What is the softest wood for carving. What wood is best for woodcarving

The main goals and methods of sales promotion

pitch: Professional marketers are constantly expanding their arsenal of effective sales techniques. Proper use of them can increase sales by at least 10-15%. Most of these methods are universal and work regardless of what products or services are offered to customers.

Maria VELES

It has been established that, for example, the phrases “Would you like something to drink?” and "What will you drink?" affect the end result in different ways. The latter option increases the daily profit of the institution by 20-30%. As you can see, a carefully thought-out system of cross-promotion of goods can significantly increase revenues.

Basic goals sales promotion

The strategy for increasing sales in the end will depend on what goals the company sets for itself. These could be the following tasks:

Growth in sales. Ideally, any business should not only pay for itself, but also increase profits every year.

Increase in the number of repeat purchases. It is regular customers in certain cases that can bring up to 80% of income. That's why it's important to encourage repeat purchases by working with consumers.

Increasing loyalty. Most people pay not just for owning a product, but for the opportunity to use the products of their favorite brand. But in order to turn a company into a brand, it is necessary to win the sympathy of the consumer.

Expanding the use of the product. The more opportunities a product has, the wider the circle of consumers.

Increasing consumer interest in the product. The more benefits you find potential client the faster he becomes a customer.

Reducing the "weight" of the price. The more benefits the buyer finds from the purchase, the less the price of the product seems to him.

Increasing awareness

About the product. Quite often, some products are sold poorly just because the target audience is small.

He knows about them.

Consumer differentiation. Consumer groups are formed depending on the type of goods price category they choose (economy, medium, luxury). Marketing Approach for such clients will be significantly different.

Improving brand perception. Consumers love brands that can clearly define their features. Whatever changes take place within the brand, the buyer should not change his positive attitude towards the manufacturer.

Price Methods sales promotion

The ability to correctly set the price - guarantee that the business will be profitable. Professional marketers recommend using a number of techniques when manipulating prices.

1. Direct price reduction. Depending on the occasion, there are about three dozen varieties of price discounts. They can act as a special offer and be limited in time or play the role of a nice bonus. Price discounts are provided to both retail and wholesale buyers; they can be given for paying for goods in cash, be preliminary, cumulative, personal, collective, festive or seasonal.

2. The new price of the item. When reducing the cost of goods, it is very important to indicate both prices - both the old and the new, and ideally write on the price tag the amount that the buyer will save. Otherwise, the client simply will not appreciate his benefits.

3. Discount at certain hours of the day. It is very important to choose the right time here. Many cafes, for example, make discounts for early or late breakfasts, fitness centers - for morning workouts. In this way, they protect themselves from empty halls at not the most visited time.

4. Delayed discounts. A casual customer does not necessarily turn into a permanent one. For him to come again, he needs a stimulus. This may be a discount on the second and subsequent purchases. The circle of consumers can also expand the discounts provided to relatives and friends.

5. Personal discounts , that is, those that are dedicated to the personal dates of the client - the days of the wedding, birth, appearance of the first child. Such formal care of the company personally about the client helps to tie him to a particular brand even more tightly.

7. Small wholesale sale. To do this, the product is packaged in quantities of two to six units and is offered at a reduced price. This method stimulates the purchase of not only wholesalers, but also retail buyers. It is important here that the cost is really below the average prices in the market. This little trick allows you not only to increase sales, but also to get rid of products that were in low demand.

8. Simple discount cards. Most often, the discounts provided for them are small and do not exceed 6-7%. These figures are unchanged and do not depend on the amount for which the goods are purchased. However, regular customers do save good money over the year. Moreover, this small incentive binds the client more strongly to a particular company, store, brand.

9. Accumulative discount cards. This type of card is the most popular. Unlike simple cards, the discount amount here is not fixed and directly depends on how much money the consumer has spent. Benefit for target audience here is obvious and logical, and therefore, you can count on sales growth.

10. Bonus programs. Bonu sy - this is the same discount, only veiled. The person accumulates discount card not money, but bonuses, which can then be exchanged for a virtual amount, gifts, you can use them to purchase any product much cheaper. bonus program is developed for specific stores and can be built on a wide variety of conditions. Usually bonus cards are used in the entire network of stores, in any city in the country. Bonuses, even if they are small, significantly increase brand loyalty.

11. Stimulation. The discount centers of branded stores, where products are purchased at a discount, are excellent for stimulating sales. This method is especially good for clothing, sporting goods and electronics stores. Naturally, leftovers or those goods that were sold poorly are sold with a markdown.

Non-price methods sales promotion

In addition to playing with the price, there are many more methods to push a person to buy.

First of all, this is a natural stimulation when, after a purchase, a person receives a gift. For example, when buying two tubes of toothpaste, a toothbrush is guaranteed as a gift, and when buying a bottle of expensive wine, a box of chocolates is guaranteed. The gift should not be too expensive, not cheap, but most importantly - useful. It happens that the buyer himself chooses a gift depending on the amount spent. It is important to provide bonuses for children. First, attention to the child is very flattering to parents. Secondly, it is easier and cheaper to surprise and please a child in financial plan. This is skillfully used by shops, the main contingent of which is young families. For children, a keychain, a souvenir, a pen, stickers can become a bonus. The methods of natural stimulation include tasting and distribution of samples. This technique is especially good for promoting food, cosmetics, and hygiene products. People are afraid to buy a pig in a poke, but they are happy to purchase new items, the quality of which they are convinced.

As practice shows, buyers take part in social games with pleasure. This allows, firstly, to prove oneself in communication; secondly, to demonstrate their dexterity, ingenuity and strength. Finally, everyone is pleased to receive a prize if they win. Therefore, stimulation by the game, contests, drawings, lotteries can be very effective. In competitions, for example, both adults and children willingly participate. Creative or family contests are especially popular. Prizes should be interesting for both parents and the child. Draws are also very effective, especially on the opening day of a store or company foundation, during seasonal or holiday sales, when the winner can choose one of the possible prizes, get a discount or use additional service. Sweepstakes may be held as a customer event or on a more modest scale. Most often, before buying, a person is offered to pull a ticket out of the box or shoot any of the balls to find out what discount he is entitled to. Another playful and effective BTL marketing technique is situational promotion. This method involves organizing trading floors holidays, dedicated to some common dates. Here it is important to correctly determine the group of goods that are in greatest demand on a particular day. For example, by March 8, perfumes and cosmetics will definitely be sold out. It is logical that if there is a discount, the products of a particular brand will be dismantled even faster.

Additional services offered to the customer are not necessarily directly related to the specifics of the store. In order to stimulate the buyer with a service, you can, for example, organize free home delivery of goods, offer a partner company's goods at a discount, or issue an additional guarantee. This warranty does not replace the first one or change the conditions, it is provided by the seller in addition to the obligations of the manufacturer. This marketing technique works best in stores. household appliances and electronics.

Business prosperity largely depends on intermediaries and business partners. It is no coincidence that most companies pay great attention to corporate communication, strengthening ties and holding events. Joint promotions, exhibitions and presentations introduce buyers to new products form brand loyalty, and partnership programs promote product distribution.

One of the most effective methods sales growth - initiating reviews of satisfied customers published on the website, in the catalog, booklet. People trust consumers more than the manufacturer. But the manufacturer, when forming reviews, must follow clear rules. First, reviews cannot be fabricated. Secondly, next to the review, it is necessary to publish photos of clients or partners, indicate their position, age, and, if necessary, put a signature.

Methods for increasing the average check

Cross-sell, Up-sell and Down-sell methods are very effective for increasing the average check of buyers.

Cross-sell (cross-selling) is a technique in which the customer is offered another product that complements the main purchase. So, if we are talking about a smartphone, then in addition to it, you can be advised to purchase a case, stylus, memory card or screen protector. There are several types of cross-selling. For example, batch cross-sales, which are pre-planned by the manufacturer. For this, a small series of useful products is being developed that the consumer cannot refuse. Internal cross-selling stimulates the promotion of complex solutions among consumers. And external cross-selling is organized to sell complementary products from different companies. An entire product line can be sold using the core-periphery method. To do this, the price of goods is calculated so that with each subsequent product the client receives a discount, small, but sufficient to interest. This is how electronics and accessories are sold: mats, keyboards, covers, styluses. And the “second product” strategy allows you to sell the second or third product much cheaper than the first. This technique is most clearly demonstrated by shoe stores during the sales season, when customers are invited to buy two, three or even four pairs at once. at a big discount.

Up-sell technology - sale of a more expensive product. This technique is suitable when the consumer has a clear intention to purchase a product, but he has not yet decided which one. Up-sell works for almost all product groups, if the cost of the product does not exceed 10-20% of the one that the client was initially willing to spend. For greater efficiency, direct contact between the seller and the client is necessary.

It is worth noting a few more effective techniques.

.Increase the purchase threshold.

In this case, sales promotion occurs not due to artificial restrictions, but due to indirect factors. For example, free shipping in the city when ordering for a certain amount.

. contrast method. Before selling a product belonging to the middle price category, the customer is shown cheaper and more expensive products. As a result, the impression of the product remains the most favorable.

. Delivery of goods. In fact, this is another cross-sell. Instead of delivery, if there is no way to count a round sum, the client receives some useful related product. This technique is used quite rarely, although in practice it turns out to be very effective and can significantly increase the profit of the store.

By lowering the price of a product.

Today you will learn:

How can you stimulate the sale of goods by changing the price of products;
What actions can scare off buyers;
How to calculate the effectiveness of price promotions.

Why you need to reduce the cost

Every sales entrepreneur faces periods when customers show little interest in products.

This may be due to various reasons:

seasonality of goods;
Last year's issue, which is no longer in vogue today;
Active actions of competitors, etc.

To avoid losses, the firm often comes to the idea of stimulating sales on its part. Contests, lotteries are held or discounts are offered. Everything that is associated with a price reduction is a price motivation for buyers.

If the seller cannot (or does not want to) improve the quality and other characteristics of the product, the best option for increasing sales is to change the price. This is convenient, since the method does not require lengthy preliminary preparation, and in the future it can bring good profits and many new customers. The main thing is to organize this process correctly.

How can you increase demand for a product?

Vendors and manufacturers have several tricks in their arsenal that they can use to attract customers.

Sales promotion methods include:

Reducing the price to a level or even below it. This event, at first glance, seems unprofitable. However, it will bring profit in the future with a large flow of buyers. Here the benefit is measured not by price, but by quantity;
Discounts. They are very different. Can be provided to all buyers or a select category of persons;
Use of plastic cards. Discount cards give the right to a permanent discount from this seller, gift cards allow you to receive a card as a gift for the purchased product and use it on your next purchase;
Refunds on purchases. After the funds are credited to the buyer's account, some of them are transferred to the buyer's details, thereby compensating for the costs;
Coupons. Usually issued for the purchase of a product and offer to purchase the next product at a reduced price.

Discounts are what attracts buyers most often.

Their list includes:

Seasonal. For the sale of products, the presence in the warehouse of which is considered inappropriate for the coming months;
Festive. On the eve of the holidays, the emphasis is on goods, one way or another, affecting the holiday theme. Selling a large number of goods on the days of events, you can increase the income of the company;
For illiquid goods. Equipment on the counter long time, can be sold most often only when the price drops;
wholesale. If the buyer buys, for example, three packages, he receives a discount.

Classification of price motivation of buyers

Depending on the time of the promotion to reduce the price, price policy may be:

Seasonal - for a certain period of time of the year;
Regular - constant for a certain type of product;
One-time - within a week they set a different cost for the goods;
Associated with a specific date - the anniversary of the manufacturer.

By focusing on specific consumers, a price reduction is distinguished that motivates a purchase:

Buyers of competitors (the price is set lower than that of other sellers);
Potential buyers;
existing consumers.

Also, a price reduction can be initiated:

retail owner;
The manufacturer of the goods (in this case, he provides a certain discount to the seller, who lays part of it in the cost of the goods);
Owner and manufacturer.

Why pricing policy can negatively affect the seller

An important point in carrying out cost reduction is its expediency and competent presentation to the end consumer.

There are several mistakes sellers make:

Frequent promotions. If the seller cuts the price frequently enough, the buyer will find the regular prices too high. This will lead to an outflow of customers and a decrease in demand;
Big discounts can undermine the company's reputation. Not everyone perceives discounts as a gift. Someone treats them dismissively and considers them the basis of the company's low reputation. Also, the product itself here may suffer in the eyes of consumers. Often a low price is perceived as an indicator of poor quality;
Decrease in price at a loss to the firm. Such a policy should be extremely rare and have some real basis. Just for the purpose of attracting a buyer, you should not use it. This can also lead to a further outflow of funds from the company in the event of a failure of the ongoing action.

What is the situation with non-price regulation of demand?

Attracting buyers without the use of price manipulation refers to non-price methods.

They include:

Issuance of a gift - the transfer of some kind of souvenir for a purchase or a sample of a product;
Active stimulation - production and distribution of promotional materials on leaflets, contests, lotteries and various events involving the direct participation of consumers;
Quality service - issuance of a free warranty, assembly of goods and delivery, availability special centers who, in the event of a breakdown, repair it free of charge.

These methods involve a psychological maneuver. The seller makes a pleasant surprise to the buyer, who subsequently cannot refuse to purchase the purchase. This includes all kinds of food tastings in supermarkets, where you can try out the goods.

Non-price incentives pass through:

Contact of the seller with the buyer;
SMS alerts;
Zvonkov.

This type of demand regulation can take the form of:

Exhibitions;
Presentations;
Some kind of presentation;
Transferring the goods to the client for testing (the buyer pays for part of the purchase and uses the product for some time. If everything suits him, then full payment occurs).

The effectiveness of the price method

The amount of the discount must be substantial.. Establishing a discount of 1% of the cost of the goods will not lead to a flow of buyers. It should be from 5 to 70% depending on the product category;
Price reduction period. Here it is important to think about the seasonal product and the one that has been stale for a long time. In order for the goods to leave the shelves, it is necessary to set a discount at the very time when there are very few buyers;
The result of the action in relation to the firm. Lowering the price may, on the contrary, contribute to the outflow of profits in the event that buyers cease to trust you;
Calculation of potential profit. In order not to lose your own money invested in the sale of goods, you need to correlate all the indicators and find out whether the price reduction will be so profitable;
Increasing the discount at a high markup. If you have an airbag in the form of a large surcharge, then you can significantly reduce the price for the final consumer. You will only benefit from this.

The choice of wood species for carving depends on the type and shape of the planned product. Wood should have a uniform structure and a pronounced structure. Widely used for carving hardwoods trees: aspen, pear, maple, oak, linden, willow, mountain ash, birch, chestnut, walnut, etc. Not all conifers are suitable for carving.

When choosing a material, you need to pay attention to:

growth rings - their parallelism indicates that the tree has a rectilinear internal structure;
wide layers of wood indicate looseness and fragility of the workpiece;

Single-growing trees are not suitable for work, as they are most susceptible to wind loads, as a result of which the fibers are twisted and have different densities. During the drying process, such wood cracks and warps strongly.

When choosing a workpiece, the moisture content of the wood is taken into account. Not suitable for carving freshly sawn wood, which warps in the process of drying. And overdried wood absorbs atmospheric moisture, causing swelling and cracking. Underdrying or overdrying is strongly manifested on dense and hard rocks, to a lesser extent on soft ones.

When designating the degree of moisture content of a tree, the following terms are used:

wet(soaked in water)
freshly cut(conifers have more than 82% moisture, softwoods - 60-90%, hardwoods - 35-75%)
dry(stored outdoors, humidity 15-20%)
room(stored indoors, humidity 8-12%)
absolutely dry humidity approaches 0%.

For drying, two methods are used: open and chamber. With open drying, the wood is outdoors under a shed or in a barn, this method requires a lot of time. With the chamber method, the wood is dried in special chambers of various sizes with a special temperature regime. This method dries the wood faster, but it is less affordable and more expensive.

When choosing wood, you need to consider the place of operation. If the product will be on the street, then it should be dried in street conditions. Material for indoor products should be dried in room conditions.

An experienced craftsman can determine the degree of readiness and quality of the material by appearance. The absence of radial and longitudinal cracks indicates good quality and proper drying of wood. Cracks indicate the presence of voids, hidden knots and poor-quality drying.

In carvings, it is not recommended to combine different species and sections of wood. Hard, heartwood shrinks to a lesser extent than sapwood, and there is almost no warping at the board from the center. When choosing wood, it is necessary to avoid such defects as the slope of the fibers, knots, cracks, rot and wormholes.

Advantages and disadvantages of specific wood species.

Linden, as a representative of soft hardwood, is best suited for a novice craftsman. Linden has a homogeneous, soft and viscous structure, which makes it easy to cut along and across the fibers. Linden is little susceptible to cracking and warping, however, it has a low hardness, which limits the scope. Small items are made from linden: dishes, caskets, carved toys, wall decorations, shelves, etc.

Birch has a hard, elastic and white wood of uniform density. Compared to linden, birch is less susceptible to processing and warping. Small items, furniture parts, decorative overlays and elements are made from this breed.

Red and black alder, also homogeneous and viscous material, lends itself well to processing and slightly warps.

Aspen- less common, but also well suited for carving. It has a silver luminous color and has all the qualities suitable for carving.

Poplar has properties similar to linden, but is easily chipped. This wood is suitable only for large-relief carving.

Oak is the traditional carving material. It has a dense, uniform and durable structure. Hard and brittle wood is difficult to process and is suitable for work only by experienced craftsmen. Large decorative elements and overlays are made from oak. It polishes and paints well.

Nut well suited for fine carving. It cuts easily in all directions and does not chip. Furniture and highly artistic carvings are made from walnut.

Pear It has high hardness and is perfectly processed and does not warp. It cuts easily and cleanly, and paints well. Souvenirs with embossed carvings and carved furniture details are made from pears.

Maple it is cut cleanly and without chips, it has a solid structure, it is perfectly painted. Maple is used in turning and mosaic work.

The material prepared for carving is cut and finished on thickness gauges or jointers. The cut of the board has a great influence. With a radial cut, the workpiece warps less, but the thread is not as expressive. For small parts, it is better to use a tangential cut.

This article addresses the question that usually faces a novice carver: where to get and what kind of wood to use for carving? I would like to say right away that it is still impossible to go and buy any necessary blank at the present time. However, the solution to this issue is not so difficult, only you need to worry about it in advance. As a rule, an amateur woodcarver acquires material not when it is needed, but when such an opportunity is provided. Even ordinary wood - spruce, pine, birch, beech - is better to stock up in advance, let it dry, check for cracking, warping. A more reliable tree is old, seasoned, if only there were no wood-boring bugs in it. The source for it can be the details of destroyed houses, discarded furniture, beech planks of the parquet floor, etc. Sawn or felled trees of the desired species, including fruit trees, are also the object of the carver's attention.

It is very easy to get small blanks - in numerous firms selling parquet. The parquet plank is sold in all sizes and with a very good selection of wood types, including mahogany and ebony. There are, although in smaller numbers, firms selling finishing boards from these types of wood.

In addition, there are non-traditional sources for the purchase of blanks for carving. For example, the packaging of many large-sized goods from the southern countries is made of mahogany. Mahogany kitchen boards can be bought at a hardware store. Sometimes you can purchase or change material from familiar carvers. Drawing boards made of linden, without knots and fairly uniform, are sometimes sold in stores. An interesting source of valuable blanks are some furniture factories that sell wood trimmings. Moreover, often these trimmings are pieces of mahogany (from the butt part) several tens of kilograms in weight. At the same time, prices are very moderate, since this wood is sold for firewood.

Such stocks of wood are not acquired immediately, but since carving is a slow process, the necessary wood will almost always be at hand. At the very beginning, a novice carver can use the tips that are given when describing the first crafts.

We also note that it is impossible to point to a specific type of wood as the best for a novice carver. For example, the prevailing opinion that linden is most suitable for carving, since it is “easily cut”, is not always true. The ease of cutting linden wood, its softness are negative qualities for a novice carver: having no practice in carving, he can quickly spoil (“injure”) the craft with a careless movement, which cannot be done with hard wood, although when carving its physical efforts have to be applied more. Linden requires especially sharp tools precisely because of its softness, otherwise it is not cut, but crumpled (in some places), which is also not good for a novice carver. Linden is suitable for a professional carver, when he, masterfully wielding a knife (for example, Bogorodsk carvers), quickly and without much effort gives a wooden chock the contours of a future craft. The choice of the type of wood for the carver is just as important as the question of the material in general in applied art (this will be discussed in more detail later): an art form is realized in one way in marble, in another way in granite, and in a completely different way in wood. The same attention should be paid to individual types of wood: light and plain wood is suitable, for example, for face sculpture, portrait (dark plain wood is less expressive in this case): for thin openwork carving it is also better to have plain wood; and spruce or pine, which have a pronounced striped wood pattern, i.e., the texture of wood, can be used for crafts with large elements of the pattern or slotted carving, where the contours of the carved elements are decisive in the ornament. In some scenes, the striped texture of the conifer helps to bring out the plot or brings originality to the carving. This will be discussed in more detail in the relevant sections. When choosing wood, we also take into account its hardness or softness, frizziness or the ability to chip easily, resistance to moisture or swelling and warping from water, etc. - qualities that in some cases will be positive, in others - negative.

Therefore, the choice of wood type, the source of its acquisition are considered simultaneously with the plot of the carving and with the technology of its implementation. A well-chosen type of wood is the beginning of success in work. Hasty decisions cannot be applied here, especially since the entire carving process can take weeks, sometimes months, or even more than a year.

A novice carver should pay attention to the fact that the aesthetic value of the craft, the quality of its execution, is directly dependent on the choice of material for carving and on the creative concept of the carver, i.e. from the first steps in the work, these tasks are interconnected. Let's trace the chain of this relationship.

The carver will be more free in the choice of material if he owns various techniques and technologies in carving: he can splice wood into a larger piece with inconspicuous seams; can make the product prefabricated, mount it from separate carved pieces of the same or different types of wood; can prepare himself artificial decorative wood for crafts; can use in carving (especially in face sculpture) a homogeneous molding mass based on sawdust; can combine carving with facing with a mosaic set of various types of wood: it can tint wood; can cut dry or wet wood. This, in turn, unfetters the carver in choosing a topic, a plot for carving, or, as they say, favorable conditions are created in this case for the primacy of content, when the content determines the artistic form, and not vice versa: cylindrical shape wooden chock dictates the possible art form of the craft, under which, in turn, the plot is adjusted.

The foregoing makes us take a more serious approach to the first stage of the work of an amateur craftsman, which immediately precedes the process of carving, to thinking and nurturing the idea, plot and the way to implement it. It is at this stage that the success of the case is decided. The successful implementation of the conceived carving crafts is precisely determined by the work process well thought out to the smallest detail from start to finish. All this brings to wood carving that sporting interest, sometimes excitement, forcing the carver to carve out every free hour for work. And think: “What, I wonder, will it work? Is it as I thought, as I imagine? The same interest makes one puzzle over finding a solution to any problem that has arisen in threading, in assembly, in composition, which require either the design of a new tool or some kind of device.

An unsuccessfully executed wooden carving can no longer be redone. All alterations and options must be thought out in advance (in plans, in a drawing, in plasticine), and the only, best option is left for carving.

The greater the experience of the carver, the more accurate the coincidence of the idea with the result. And this level will be reached the faster, the more serious the attitude of the carver to his craft. It is necessary to approach each of your work as an exam, where you need to reveal all your skills, regard each object of artistic crafts as a field for applying skill at the highest level of your abilities, and consider that this particular craft will be the best. And when performing sequential operations in a thread, also try to make each subsequent operation better than the previous one. Then there will be both quality and artistic level, and not a multiplication of the number of handicrafts. Then there will be an increase in artistic skill.

A carved product made with love, when maximum patience, search and labor are invested in it, will later bring great satisfaction to the master himself. The same reaction, as a rule, occurs in the viewer to the corresponding carvings. And if the craft is done hastily, as soon as possible, “to finish”, from the first wood that comes across, then it can be a subject of disappointment and reproach for many years.

So, the type of wood is chosen, the carving technology is thought out, the plot is defined. Consider the suitability of wood from the technical side, its mechanical and physical properties. First of all, it should be dry, without knots and, if possible, without cracks. Although cracks in non-critical places can still be dealt with, as will be discussed below, the knot can only be beaten by inserting instead of it some thread part from the same piece of wood and observing the same direction of the wood fibers as in the surrounding field of the part.

It should be noted that in some cases of decor, solved by large polished planes, the wavy interweaving of wood layers around the knots, which give an interesting pattern, are specially played up, even stand out. Sometimes the knot itself is used for this purpose. In some cases, you can cut from raw (not dried) wood, but then you need to be able to eliminate the negative consequences of wood drying out during the carving process. The ability to work with raw wood allows you to perform such technically complex crafts (raw wood is cut much easier than dry wood), which are generally impossible to make from dry wood. Further, it will be described in detail about the drying of wood, both ordinary, in natural conditions, and accelerated, when there is no dry wood available, and the conditions do not allow waiting for its aging.

It is important to draw the attention of the carver to the fact that there are two types of wood moisture: organic, or intracellular, and external - rain. The organic liquid can only be removed by natural drying for a few years, while the external liquid can be removed in a few hours. Even a board that is completely swollen from the rain will dry out within no more than a day. In this regard, we note that wood cut in winter has a significantly lower organic moisture content; accordingly, it is drier (sometimes 2 times) and harder than spring or summer. And of course, dead wood or dead wood is most favorable for the carver.

For artistic wood crafts, you do not always need smooth, knot-free wood. Especially for marquetry and intarsia, the original wood texture is more interesting, which is obtained precisely as a result of a disease or damage to the tree, mechanical interference during its growth. Below we will get acquainted with the characteristics of wood on specific species, we will also describe in detail the properties of caps, and here we will note some of them.

Curly wood, which has an intricate interlacing of fibers, is used by the carver both as strong, not prickly (for mallets, cuttings, ax handles), and as decorative, that is, its flat cuts are used in the form of veneer or facing plates. The texture of such wood is especially beautiful in rounded nodules (bolons) on tree trunks, which are called svil (or suva, suvel). Sections for making curved twigs, brackets, stripes, animal tails in handicrafts, for thin curved parts, where straight-grained wood is not suitable, can be separated from the strand by sawing. For the same purpose, you can use curls around knots, especially old, overgrown ones, or around a sprout - dead wood.

Of the other features and properties of wood, we note the following. The strength and density of wood increases from the core (middle) to the sapwood. Also, the moisture in the middle of the trunk is less than in the sapwood, which means that the board cut from the middle of the trunk will not warp when dried, but in the middle part it will be thicker due to the difference in the drying of the wood. From here, in particular, the warping of other boards also occurs - always with the formation of a bulge towards the core of the trunk.

For these reasons, rallying the boards into one shield, even if it is equipped with transverse strips, is usually done with alternate overlapping of the front and non-front sides of the boards in order to minimize shield warpage. The front, or right, side is the one that is closer to the outer part of the trunk - to the bark. You can determine this by looking at the board from the end.

Perhaps the ability to determine the front side is even more important for veneer (single plywood). If you turn the veneer sheet towards the light so that the rays fall at an acute angle and become almost gliding, then small tubercles of wood will be visible on the front side, and oblong depressions on the non-front or left side. Therefore, when veneering, the veneer is not glued to the base with the front side, where the depressions contribute to the flow and retention of glue in them, but the outer, front side is more convenient to process: it is easier to grind off the tubercles than to level the entire surface with depressions. In the latter case, "depression defects" often appear when finishing the surface with varnish, which makes it necessary to apply significantly more layers of varnish in order to remove them.

The marketer or wood carver is not always able to reckon with the face of the veneer. Sometimes considerations about the expressiveness of the wood pattern also prevail, especially when veneer sheets are taken from one pack (knoll) and a symmetrical pattern is created with two identical sheets next to each other, but one right and the other left side up. Then you need to at least remove the bumps on the right side of the inverted veneer sheet so that they do not interfere with the contact surfaces when gluing.

In packs of purchased veneer, the front side is easy to identify by the paper strips (screeds) that glue the cracks together: they are always glued to the front side.

Let us draw the reader's attention to some more data on wood and the conclusions that follow from this. At the same weight, industrial pine wood, for example, costs more than cast iron or steel. Incomparably more expensive noble wood. Wood will remain a building material in the future, as metal reserves and other natural resources disappear forever, and wood, on average, grows within decades. Wood is even more loved as a finishing material, especially at the present time. It is rapidly replacing plastic, and here the issue is not only environmental. Here, first of all, aesthetics, as well as hygiene, health preservation, and convenience. After this remark, one can more clearly imagine the meaning in everyday life of artistic wood crafts, especially those made by oneself.

And if we began to consider wood from the standpoint of economic and social, then it should be taken into account that the cost of wood in the product of a woodcarver will take an insignificant percentage in relation to the labor invested in this product. However, from the quality of wood, its appearance(and if this is not the case, then why make it out of wood?) A lot depends, which is no longer determined by “insignificant percentages”. This leads to a clear conclusion: before starting work, it is more serious to approach the choice of wood, to work on the best material that is available to the carver at a given period.

A woodworker must master all the methods of handling wood, use not only its positive properties, but also take into service, it would seem, negative qualities. This simplifies the work, and the result is better.

Consider the properties of individual types of wood and pay attention mainly to those features that can unexpectedly affect the result or process of work. Let's start with the most common types of wood, but we will also describe the properties of those species that come to us as imports or grow in the south of the country, especially since information about them is not often found in the literature. Practice shows that sooner or later the carver uses this material as well.

I think that if you want to learn how to carve wood, then for a start it is still better to choose a softer wood. In Siberia, we often use cedar wood for this purpose. It cuts very well, and the texture of the tree itself is beautiful. So I advise.

Material

For wood carving, different types of wood are used. The choice of one or another breed depends on the purpose and shape of the decorated product and the type of carving.

From deciduous trees, linden is often used for carving. Linden wood is easily and cleanly cut, slightly prone to cracking and warping. Due to its low hardness, linden is not used to make furniture, and therefore its use is limited to small household items.

Alder wood is also easy to cut, warps a little, perfectly perceives the finish and imitates other species, say, mahogany. All this makes it suitable for all kinds of work.

A beautiful material for carving is birch wood. It is harder than linden and alder and is more difficult to cut, but the quality of the carving is excellent. Birch wood is excellently stained and finished. Its shortcomings are the ability to easily absorb and release moisture, as well as the tendency to warp and crack, which does not allow it to be used in huge products. It is allowed to make unprofitable carved decorations and details of furniture and other products from birch.

For carving on small items - dishes, souvenirs - poplar and aspen wood is used.

Oak has long been used for huge decorative carvings and carved furniture. Oak carving is difficult and laborious due to the high hardness of the wood and the tendency to chip off, but it is hefty colorful and decorative.

Beech wood is close to oak in hardness, but gives fewer chips, because it is more uniform. Beech is excellently stained with aqueous solutions of dyes and finished. Beech is used mainly for small carvings.

Walnut wood is an excellent material for carving. It cuts wonderfully in all directions, rarely chipping, and allows for the most precise carving. Walnut wood is beautifully finished and exceptionally polished. It is used in the manufacture of furniture both for carving on solid wood and for unprofitable carving in combination with other species. Walnut wood is also considered the best material for highly artistic small-form carvings and sculptures.

For small items decorated with carvings, the rarest types of wood are also used: apple, cherry, etc.

From coniferous species, wood of pine, spruce, cedar, yew is used for carving. From ancient times, decorations for architraves, icons, cornices, and gates were carved from pine. This carving is huge, therefore, the unevenness in the density of the layers of early and late softwood does not complicate the work.

Spruce is cut lighter than pine, but it has more knots and is very hard, so it is less often used for carving.

For carving, you need to use high-quality wood,

Wood carving materials

Wood has been one of the most widely used building materials, it is affordable, easy to process, durable and multifunctional. In the old days, it was processed by hand, today carvers, joiners and carpenters have the most advanced mechanisms at their disposal.

▲ Sawn tree trunks sprayed with water. This prevents them from drying out during transportation to the sawmill.

source: “Encyclopedic Guide Forest”

The choice of material for wood carving is a very crucial moment and largely guarantees the quality of the future product.

What is the best wood to use for carving?

When deciding on the type of wood, it is important to clearly understand the desired final result and take into account the skill level of the carver. You can learn more about woodcarving here (http://www.grandecor.ru/), on the website http://www.grandecor.ru/.

Types of wood used for woodcarving

In most cases, the following types of wood are used for woodcarving:

Birch
Aspen
Alder
Pine, spruce and other conifers
Caps and suveli - growths on the trunks.

The most popular material, especially among professionals, is linden. It is believed that its fine-fiber structure allows you to perform the most complex and openwork carving. However, the increased softness of this material requires it to be processed with an ultra-sharp tool, which can create problems for a novice carver.

How to choose material for carving

When choosing wood for carving, the following characteristics should be considered:

Hardness (softness)
Curl (ability to prick)
Moisture resistance
Density
Straightness and fiber color
tree age

Individual properties of each type of wood

Each master should approach the choice of a tree type strictly individually, based on his own capabilities. It is also important to take into account the plot and the degree of complexity of the thread, the purpose of the future product, the technology of its manufacture.

Characteristics of individual wood species and scope

Linden is the most technologically advanced material and allows you to make carved products of any complexity. However, this type of wood requires a highly skilled carver.
Aspen has a slight greenish tint and is most often used to make small kitchen utensils, including wooden spoons.
Alder wood is easy to cut and finish, and also allows you to imitate other tree species. Many masters consider this material to be universal.
Birch is processed somewhat more difficult, but it provides a high quality cut. It is recommended to use it for making small decorative items.
A distinctive feature of maple is its white, slightly yellowish wood and beautiful viscous texture. This material is durable and hard. It acquires special beauty after polishing along the radial cut.
Maple utensils are highly valued.
Oak is considered to be an even more durable material. It is widely used for making household items and large-sized decorative carvings.
Spruce and pine are characterized by a striped texture and increased softness. This material is most suitable for making large crafts and embossed carvings.

Light and solid wood varieties can be used to create sculptural portraits. Solid wood is also a suitable material for openwork carving. Bright structural stripes certain types wood are useful in cases where the product needs to be given special expressiveness.

Woodcarving is considered to be one of the most ancient arts. In the most ancient times there were masters in this art. Woodcarving reached a particularly high development in Kievan Rus, where the facades of all houses were decorated with carved elements. Fortunately, woodcarving materials grew everywhere. At that time, skill in this matter reached its peak. It was wood carving that gave Kievan Rus its own unique style.

Some of the secrets of the masters of that time have been lost, while others, on the contrary, have been carefully preserved by masters of many generations. Many of the secrets relate to carving materials. What types of wood are best suited for the job? How is the tree prepared for work? How old does a tree need to be in order for its wood to be of the best quality? What should be the moisture content of the wood?

Softwood and Hardwood

Coniferous wood is most often used as a material for woodcarving. Its advantage is in the resin, which is found in large quantities in wood and makes it resistant to weathering. Coniferous wood can be used at any age.

It is possible to use hardwoods. These are linden over 70 years old, poplar over 50 years old, maple over 90 years old. The wood of alder, mountain ash, ash, oak and other trees is also used. The wood chosen for woodcarving must be good. It should not have oblique layers, there should be no knotting. Only under such conditions, wood on wood will not break and chip.

Preparing wood for work

Materials for woodcarving should be well dried, humidity 15% or less. If you carve on a wet tree, then the product, having dried, will begin to crack and warp.

It is more difficult to cut dry wood than wet wood, but products made from it are more durable. Woodworking requires a very sharp, well-sharpened tool.

Distinguish between hard and soft wood. On hard wood, the carving is cleaner even with a less sharp tool. The bars used as materials for carving can be both radial and tangential cut. With a tangential cut, the wood texture is more beautiful. And although in this case the wood resists the woodworker's cutter more strongly, most craftsmen choose the tangential cut.

The beauty of the texture should be taken into account when varnishing wood. It's good when a beautiful texture shines through a layer of varnish. Soft wood species are impregnated with a special compound. Canned.

What wood is suitable for woodcarving and what is not

Impregnate most often with anti-rotten compounds.

Abrasive grains get into the wood structure. Subsequently, when processing wood, the tool quickly becomes dull. This reduces the quality of work and slows it down. You need to clean the wood in cycles.

Wood products

Ancient products made by wood carvers have long become antiques and have acquired great value. But even now, many wooden products are part of our culture. Wooden spoons, wooden utensils, carved wooden furniture, inlaid wooden frames and mirrors. Wooden souvenirs in the Russian style are very popular.

Wooden boxes and wooden toys are highly valued. Rough materials for wood carving at the hands of the master turn into art panels and interior sculptures. In many villages of Russia, houses in villages are decorated with carved ornaments.

Other materials

In the manufacture of wood products, exotic materials for carving are also used. IN Lately American cherry products became popular. This wood has an unusual texture of cherry color. American cherry wood has good performance. It is soft, dries quickly, lends itself well to the tool.

Following the example of the American cherry, other stone fruits are increasingly being used: apricot, peach, plum, bird cherry, almond.

Woodcarving. Tools and materials.

Instruments

Before proceeding to this overview chapter, it is necessary to understand especially the safety precautions! Any tool of the carver, be it a chisel, a chisel, and even more so a knife, can be compared with a straight razor in terms of sharpness, therefore, when working with them, safety measures must be observed. During cutting, it is necessary to position the material so that it would be possible to work freely with a knife or chisel, while eliminating the possibility of hitting cutting edge deal. For the same purpose, carving with the workpiece on the knees is strongly discouraged. The material to be processed must have its own surface (board, or table).

wood carving, like many hobbies and professions, require the involvement of a large number of tools and material. This includes pocket knives, specialty knives, chisels, semicircular and straight chisels, V-shaped tools, and many other pieces of equipment needed for carving.

Instruments is the basis of any technological process and including such creative as woodcarving.

There is no universal tool that can help you create amazing work. However, a thoughtful and wise choice can make the first steps in such an interesting activity as woodcarving easier and more enjoyable.

It often happens that the number and cost of wood carving tools is simply intimidating at first, however, over time you will realize that not all tools are expensive, and their number will gradually increase! Gradually, your hobby will be able to generate income and possibly develop into a profession.

When choosing tools, try to take High Quality, (and these are not necessarily expensive tools), you will ultimately benefit from your purchase.

Basic cutting set may include several items, using which you can complete most of the cutting (sometimes the entire cutting), these items can sometimes be found at home (carving knives, needle files, chisels, a hacksaw, a medium-sized vice, an emery wheel, an electric drill, various drills and bars)

Wood carving knife at first, you can replace it with a simple one (but made of good steel). The quality of the steel can be checked with a needle file - it should hardly “take” the steel, or slide along it. Subsequently, you can make a carving knife yourself from a hacksaw blade for metal, or purchase a special carving knife in a store. Knives from Narex, Kogatana, Flexcut, Tatyanka can serve as an excellent start.

Flat chisels- for starters, it is possible to sharpen a flat screwdriver, or a file, or purchase it at a store or construction market.

Semicircular chisels- professionals most often use semicircular chisels to work with the material. Depending on the degree of roundness, chisels are divided into sloping, medium and round. In specialized stores, they are sold both in sets and by the piece. Exists a large number of various forms of semicircular chisels used for woodcarving.

V-shaped chisels- are used where it is inconvenient to work flat, as well as for carving triangular and angular shapes.

There is a wide variety spoon cutters, stick cutters, chisels and knives, information about which you can learn from specialized sources if you are seriously engaged in woodcarving.

Although the number of tools in the master's set sometimes exceeds a hundred, simple carving often requires a minimum number of tools. So famous in England teacher of carving David Sabol in his book "Wood carving Basic" writes that he uses only the necessary minimum of tools in his work, since a large selection sometimes distracts from carving, while in the same book he stipulates that all new items sooner or later replenish his collection of tools.

Wood.

The choice of wood is sometimes difficult. Each type of wood has its pros and cons. Soft wood species of linden, aspen, birch are easy to cut, however, crafts made from these types of wood are easier to reject with an awkward cut or pressing. Solid wood of oak, beech, boxwood, mahogany is more difficult to process and here there is a possibility of either tool breakage, for example, with strong pressure, or injury due to the same strong pressure. In any case, when choosing a tree species, many factors must be taken into account.

wood for carving

So the size of the craft, its shape, color, what tool you will work on wood.

Birch. Birch wood is very light, easy to cut both along and across the grain, well drilled, good crafts are made from it. However, it is not advisable to use glued birch bars in cutting, since the directions of the fibers will be different, and the craft will not seem solid. Birch wood can warp and darken over time.

For contour and slotted threads Coniferous trees may work well. The wide distance between the growth rings and soft wood (spruce, pine) allow you to apply a large ornament without much difficulty. The disadvantages of pine and spruce, as well as other conifers, include the fact that when carving across the growth rings, the knife (chisel) will seem to jump. The reason lies in the uneven distribution of wood density in the rings.

carving masters often use aspen and linden. The wood of these trees is soft, easy to cut in all directions. Aspen is even more affordable and durable. Although it has more knots.

Beginners can try carving on coniferous trees (spruce, pine, juniper) or use birch, linden, aspen pear; although the final choice of wood is up to you.

When placing material on other resources, an active link to www.world-hmade.ru is MANDATORY!

Woodcarving. Content

soft hardwood trees

Soft woods include linden, willow, aspen, poplar, alder, chestnut.

Linden (Fig. 1) is the best material for carving a wide variety of products. It is distributed almost everywhere - in the Far East, where more than half of the linden stock is located, as well as in the European and Asian parts of the middle zone.

Rice. 1 Linden

Linden wood is soft, light, slightly susceptible to cracking, warping, does not dry out, white color, is distinguished by purity and uniformity; easy to process, well cut, widely used in turning.

Due to its insufficient hardness, linden is not suitable for the production of furniture, but it is indispensable in the manufacture of souvenirs, toys, carved decor for home decoration, and various wooden utensils. Semenov and Zagorsk nesting dolls are still made from it, Khokhloma dishes are sharpened, and much more. Due to its fine layer, ease of processing, linden is used in the production of barrels. Linden becomes softer after steaming, and when dried, it acquires high strength.

This makes it possible to bend sieves, boxes and piles from thin lime boards, to upholster products with complex curved surfaces with thin lime boards. It is much easier to cut tableware from steamed linden wood: spoons, bowls, ladles, brothers.

A very valuable property of linden is its viscosity. Many masters make boards from linden, on which they cut the skin, cut out birch bark lace, mosaic elements from veneer, without fear of dulling the knife. At one time, drawing boards were also made from linden. Such boards held the buttons well, and the remaining dents are quickly smoothed out. Due to the ease of processing, the ability to almost not dry out and not succumb to warping, casting models are mainly made from linden.

Bast is widely used - linden bark. The bast soaked in water turns into a bast - a durable and cheap material used for the manufacture of sieves, baskets, boxes, sacks, matting. From it they weave (from the bark of young lindens - lime bast) unpretentious shoes - bast shoes.

And finally, one cannot but say that everyone's favorite wonderful tree - linden is one of the best honey plants. Linden honey is healing, has bactericidal properties, linden color has also been used in folk medicine for a long time, even linden charcoal is used as medicine. Man has learned to comprehensively use linden - this truly universal treasure prepared by nature itself.

Willow (weeping, white, black, red, willow, willow) - all trees from the willow family.

Willow (Fig. 2) is widely used in economic activities. The wood of this tree is not much inferior to linden, it is light, soft, viscous, elastic. Willow is used in the manufacture of various equipment, tennis rackets, prostheses; it is the best material for bows, hoops and more. Trunks of large trees are used to build houses, sawing boards. Beehives, furniture, various household utensils are made from boards. willow vine almost everywhere goes to weaving. Baskets are woven from the unpeeled rod, as well as fishing tackles. Furniture, various coasters are made from white rod. Willow bark is used in tanneries for tanning hides; a dye derived from the bark is used in dyeing wool, silk and leather brown and black. The bast is used to make fiber for the production of ropes. Willow is a wonderful honey plant, so it is very much appreciated in beekeeping.

Rice. 2 willow

IN modern conditions when great attention is paid to the protection environment, the value of the willow is further enhanced. Its good survival on various soils, smoke and gas resistance, the ability to cleanse the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and enrich it with oxygen make willow indispensable in landscaping.

Aspen (Fig. 3) is a tree from the willow family. Usually grows in forest and forest-steppe zones. It has a number of remarkable qualities: frost, moisture and acid resistance. Aspen wood is soft, uniform in texture, white and clean, less susceptible to wormholes than others. One of its important properties is light resistance. It does not turn yellow for a long time if it is indoors. When burned, aspen does not produce soot, and therefore is indispensable in the match industry; packaging chips for fruits are made from waste. Another positive quality is its ability not to rot in water for a very long time. Since ancient times in Russia, a log house for a cellar or a well, especially its lower part, was made of aspen. In addition, its thin-layered wood becomes very dense in water and weakly passes water, so barrels, tubs, and troughs are made from aspen.

For the roofing of roofs, they always tried to use aspen shingles. The domes of the famous northern wooden temples were covered with plowshares (shingles) - small figured boards. From the sun and rain, the plowshare acquires a beautiful silver-gray color over time.

Rice. 3 Aspen

Aspen is widely used for carving. Homogeneous wood allows you to make cuts in any direction, does not chip or wrinkle under the cutter.

Poplar (Fig. 4) - also from the willow family, has many varieties. Trees grow rapidly and reach maturity and large size in 30-40 years. Within Russia, the following are common: black (speck), white (silver, pyramidal (Italian) and Canadian poplar.

Tips for beginners: what kind of wood is suitable for woodcarving?

Poplar wood is soft, light, homogeneous in structure, with a slightly pronounced texture pattern, almost does not crack when dried, can be processed by cutting and finishing.

Annual layers are visible in all sections.

Poplar wood is used in the pulp and paper industry to produce paper and cardboard. Black poplar is used in furniture production for products that require finishing, as well as for the manufacture of wooden utensils and household utensils. The butt of the trunks of black and Canadian poplar has a beautiful texture, similar to Karelian birch, and is used for the production of planed plywood and decorative peeled veneer; purple dye is obtained from buds and flowers, yellow dye is obtained from leaves.

Alder (Fig. 5) - a tree from the birch family, grows in most of the European territory of Russia and Western Siberia on highly moistened soils. Presented in three varieties: black alder, white and Siberian.

Rice. 5 Alder

Alder is a sapwood species that often has a false core. The color in a freshly cut state is white, it turns red in the air and becomes yellowish-red (Fig. 5a). Annual rings are hardly noticeable. The core rays are narrow, not visible to the naked eye, on the transverse section they are falsely wide and are revealed in the form of light, sometimes curved, radial lines.

Rice. 5а Alder cut

There are heart-shaped repetitions in the form of brownish specks, spots or dashes. On the butt parts of the alder trunk, growths, caps are possible.

Alder wood is soft, light, cuts well, warps a little, pickles and polishes well, is very resistant to water, so it is used for making piles, well log cabins, and mine props. Alder is suitable for carving. In places where there is little linden, aspen, willow, master carvers work with alder.

Alder bark produces tannins, good black paint, alder cones are used in folk medicine.

Edible chestnut (Fig. 6) grows in natural conditions in the southern regions, in middle lane there are individual trees, and there are plantings in gardens and parks.

Rice. 6 Chestnut

The rock is sound, the core is similar in color and structure to oak wood, but the core rays are not visible. The sapwood is narrow, light, with a yellowish tint. Annual rings are clearly visible in all cuts. Chestnut contains a large amount of tannins, has a grayish tint and a characteristic texture pattern. Chestnut wood is light, soft, and lends itself well to cutting and finishing. Chestnut is used in the manufacture of furniture in the form of planed plywood, as well as in cooperage. The bark is used in the tanning industry to produce black and brown dyes.