driftwood

[woodcarver55555]

I am only 5 months into carving life size birds with powertools. For 25 years only carved with knives and gouges. Always carved animals. people. masks, and other objects. I went to the local river an collected some driftwood to mount bird carving onto. Washed it off real good ( we are only 15 miles inland, and the river is salty ), let mother nature rain on it a few times and the sun start to dry it out. It has now been in my storage building a few months and is pretty dry, but feels very light, soft and weak. Is there something I can soak it in that will harded it up so it does not feel so fragle? Any advice in this area would be great. Thanks

[David_Aaron_Sercel]

You could try some sanding sealer. That should harden it up a little bit.

You may have gotten some driftwood that has been seriously deteriorated, or it may be just a lightweight wood, such as cedar. If it is not too badly deteriorated, you can also coat it with Minwax Wood Hardener. It is a one step treatment that soaks in and reinforces the wood fibers. It will be very difficult to carve once this application has been made.

Al