fake wod, balsa

Has anyone come across a artificial carving type wood substitute. I've come
across some and ordered samples, any experience tips would be of great help.
I will report back what I learn when I have some in my hand. BTW, it is
used in Detroit to model cars and in the aircraft industry.

thanks,
Patrick

Balsa is not a "fake" wood. It is very real and was once a tree just like
pine and maple (but it doesn't grow in the USA). It has some very useful
properties that are fairly unique to it such as being very soft and very
light. As such it is very easy to cut and carve, but it's not very strong.
Yes, it is (was) used in Detroit and in the aircraft industry, but it's
mostly used for model aircraft and hobbies. You should be able to easily
find it at hobby and craft stores near you in small block and strip sizes or
you can mail order it if you want larger sizes.

Many woods are good for carving that are a bit harder and heavier and thus
also quite a bit stronger. My personal favorites are basswood, mahogany, and
jelupon (hope I spelled them right). What makes them good for carving is
their lack of strong grain structure which causes deflection of the carving
tools and splitting. Easy carving woods allow the carving tools to cut (like
butter) without being deflected by the grain structure. Jelupon is the only
one of my favorites that's a little difficult to find. You can usually also
find basswood in craft and hobby shops (it's what was once used for carving
carousel horses). I buy my mahogany at a local lumber yard that caters to
cabinetmakers. I usually get jelupon from specialty wood suppliers via mail
order.

--
Charley


"Patrick" wrote in message
. ..
Has anyone come across a artificial carving type wood substitute. I've
come
across some and ordered samples, any experience tips would be of great
help.
I will report back what I learn when I have some in my hand. BTW, it is
used in Detroit to model cars and in the aircraft industry.

thanks,
Patrick

Patrick wrote:
Has anyone come across a artificial carving type wood substitute. I've come
across some and ordered samples, any experience tips would be of great help.
I will report back what I learn when I have some in my hand. BTW, it is
used in Detroit to model cars and in the aircraft industry.

thanks,
Patrick


Balsa isn't fake wood. It's the product of a family of tropical trees.
There are 'fake woods' being used for carving (see my post on
high-density urethane) that at least some people seem to like.

But I'd like to find out more about wood substitutes for carving with
hand tools. Let us know what you find.

--RC

I know that "Balsa" is a real wood! I came across a listing for something
called "fake Balsa" and was wondering if anyone has tried it! The problem
with Balsa (real) is that you are limited in thickness and width of a
carving block.

From what I learned so far is that it is real easy on your tools, 12 - 24"
thick slabs are available, it is non-toxic, takes paint and wood filler
well, chips like real wood and not just a beaded powdered mess, and it does
not have the static charge like regular foam board. And yes, this is the
same stuff sign makers use. Detroit uses it to model cars, etc as well as a
plethora of other industries.

When I get some, I will report back with what I found. My goal is to see
how well it works and carves for cheap practice pieces for myself and for
schools to learn with. The eagle in the start of "Americas Most Wanted" is
carved out of this stuff and I am thinking of bringing it on board. I sell
wood to schools for the Science Olympiad bridge and tower competition as
well as model builders. I am fessing up that I am a business so as to not
be flamed for being a business without notice. I am doing research and will
share all that I learn.

I know that the stuff in question comes in various weights/densities, from
4lb to 25lb per cubic foot--approx. weights, I will correct as I get the
specs. If I bring the stuff in, I will post all the info about it and offer
samples to those who are interested at cost + shipping so you can check it
out and experiment with it like myself. Please don't flame me, I am not
listing this as a advertisement for my site and will not post my site
address unless requested by one of you and you want to know what I find out
in more detail, than I have time to post here in a response.


Patrick






"Rick Cook" wrote in message
ink.net...
Patrick wrote:
Has anyone come across a artificial carving type wood substitute. I've
come across some and ordered samples, any experience tips would be of
great help. I will report back what I learn when I have some in my hand.
BTW, it is used in Detroit to model cars and in the aircraft industry.

thanks,
Patrick
Balsa isn't fake wood. It's the product of a family of tropical trees.
There are 'fake woods' being used for carving (see my post on high-density
urethane) that at least some people seem to like.

But I'd like to find out more about wood substitutes for carving with hand
tools. Let us know what you find.

--RC

Thanks JD, I'll do a search. I'm trying to find a good alternative carving
material for intro carvers.

Patrick


"jd" wrote in message
news
I have used a material called RenShape in model making, it machines like
wood without the grain. Google Renshape and look for the "board" material.
JD
"Patrick" wrote in message
. ..
I know that "Balsa" is a real wood! I came across a listing for something
called "fake Balsa" and was wondering if anyone has tried it! The problem
with Balsa (real) is that you are limited in thickness and width of a
carving block.

From what I learned so far is that it is real easy on your tools, 12 -
24" thick slabs are available, it is non-toxic, takes paint and wood
filler well, chips like real wood and not just a beaded powdered mess,
and it does not have the static charge like regular foam board. And yes,
this is the same stuff sign makers use. Detroit uses it to model cars,
etc as well as a plethora of other industries.

When I get some, I will report back with what I found. My goal is to see
how well it works and carves for cheap practice pieces for myself and for
schools to learn with. The eagle in the start of "Americas Most Wanted"
is carved out of this stuff and I am thinking of bringing it on board. I
sell wood to schools for the Science Olympiad bridge and tower
competition as well as model builders. I am fessing up that I am a
business so as to not be flamed for being a business without notice. I
am doing research and will share all that I learn.

I know that the stuff in question comes in various weights/densities,
from 4lb to 25lb per cubic foot--approx. weights, I will correct as I get
the specs. If I bring the stuff in, I will post all the info about it and
offer samples to those who are interested at cost + shipping so you can
check it out and experiment with it like myself. Please don't flame me,
I am not listing this as a advertisement for my site and will not post my
site address unless requested by one of you and you want to know what I
find out in more detail, than I have time to post here in a response.


Patrick






"Rick Cook" wrote in message
ink.net...
Patrick wrote:
Has anyone come across a artificial carving type wood substitute. I've
come across some and ordered samples, any experience tips would be of
great help. I will report back what I learn when I have some in my
hand. BTW, it is used in Detroit to model cars and in the aircraft
industry.

thanks,
Patrick
Balsa isn't fake wood. It's the product of a family of tropical trees.
There are 'fake woods' being used for carving (see my post on
high-density urethane) that at least some people seem to like.

But I'd like to find out more about wood substitutes for carving with
hand tools. Let us know what you find.

--RC

I have used a material called RenShape in model making, it
machines like wood without the grain. Google Renshape and
look for the "board" material.
JD
"Patrick" wrote in message
. ..
I know that "Balsa" is a real wood! I came across a
listing for something called "fake Balsa" and was wondering
if anyone has tried it! The problem with Balsa (real) is
that you are limited in thickness and width of a carving
block.

From what I learned so far is that it is real easy on your
tools, 12 - 24" thick slabs are available, it is
non-toxic, takes paint and wood filler well, chips like
real wood and not just a beaded powdered mess, and it
does not have the static charge like regular foam board.
And yes, this is the same stuff sign makers use. Detroit
uses it to model cars, etc as well as a plethora of other
industries.

When I get some, I will report back with what I found. My
goal is to see how well it works and carves for cheap
practice pieces for myself and for schools to learn with.
The eagle in the start of "Americas Most Wanted" is carved
out of this stuff and I am thinking of bringing it on
board. I sell wood to schools for the Science Olympiad
bridge and tower competition as well as model builders. I
am fessing up that I am a business so as to not be flamed
for being a business without notice. I am doing research
and will share all that I learn.

I know that the stuff in question comes in various
weights/densities, from 4lb to 25lb per cubic
foot--approx. weights, I will correct as I get the specs.
If I bring the stuff in, I will post all the info about it
and offer samples to those who are interested at cost +
shipping so you can check it out and experiment with it
like myself. Please don't flame me, I am not listing this
as a advertisement for my site and will not post my site
address unless requested by one of you and you want to
know what I find out in more detail, than I have time to
post here in a response.


Patrick






"Rick Cook" wrote in
message
ink.net...
Patrick wrote:
Has anyone come across a artificial carving type wood
substitute. I've come across some and ordered samples,
any experience tips would be of great help. I will
report back what I learn when I have some in my hand.
BTW, it is used in Detroit to model cars and in the
aircraft industry.

thanks,
Patrick
Balsa isn't fake wood. It's the product of a family of
tropical trees.
There are 'fake woods' being used for carving (see my
post on high-density urethane) that at least some people
seem to like.

But I'd like to find out more about wood substitutes for
carving with hand tools. Let us know what you find.

--RC

Balsa is the softest wood that I know of but is considered a hard wood.
Go figure.
George

"George G" wrote in message
...
Balsa is the softest wood that I know of but is considered a hard wood.
Go figure.
George

[The designation of "hardwood" and "softwood" doesn't refer to the absolute
hardness of the material, but whether the hardness is even (as in hardwoods)
or varies by the growth season, with hard layers deposited in winter
alternating with soft ones from the summer months, as is the case with the
softwoods.

To get back to the original topic, you can get a sample kit of various "fake
wood" products from Freeman Supply (www.freemansupply.com). I think you pay
$25 for the kit, which they credit back to you on your first order.]

Andrew Werby
www.unitedartworks.com