wisewood

I've carved mini Christmas trees from 1&1/2 - 2" diameter branches.

Poplar is quite popular in America, over here it's not great. Wooly, smelly and won't last outside without excessive preservative treatments. If it's free and you just want to practice then go for it but it's no use for higher value pieces.

As already mentioned, oak sap wood will rot quickly. If using sections in the round, they will most likely split big time as tension will have been locked in unevenly. If you have nothing better, then OK use it but looks like firewood from here.

They're basically the bigger versions of dremel. Air tool versions are only worthwhile if you have a huge compressor otherwise you'll be stopping every five minutes to build air pressure. Corded are your cheapest option and then you have battery ones. Personal experience of makita and milwaukee are good[emoji106] Use Saburr bits and eye tools in mine.

Cheers, yeah it needed something to balance everything together. Brackets seemed to be the perfect choice. I imagine them as fairy dwellings in their own right [emoji38]

Thanks [emoji120]

Thanks [emoji120]

Thanks mate[emoji106]

Thanks Harvey [emoji106]

Thanks, timewise about half a day to carve /contruct the passageway with doors insert and a full day to install and carve everything else.

Thanks Khriss [emoji120]

Thanks Gary [emoji106]

Turned an old beech tree stump into a fairy dwelling Added a video of this in the comments below[emoji116]

I can't offer any knowledge regarding the decline of the tree, but if your client still wants to pursue a carving project I'd be happy to discuss further with them/you. My contact details and social media links can be accessed here www.wisewood.org.uk Cheers, Si