Carving green ash

[NorfolknGood]

I hope to have some pieces of ash in the next few days/weeks. I have been helping a couple of guys out clearing some land and cutting down some troublesome trees and my payment will be ash

 

I have carved what was supposed to be seasoned ash and it cracked even though it was kept in a cool low lit garage so should I just go for it with this green ash and see what happens? I dont want to wait a couple of years before I can hack it up, what's the least time I can wait if I cant carve it green?

 

I generally use a damp meter on my woods one that ticks when dry and screams when wet and a lot of the relatively green ash I have carved has actually been almost dry straight away

[muttley9050]

I'm not a carver but in my experience, ash with the pith left in will always split.

[Woodcrafter]

Ash not great for carving better for firewood.

[NorfolknGood]

Ash not great for carving better for firewood.

 

But but but I like the grain

[TGB]

Ash not great for carving better for firewood.

Does make rather good firewood but equally if not better fine furniture and of course, excellent gunwales, thwarts, yokes & seats for open canoes.

[dervishcarving]

we use green ash for bodging, best wood for it

[sasha.p]

We had one of our green ash logs made into a fruit bowl ,it kinda shifted shape a bit after it was turned but never split and is perfectly useable and looks lovely

[dervishcarving]

thats what green ash does, it dries out and can warp a bit. I will post a few pictures sometime of the green bowls I turn on a pole lather. they warp but never split

[NorfolknGood]

Well a warped moon gazing hare may be funky but as it's not had the heart wood removed will split. Looks like I need to find another source of wood not of the ash variety for carving then. most of my owls have been from ash which has only been cut a few months maybe 10 at most.

[dervishcarving]

Ach, accept it. wood splits. it splits from the heart and you cant stop it. you can slow it with oil but not stop it,. I kinda like it when my carvings crack a bit and begin toi show signs of weathering, its then when the beauty of the wood comes out