fm tim,
Most of my carving is done on a fully wiskered stock ( usually about 5 times) The carving cuts with sharp tools won't push down the grain Although some areas especially in the tight grounds that are scraped will pop a bit so after carving I will wisker at least 3 times more times and cut it down with "micro burred" scrapers and what ever it takes. By the time it is AF time not much should raise up
Jim