Carving Wood | Which Wood Is Best For Carving?
New to wood carving? Need help knowing which woods to start carving with? Here we take a look at some of the most popular woods to use.
Carve It Up Competition 2023
The Carve It Up Competition Winner has been Crowned!
You talented carvers have been busy this summer and have created some cracking designs for 2023’s Carve It Up competition!
Talented woodworker, Lauren Wood, has agonisingly made her decision from over 40 creative carvings to crown our winner and runner-up of the Carve It Up competition 2023!
In first place we have Mat Foster from Liverpool, aka @chainsaw_foz who designed and carved the ‘Dragonfly.’ Lauren chose this design as the overall winner due to its level of detail, scale and finish, a phenomal piece that really made us think about nature and the planet we live in. They have won an awesome Arbortech tool bundle worth over £900!
As runner up, we have Brendan Rawlings from Exeter who carved ‘The Boy’, aka @Zenwooddesign. Lauren thought the design and the carve drew so much emotion to the piece. They have won an Arbortech tool bundle worth over £400!
Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all our competition entrants for their hard work and for allowing us to share how creative and talented they are.
In first place – ‘Dragonfly’
As runner up – ‘The Boy’
Carve It Up 2023 submissions!
Check back here regularly and on our Instagram page to see the latest entries! #carveitup2023 #axminstertools #arbortech
Discover what you could create with Arbortech
Power up your creativity and show off your skills
The Carve It Up 2023 Competition has now ended
Axminster Tools and Arbortech have joined forces to bring you a carving competition just for power carving! We want to see the innovative, creative and downright incredible things that you can make out of wood using a power carving tool for 2023’s Carve It Up Competition!
Win over £900 of Arbortech tools!
The Prizes
1st Prize: Over £900 of Arbortech tools
An incredible prize that even the most discerning power carver will enjoy, not only is this a comprehensive kit but it also includes the new Arbortech Power Carving Unit MKII!
Runner Up Prize: Worth over £400
A runner up prize worthy of first place in any tool kit.
How to enter Carve It Up 2023
#carveitup2023 #axminstertools #arbortech
Simply carve out a project with any power carving tool, take a picture, and upload it to Instagram before 31st August 2023.
Snap It
Take a photo of your project.
Tag It
Use the #carveitup2023 #axminstertools #arbortech hashtags and upload it to Instagram.
Win It
Win one of our Arbortech tool bundles!
Remember, this competition is purely for work carved with power carvers. Let's see what you can create!
The Judge
The very talented Lauren Wood. A specialist in joinery, former DT teacher, furniture designer, and maker. Lauren won Channel 4's Handmade Britain's Best Woodworker, series 2!
In her judging, Lauren is looking for, intricacy of design and realisation of the design, depth of carve on each piece and scale of the carved piece. Additionally other considerations may include artistic merit and functionality.
Power carving project inspiration
Watch Lauren getting creative with the all-new Arbortech power tools!
Thinking about wood sustainability
Sourcing wood for any project takes consideration. Which wood works best for the project? Which wood suits the discipline? Also, is the source I'm buying it from sustainable?
Buying wood from local, managed woodlands is the best way to ensure our woodlands will continue to thrive. With careful woodland management, it can bring biodiversity to our woodlands, improve our woodland's health, and in turn offer higher quality wood while also managing our carbon footprint.
Recycled wood and FSC certified wood are also great ways to find sustainable sources.
While you can use green wood for advanced carving as it's flexible grain is soft to the chisel, it's best to source this between September and February, when nesting season is over.
If you would like to learn more about how we strive for sustainability here at Axminster Tools, take a look at our blog with Planet Mark and for further conversation on wood sustainability listen to our podcast on Out of the Woodwork with Sebastian Cox.
Terms & Conditions
- Competition closes 31st August 2023;
- Entrants under 18 will need parental or guardian permission to enter;
- Only one entry per person is permitted;
- Multiple entries that are discovered to come from the same person will result in disqualification of all entries;
- Entrants must use the three hashtags #carveitup2023 #axminstertools #arbortech
- Duplicate content taken from other sites will not be allowed and will result in removal and disqualification;
- This competition is open to UK residents only;
- By entering this competition, you represent and warrant that you own the content you are submitting and there are no other entities with ownership claims over it;
- First prize consists of: Arbortech Power Carving Unit MKII, Arbortech TURBOPlane, Arbortech Mini TURBO Plane Kit, Arbortech TURBO Shaft, Arbortech Precision Carving System, Arbortech Ball Gouge, Arbortech Contour Sander.
- Runner up prize consists of: Arbortech Power Carving Unit MKII and Arbortech TURBOPlane.
- Axminster Tools employees and their immediate families are not eligible for the prize;
- Any entries with abusive, threatening or offensive language will be removed, blocked and disqualified from the competition;
- Once we have confirmed the winner, we will aim to deliver the prize within 14 days;
- This promotion is not connected to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram nor is it sponsored, supported or organised by Facebook, Twitter or Instagram;
- By entering this competition, you agree to have your name, location, photo and entry featured in the promotion of this competition and any future Axminster Tools promotional material;
- There is no purchase necessary to enter, but standard broadband rates apply.
