So, I had a black walnut tree that the city forestry department said was diseased and I had to cut it down.  Apparently it has thousand cankers disease.  I was told it was in the very early stages (yellowing of the leaves on the crown).  Anyway, my neighbor took most of the wood for firewood and I disposed of the branches.  

The last part of the trunk that we cut was about 7 feet tall and 22-24" in diameter.  As you can imagine, this was a very heavey piece so I cut the 7' piece in half so now I have two pieces that are about 3 1/2 feet tall.  Instead of giving it up to be used for firewood I wanted to see if I could carve something out of them.

The issue is that I don't know if there are any concerns with carving a piece of wood that is diseased.  Also, I have never carved anything before.  I just wanted to do something simple like a couple of crosses or something like that so I don't think that it would be too hard.  I also have no idea what the basic steps are to carving.  I am sure there are youtube videos that I can and will look up. 

Therefore, I just wanted to get some opinions from some pros and see what you think.  Thanks for all your help.

Generally tree disease is usually caused by insects. Secondly I think most other disease is in the bark. I don't see any problem carving the wood. Once it is dried out there shouldn't be a danger of transmitting any disease if the bark is gone.

Generally tree disease is usually caused by insects. Secondly I think most other disease is in the bark. I don't see any problem carving the wood. Once it is dried out there shouldn't be a danger of transmitting any disease if the bark is gone.

I agree with Woodwizard. There shouldn't be any problem carving a diseased tree. But I would let it dry out for awhile as they have a tendency to crack quite a bit.
Gerald Green

Lopezpr,

One idea for carving your trunk is a totem pole or tiki. My brother carved a couple of tiki's in the trunk of a palm tree. You could use the chisels that you got with the Life Membership, if you are a Life member. It is a fairly easy project because you don't have to carve very deep into the trunk to make a decent looking tiki. I would suggest looking online for pictures of tikis for ideas or just come up with your own. Lay your trunk across a couple of sawhorses and brace it with some wood wedges on each side. You can make those out of some scrap 2X4's. Then just remove the bark with your chisels or however you can get it off. Draw out your faces or designs on the trunk for guidance and chisel away ! I have a palm tree that I think has died and I am going to do that with it. Good luck and have fun !

Thanks guys. I will post pictures once I am done.

Hi Lopezr
I have carved some " black walnut" - It has a definet grain and will split.
Each time you cut with the grain you will need a good "stop cut" or your cut will not
"stop" and take out a large chip past where you intend to stop

Tree diseases come in all shapes and sizes...and in many cases, such as with spalting, the spores involved can lead to various breathing problems or allergy attacks.

Now, one thing you can do is soak the wood in DeNatured Alcohol (DNA).  The DNA will arrest any bug traffic, kill fungus, and also helps in preventing cracking as the wood dries.  Alcohol chemically bonds with water and helps alleviate the stress associated with drying.

So...what was my point?.. hmmm.   dunno.  Just ramblin'