Author Archives: Dave Fisher

Start Where You Stand

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Dave Fisher

  Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.”  Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” — George Herbert, “Jacula … Continue reading →

Posted in quotes and excerpts, sketch, tools | Tagged , | 10 Comments

The Great Adze Shortage of ’15

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Dave Fisher

It seems that it is difficult to acquire a good adze these days.  I’m not looking, but I have been getting emails seeking advice on what to do about it.  These folks wish to carve bowls, and are willing to … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, cartoons, sketch, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 43 Comments

New Walnut Bowl

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Last week, I spent some time along the Niagara River.  I saw the Falls again (I live only three hours away), and they are still thrilling.  But what I noticed more than ever before were the beautiful trees on my walks … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, patterns, sketch, trees, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Close Encounters of the Wood Kind

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Dave Fisher

For those of you that recognize what that is: no, I have not turned to turning.  My turning experience is limited to doing a little spindle turning, mainly on the spring-pole lathe.  But I did make the easy hour-and-a-half trip … Continue reading →

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Moth-Inspired Curves

Posted on June 20, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Nature will bear the closest inspection.  She invites us to lay our eye level with the smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.  She has no interstices; every part is full of life. –– Henry David Thoreau, … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, quotes and excerpts, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Apple of His Eye

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Near the end of March 1845, I borrowed an axe and went down to the woods by Walden Pond nearest to where I intended to build my house…. The owner of the axe, as he released his hold on it, … Continue reading →

Posted in axe, carving, quotes and excerpts, sharpening, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

We Shall Not Cease From Exploration

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Dave Fisher

We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. — T. S. Eliot, “Little Gidding” As one might guess from the … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, Lettering, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Chairmaker’s Notebook

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Some of my favorite books have beautifully drawn illustrations.  Books by Eric Sloane and Edwin Tunis come immediately to mind.  I can now add another to that list: Chairmaker’s Notebook by Peter Galbert. One difference is that, while Sloane and … Continue reading →

Posted in books, green woodworking, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Round Top

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Dave Fisher

I recently completed the green-carving stage of a walnut bowl.  This log was twenty-seven inches long with heartwood about fifteen inches wide.  I wanted the rim of the bowl to sweep gently downward from the handles to the middle. When … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, proportions, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Quiet Green Places

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Industrial progress may be likened to a wide road of modern design, along the centre of which traffic is speeding at tremendous and dangerous velocity.  At the sides there are footpaths where old people may saunter and children may loiter; … Continue reading →

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