Hi all! Just joined! Thank you! I have a question about cottonwood bark. I just recently made a fountain out of logs for my wife. I own a tree service so chainsaws and logs are abundant lol. What I found was how peaceful it was when I was carving. I didn't do any detail work, just honing out areas. So I've been doing a little digging and want to get into power carving. Dremel type stuff. I see a lot of stuff online about carving cottonwood bark. I own a tree service and remove a lot of cottonwoods in Ohio. The question I have is does anyone know if this is the same workable bark? Is it better or poor quality bark? I see stuff online from Montana and Nebraska. Just wondering if this stuff is good to start with? Thank you in advance!
I think the bark of downed trees is preferred over fresh bark from a tree. The fresh bark I got from a tree blown over in a storm wasn't very thick and it got moldy on the inner bark. The reason people prefer the bark from further north is that it is thicker, quite a bit thicker than what we get here in Arkansas. Like 6 inches thick! You have a lot more room for carving in thicker bark and some even joint a side and glue it together to make bigger pieces for little houses and such. It is typically carved with hand tools rather than power carving though, as it is quite soft.
Thank you Mike! Yeah I'm not sure if there is any even close to that thickness here. I grabbed some from a log we did a few weeks ago but thats a little less than 2 inches. It wasn't a huge old tree. But, a lot of the stuff for sale on ebay doesnt seam that thick either?
Just finished my first actual carving! I know its really basic but I'm excited. I can't believe how calming this is. Glad I found this hobby! I see what every one means by how easy cottonwood bark is to carve. I know this stuff wasn't that thick but it worked great. All I have right now is a basic dremel and some basic bits. Gonna order some stuff right now!
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