Can I use wood board pieces for block prints?

Question

I have a whole lot ( about 100 or so) various pieces of pine wood that was left over from a project at work. They are smooth soft pine, I was wondering if Ic an use these for block printing? I have heard of this, but I tried to print something and it came out looking rather strange, not smooth. I have only made prints with linoleum from the store , is there any different way to use wood for blocks? DO I need to sand it or something first? They are pretty smooth as it is. I would like to use this as it would be worlds cheaper than buying blocks... can I use my lino cutters on the wood or should I use woodworking tools exclusively? Any advice on making blocks with wood would be appreciated. Know any good sites? Thank you so much!

Answer 1

Preparation of your wood is absolutely essential. Choose a smooth flat board without knots. Sand 3 times starting with coarse grade, medium grade, then fine grain. Trace your drawing onto the wood then varnish it. After the varnish or shellac dries, smooth over it with steel wool then apply a second coat. Then carve and keep your carving clean. The wood itself becomes a beautiful work of art as well. Now about your wood quality. Pine is soft and has large veins which make it difficult to carve, but you can use it. Keep your tools sharp. Harder smooth grain woods such as cherry are better. I have gotten odds and ends leftover from a specialty lumber yard at a discounted price. You can also use a good grade of plywood. The end grain is the best for printmaking but can cost you more. I love making prints this way but have very little time and have gotten a little rusty on it but hope that this helps. Personally I think you need wood carving tools. I also use a dremel tool but wear goggles.

Answer 2

Hi:

It sounds like you have a creative and adventurous spirit. I haven't made wood block prints before, but you would probably need to sand the surfaces to get a completely flat and even surface before making any cuts. You could probably also use one of those really neat looking newer stylus Dremel tools to remove waste material if you wanted too. You could alway try one out to see how it works as a sample. I know I saw a guy on like DIY or HGTV one time make a lino print. It was interesting to see the progression - he just had the one lino piece, and planned the color application I think from light to dark. So, for the first image, he printed white. Then he cleaned off the plate, and cut away more material, and then printed the next color after carefully registering the sheets with the first color applied. I think the same process could be applied to a wood cut.

You might try finding more specific steps on HGTV or DIYNET - I found some possible projects on DIYNET, but going to their homepage, clicking on the crafts tab, and then searching for 'woodblock'. You could also probably check with other artist's who make wood block prints at the wetcanvas website. This is an artist community, and basic membership is free, and there are currently more that 95,000 members worldwide.

Hope this helps, and have fun with your attempts!

Answer 3

Hoookay, this is a bit complicated. Pine is a very soft wood, and typically won't give you a very clean image, because it splinters like a ***** when you carve along the wood grain. (did for me anyways). My printmaking prof. explained to us that if you want really clean images, you should carve into the end of the grain...Hard to explain, but you know how in a plank of wood on the flat there's the long lines? Well, at the ends of the wood are where the grain was bisected. If you carve into that part (with REALLY sharp tools) it won't split up the grain because it can't. Also, as someone else mentioned, the board needs to be flat, so when you lay it on a surface you know is flat and can see under it, it needs massive sanding.

I really preferred acid etching metal plates over messing with wood, but I'm the impatient type.

Answer 4

I don't see why not, but maybe some of the wood is slightly warped and that's why you didn't get a clean image.