Carving Basswood

[mwpfeifer]

Anyone out there have any expirence doing 3d carving in basswood and if so what cutters, speeds were you using? I have access to a few hundred board feet of some pretty pristine basswood so just wondering.
Mike

[Brady Watson]

It carves great using regular end mills - square and ball. Wear a mask or respirator if you are sensitive.

-B

[bob_reda]

Basswood isn't really any good, just send it to me, I'll take it off your hands:p
Really, like Brady says it carves well and holds detail pretty good.

Bob

[bobmoore]

I must be doing something wrong because I get a lot of fuzz when I carve. Am I running too slow? PRT 4g pc router 9000 rpm 1.5 in/sec.
Bob

[srwtlc]

Cut direction makes a lot of difference. You want fuzz, try some butternut! I had to do both directions to clean this mess up! :eek:

[Brady Watson]

Turn that RPM up...you're routing soft material, not milling metal :p

What are you doing with it - 3D reliefs or 2D cutouts?

-B

[mwpfeifer]

Thanks guys! Guess I'll hang on to this treasure and give it a try:)