Bring Your Adze

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Dave Fisher

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Just a quick post to say that a spot has opened up in my pre-Fest bowl carving class in Plymouth.  It’s only three weeks away.  If you can squeeze it in, we’ll have a blast making some chips fly together!

 

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5 Responses to Bring Your Adze

  1. Paula Marcoux says:
    May 16, 2017 at 1:08 pm

    Well, that got snapped up, Dave. Thanks.
    Still spots in pre-Greenwood Fest courses with Jögge Sundqvist, Barn (the Spoon) Carder, Jane (the Breton spoon) Mickelborough, and Tim (the Edge) Manney, however!

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  2. Robert Jones says:
    May 17, 2017 at 1:11 pm

    Speaking of adzes, any suggestions about how to change an existing inside bevel to an outside bevel without thinning the steel too much or markedly shortening the tool? Thanks.

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    • Dave Fisher says:
      May 17, 2017 at 7:40 pm

      I’ve done this, and there’s no way around the fact that you’ll have to grind away a significant amount of metal. However, with patience it can be done and without shortening the tool by any more than a quarter inch or so, under most circumstances. With a friable wheel in your dry grinder and a light touch, you want to create an outer bevel. As you do so, the inner bevel will diminish, but there is no need — or preference, in fact — to completely remove the entire inner bevel. I would suggest the outer bevel can take up about 2/3 of the thickness of the steel, and the inner bevel the other 1/3. Understand that this is just a rough guideline and much depends on the specifics of the tool. In doing this, you will more likely be strengthening the bevel rather than thinning it. This older post might help to visualize this https://davidffisherblog.wordpress.com/2015/02/20/do-you-have-an-outie-or-an-innie/ Remember to take your time, quench the tool as necessary, taking care to not overheat the steel and ruin the temper.

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      • Robert Jones says:
        May 17, 2017 at 11:31 pm

        Thanks for the quick response. I had a feeling that sometime in the past you might have had an adze that need this treatment. To me, the slight shortening of the tool is worth it to have better cutting/scooping action. I was concerned that you might have recommended grinding away all of the existing bevel and starting from scratch! You reminded me that the woodcarver Chris Pye recommends a small inner bevel on most straight gouges: It allows the tool to be used upside down like a backbent ( of course, you wouldn’t need to do this with an adze) on convex surfaces, and it puts the cutting edge more in the middle of the thickness of the blade, thus strengthening the edge. Thanks again for taking the time to respond. Time to dress the grinding wheel!
        Robert

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