Chainsaw Carving Care
Taking care of your chainsaw carving is super easy, and if you have any questions, please reach out! Please note, wood is an organic material and some cracking is to be expected. Every effort is made during the carving process to keep cracks to a minimum, but wood has a mind of its own, and no carving will be crack-free. Think of them as features, not flaws. To minimize cracking, please follow the recommendations below.
Chainsaw Carved and Hand-Painted in Sandy Hook, CT!
Most of our carvings are made from pine trees cut down by tree companies on residential properties that are brought to our lot, and then milled into blanks, then carved and hand-painted. If we didn’t take these logs, they would end up at the dump!
Keep Your Carving Out of the Sun
If possible, it’s best to keep your carving out of direct sunlight. The sun can cause the carving to dry out too quickly and crack very badly.
Cracks Are Features, Not Flaws!
Wood is an organic material, so some cracking is to be expected. Most smaller pieces are carved from quartered logs, and should be less prone to cracking, but even though we take every precaution to ensure they don’t, sometimes the wood decides to do otherwise. You can extend the life of your carving by applying spar urethane as described below.
Keep Your Carving Sealed!
Use SPAR URETHANE to seal your carving. The more, the better. In general, it’s best to apply a coat in your selected finish before each big change in season.
Keep Your Carving Outside!
Since these are carved from green (meaning freshly cut) wood, these will do best outside, where temperature and humidity changes are more gradual. Carvings brought inside too soon may dry faster than normal, resulting in a higher chance of cracking.
Ongoing Maintenance
On larger and custom pieces, the carving is sealed before going out. Smaller pieces are finished with exterior grade paint and stains and ARE NOT sealed in order to offer them at more affordable prices.
You can use SPAR URETHANE to seal your carvings. My preference is using Helmsman Spar Urethane, and you can get it in a spray can if you like.
