I was given a half dozen large chunks of basswood - 4ft lengths about 10 inches round. It's green and I'm not having much luck turning it. Either its the wood or my technique but I seem to be ripping the wood apart rather than getting the nice curls coming off the gouge that I get with ash etc. Also, the one bowl I have pretty much finished was very difficult to sand, a lot of long fibers that took a lot of work with a 40grit sandpaper to get to a point where they disappeared.
Is there a technique to use with basswood or is it better off left to carvers? Any thoughts?