree for carving, what methods exist?

Drying is the main method. This procedure helps to remove excess moisture, which accumulates in the tree. It is optimal if the material is dried in the fresh air. In this case, it is important to reduce the humidity to a level of 15-20%. The drying procedure itself can take a long time - several months if the workpieces are large.

As soon as the humidity reaches the desired levels, the wood is brought into the room (away from heating appliances). This is necessary in order to further dry the fibers of the material. It is desirable that the moisture content in the workpiece does not exceed 8-10%.

How to prepare wood for carving alternative ways? Masters can apply the digestion method. This method is suitable for the preparation of blanks small size. To do this, they are placed in boiling water, boiled over low heat for several hours. This procedure helps to quickly and effectively eliminate intracellular moisture in the fibers of the material. After such a heat treatment, the workpieces must be dried for a week (on average).

If you do not know which wood is suitable for carving with chisels, how to properly prepare the material, but at the same time you want to become the owner of original products, the masters of the Russian Bondar company will help. Our specialists are experts in the production of unique carved furniture, souvenirs, figurines that connoisseurs of exclusive can order.

TO soft woods it is worth including linden, willow, aspen, poplar, alder, chestnut.

Linden (Fig. 1) is the best material for carving a wide variety of products. Distributed almost everywhere Far East, where more than half of the linden stock is located, as well as in the European and Asian parts of the middle zone.

Rice. 1 Linden

Linden wood is soft, light, slightly susceptible to cracking, warping, does not dry out, white color, is distinguished by purity and uniformity; easy to process, well cut, widely used in turning.

Due to its insufficient hardness, linden is not suitable for the production of furniture, but in the manufacture of souvenirs, toys, carved decor for home decoration, various wooden utensils she is irreplaceable. Semenov and Zagorsk nesting dolls are still made from it, Khokhloma dishes are sharpened, and much more. Due to its fine layer, ease of processing, linden is used in the production of barrels. Linden becomes softer after steaming, and when dried, it acquires high strength.

This makes it possible to bend sieves, boxes and piles from thin lime boards, to upholster products with complex curved surfaces with thin lime boards. It is much easier to cut tableware from steamed linden wood: spoons, bowls, ladles, brothers.

Very valuable property lime is its viscosity. Many masters make boards from linden, on which they cut the skin, cut out birch bark lace, mosaic elements from veneer, without fear of dulling the knife. At one time, drawing boards were also made from linden. Such boards held the buttons well, and the remaining dents are quickly smoothed out. Due to the ease of processing, the ability to almost not dry out and not succumb to warping, casting models are mainly made from linden.

Bast is widely used - linden bark. The bast soaked in water turns into a bast - durable and cheap material, going to the manufacture of sieves, baskets, boxes, sacks, matting. From it they weave (from the bark of young lindens - lime bast) unpretentious shoes - bast shoes.

And finally, one cannot but say that everyone's favorite wonderful tree - linden is one of the best honey plants. Linden honey is healing, has bactericidal properties, linden blossom has also been used in traditional medicine, even linden charcoal is used as a medicine. Man has learned to comprehensively use linden - this truly universal treasure prepared by nature itself.

Willow (weeping, white, black, red, willow, willow) - all trees from the willow family.

Willow (Fig. 2) is widely used in economic activity. The wood of this tree is not much inferior to linden, it is light, soft, viscous, elastic. Willow is used in the manufacture of various equipment, tennis rackets, prostheses; she - best material for arcs, hoops and more. Trunks of large trees are used to build houses, sawing boards. From the boards make beehives, furniture, various home utensils. Willow vine is almost universally used for weaving. Baskets are woven from the unpeeled rod, as well as fishing tackles. Furniture, various coasters are made from white rod. Willow bark is used in tanneries for tanning hides; a dye derived from the bark is used in dyeing wool, silk and leather brown and black. The bast is used to make fiber for the production of ropes. Willow is a wonderful honey plant, so it is very much appreciated in beekeeping.

Rice. 2 willow

IN modern conditions when great attention is paid to the protection environment, the value of the willow is further enhanced. Its good survival on various soils, smoke and gas resistance, the ability to cleanse the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and enrich it with oxygen make willow indispensable in landscaping.

Aspen (Fig. 3) is a tree from the willow family. Usually grows in forest and forest-steppe zones. It has a number of remarkable qualities: frost, moisture and acid resistance. Aspen wood is soft, uniform in texture, white and clean, less susceptible to wormholes than others. One of its important properties is light resistance. It does not turn yellow for a long time if it is indoors. When burned, aspen does not produce soot, and therefore is indispensable in the match industry; packaging chips for fruits are made from waste. Another positive quality is its ability not to rot in water for a very long time. Since ancient times in Russia, a log house for a cellar or a well, especially its lower part, was made of aspen. In addition, its thin-layered wood becomes very dense in water and weakly passes water, so barrels, tubs, and troughs are made from aspen. For the roofing of roofs, they always tried to use aspen shingles. The domes of the famous northern wooden temples were covered with plowshares (shingles) - small figured boards. From the sun and rain, the plowshare acquires a beautiful silver-gray color over time.

Rice. 3 Aspen

Aspen is widely used for carving. Homogeneous wood allows you to make cuts in any direction, does not chip or wrinkle under the cutter.

Poplar (Fig. 4) - also from the willow family, has many varieties. Trees grow rapidly and reach maturity and large size in 30-40 years. Within Russia, the following are common: black (speck), white (silver, pyramidal (Italian) and Canadian poplar.

Rice. 4 Poplar

Poplar wood is soft, light, homogeneous in structure, with a slightly pronounced texture pattern, almost does not crack when dried, can be processed by cutting and finishing.

Annual layers are visible in all sections.

Poplar wood is used in the pulp and paper industry to produce paper and cardboard. Poplar black is used in furniture production for products that require finishing, as well as for the manufacture of wooden utensils and household utensils. The butt part of the trunks of black and Canadian poplar is different beautiful texture, similar to Karelian birch, and is used for the production of planed plywood and decorative peeled veneer; obtained from buds and flowers purple paint, from leaves - yellow.

Alder (Fig. 5) - a tree from the birch family, grows in most of the European territory of Russia and Western Siberia on highly moist soils. Presented in three varieties: black alder, white and Siberian.

Rice. 5 Alder

Alder is a sapwood species that often has a false core. The color in a freshly cut state is white, it turns red in the air and becomes yellowish-red (Fig. 5a). Annual rings are hardly noticeable. The core rays are narrow, not visible to the naked eye, on the transverse section they are falsely wide and are revealed in the form of light, sometimes curved, radial lines.

Rice. 5а Alder cut

There are heart-shaped repetitions in the form of brownish specks, spots or dashes. On the butt parts of the alder trunk, growths, caps are possible.

Alder wood is soft, light, cuts well, warps a little, pickles and polishes well, is very resistant to water, so it is used for making piles, well log cabins, and mine props. Alder is suitable for carving. In places where there is little linden, aspen, willow, master carvers work with alder.

Alder bark produces tannins, good black paint, alder cones are used in folk medicine.

Edible chestnut (Fig. 6) grows in natural conditions in the southern regions, in middle lane there are individual trees, and there are plantings in gardens and parks.

Rice. 6 Chestnut

The breed is sound, the core is similar in color and structure to oak wood, but core rays are not visible. The sapwood is narrow, light, with a yellowish tinge. Annual rings are clearly visible in all cuts. chestnut contains a large number of tannins, has a grayish tint and a characteristic texture pattern. Chestnut wood is light, soft, and lends itself well to cutting and finishing. Chestnut is used in the manufacture of furniture in the form of planed plywood, as well as in cooperage. The bark is used in the tanning industry to produce black and brown dyes.