The Best Wood For Wood Carving (With a Dremel / Rotary Tool)

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Hi guys! I made this quick video for the beginners (or curious experts) to show them my favorite carving woods and some pros and cons for each. This video was a bit rushed so if you'd like a remake with more options/ breakdown please let me know. Most of these woods are cheap and can be bought in most large hardware stores. Some of these are more expensive, but the investment is worth it for the beautiful wood. If you're going to put many hours into a carving, you may as well use a quality wood as well. It's the holiday season and hopefully this video can explain what to woods use for those of you who got a Dremel as a gift or for those of you giving one as a present. Leave any questions or video requests below!

0:00 Intro
0:19 Black Walnut Changing Accessories
0:44 Mahogany
1:29 Pine
2:10 Wenge
2:51 Maple
3:37 Poplar
4:19 White and Red Oak
4:56 Red Heart
5:33 Blue Gum / Eucalyptus
6:31 Purple Heart
7:17 Plywood
7:41 Outro

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My most used bits and burrs:
SHAPING:
CARVING:
ENGRAVING:
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Wear a mask, eye protection, and hearing protection, and consult your tools' manuals prior to using them to ensure safety. This video is for my insta @logscarvingclub.
If you're looking for more wood carving designs and videos, I recommend watching the video where I carve a greek paddle with a Dremel 4300. I use Walnut, Poplar, and Epoxy! The epoxy was a hassle but came out really cool.

[goblindunsanylord]

I like your honesty when you gave us your opinion about prices. I was watching, maybe yesterday night, another workshoper. He (as many others) They show off their jobs, but in the economical issues, it seems they don't care. Meanwhile, in the south (of América) we have to make a lot of saving efforts to be able to acquire a hand tool. Greetings from Mexico!

[danielhanawalt]

The poplar and blue gum pieces were the prettiest to me. I started doing a little woodworking recently to try and make a little extra money. Make up for this inflation since I didn't prepare well for retirement. My older brother passed away last year and I came across a cane in my shed I think he had started years ago. Turned out it's cedar. I have a cheap little rotary tool but it does pretty good. I know what you mean about those growth rings being harder. Having to be careful to not get the softer part of the wood from being deeper cuts than the harder part. Nice carvings and good video. Thanks for the info of different types wood.

[JoeMac]

Thank you for doing this video. Much appreciated!

[jamesdale]

Bro that redheart wolf is amazing. Please do some tutorials of how you cut and finish these

[steveo]

Another FYI. Purple heart will turn back to purple if you put it in the sunlight.

[majkjems]

Have you worked with Ebony? It polishes to high shine-it does look like black plastic. Or Ziricote? Very pretty, polishes well. Both are hard, very hard woods. Both have their cons, between brittle with Ebony or cross grain in places (may have) with Ziricote. But the beauty they hold can be worth the effort...Also, the plywood rhino was the cutest!

[Mazurecki]

That Coco in maple is gorgeous! Are you an Animal Crossing fan or is that a gift for someone?

[ag.]

Can you comment on basswood for Dremel carving? It seems to be everywhere but mostly described for hand carving. Love your channel and content!

[kathleengroark]

This is great information! I never thought of using plywood. Have you ever tried using cedar?

[mohitrahaman]

How about carving MDF with rotary tools?

[blakeshipp]

Where do you get your black walnut from? Just got into carving and trying to find some affordable wood, love your videos!

[tracybowling]

So, with the purple heart, does it oxidize quickly if you use a sealer on it? Do you have any info about that?

[pumppictures]

What happens if I carve with cardboard

[almighty_goose]

Did you draw a 3 on your dermal or is that from the factory

[xoxUnDRaThxox]

what's good for a super smooth surface?!