I tried a sample piece, and couldn't believe how fast it went! Now, I want to make some to give away, and people (at least the people I am giving it to) are so concerned about whether the wood is protected or not. I think they would worry that dough would stick to the mold and turn rancid. I just made a large bread board, and there were two ways of protecting it that seemed to have the least number of problems. One was with Salad Bowl finish, and I used that but I don't think that it would work for this, but it might. The other way was with mineral oil, or mineral oil with beeswax added. They say it dries wonderfully; I haven't tried it. I am wondering if this would work with this mold. I thought I would try it on the sample. Did the original molds have any finish on them at all?
Hi Joyce, I am not sure what they used historically, but the Salad bowl finish would make the sense. I am assuming the oil that can be put on cutting boards or Butcher blocks would also work. Here is a link
Rancid oil is definitely a concern. If you discover other info please share.
Oh, my - after I typed this, I got a message that "you've said this before" and I thought the message did not get through! So I am pleased to hear from you. The children's play clay that I was using to test was sticking in the narrow areas of the carving and refused to come out nicely. I got it out with picks, but it made me more concerned about dough sticking. I read that of all the oils you can safely use on items used for food, mineral oil is the only oil that does not turn rancid eventually. People use walnut oil, but it has two problems - it does turn rancid with time (I experienced this myself) and there is a concern over allergies to tree nuts. I tried mineral oil on my sample carving, putting a generous amount on a rag and rubbing it in. It dried quickly and made it a wee bit slippery, so nothing should stick in the mold now. I haven't made the actual dough to check it out, but it looks lovely. I put it on the entire piece, and it looks like an antique! I've read you can add beeswax and/or carnauba oil and paraffin (the bars from jelly making), and I copied the "recipe" if anyone is interested.
I do have a second question - it looks as though you began with a piece of wood 2 ⅝" wide. I tried to use this, but the tools on the list don't fit into the little dove like they do on the video. Did I interpret the measurements wrong? Joyce
About the tool size - often different brands very slightly with tool sizes - especially the smaller ones. I would suggest trying similar sized gouges to get as smooth a cut as possible.
I have made an attempt at carving this Rice Sheaf, i am quite pleased with the result of the carving itself but I just can't get the background right. I have used Oak, I am unable to find anywhere in the UK that stocks Butternut, I did find a place that could sell me a piece of Basswood, but that was rediculously expensive ( it would work out to $380 per cubic foot) , I can get Lime for a reasonable price but as most of the furniture I make is from Oak it would be difficult to blend the lime in. I have in the past used a background punch to make the background as presentable as possible, is this the way to go with Oak or should I continue to try and smooth it out? It looks OK in some lights but a bit 'raggy' in others.
Im in the UK as well Harry and people just laugh at you when you ask for Basswood or Limewood those who do sell it charge ridiculous prices used to get loads of free Oak where my daughter worked at a wood manufacturing business and also Walnut i find Walnut a lovely wood to carve but cant seem to find it now got a bit after daughter was made redundant from the wood place , i find Pine.Meranti, Sapele and Cedar quite good for carving i dont make furniture just carve a bit .great website Thanks Mary
Hi Ronnie,
I'm sorry to hear the Limewood is hard to find, even in the UK. Walnut is beautiful to carve, but is much harder (and I think European walnut is different than American black walnut). Pine in the UK is better than the pine here, I believe. So, experiment, play, and above all, have fun!
Hello Harry,
Oak can be very challenging, and many pieces of antique English furniture do have the "stippled" background. It makes life much easier! With that price of basswood, maybe I'm in the wrong business! Wow! If you are in the UK, English oak is much nicer to carve than American oak. It tends to be softer and more forgiving. Using the background punch will work fine and really make that show up differently than the carving.
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