Here are some examples of timber conditions that are not suitable for carving.
Rotted out heartwood
Impossible to carve. On some trees there will be a ring of solid sapwood but no heartwood. Obviously leaving not much solid wood to work with.
Storm damage splits
Example of a split tree top from storm damage. this is unsuitable for carving as the timber would fall apart whilst it is being worked on.
Old Broken Split twin leader
A old wound where i twin stem has split away from the trunk allowing rot to get into the heart.
Dead rotted Knots
where a tree branch has fallen off and rotted. The rot has started to go into the heart of the wood, possibly leaving a cavity.
Other Unseen Problems Are Heart Rot & Shake.
Heart Rot: Look for cavities at the base of your tree around the roots. Look for fungal Brackets. Ask your tree surgoen to check for you and get their opinion.
Shake! What is Shake? On certain species, particularly English Oak and sweet chestnut, grown on sandy and stony ground can cause the phenomenas know as ‘Ring Shake’ and ’Star Shake’. A shake is a split, and the timber is filled up with splits that either follow the annual growth rings rotation (ring shake) or which follow the patterns from the heartwood outwards (star shake). If Shakes are present in your timber, it can probably be detected in the top of your tree stump, as you will be able to see the split formation there. If that is the case, it is not advisable to carve, as the stump will fall to pieces. Trees that have Shake are always rejected by sawmills for that reason.
Note: please do not worry if your trees have any of these issues, I can supply and carve a beautiful sculpture and pin it to your stump or create an attractive plinth with a nice piece of stone.
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