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BASSWOOD

Tilia spp


Although somewhat boring because of the uniformity of the grain pattern (there sometimes almost isn't one), this is a favorite wood of carvers BECAUSE it has a very uniform grain. For pieces that are going to be painted, it's a great wood to use for carving but if you want a wood that has some character, this isn't it.

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my samples:


3 sections and 2 closeups of a 12' long plank


plank and end grain


end grain closeup of the piece directly above --- the color should be more white


plank and end grain


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


plank and closeup --- the color is not quite as tan as the wood; it's a little too white


planks --- the relatively white color of this set compared to the slightly more tan color of the set below is correct. Although bought at the same time, the two lots (one was 1/4" thick and one was 1/2") were clearly from different trees.


planks


sample plank and end grain --- the color correction put a little too much red in the pic; the wood is closer to a slighly yellowish white, closer to the color in the end grain closeup directly below. I was not previously aware of the existance of curly basswood and I have not seen other examples of it so I do not consider this sample plank to be a good reprsentation of the species, but that lack of representativeness is fairly common in the sample planks from the IWCS.


end grain closeup of the piece directly above


veneer

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web pics


raw lumber


planks


two views of a curly plank


curly plank


carving stock


veneer


burl veneer --- boy, howdy ! Now there's a burl that's at extreme odds with the normal wood of the same tree. I've never seen basswood burl, so can't say from experience that that's what this really is.


turning blanks


guitar back