Author Archives: Dave Fisher

Hooks from Crooks

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Dave Fisher

When splitting branch crooks for spoons, I often end up with a thin split from the upper portion of the crook.  Sometimes such a piece may have potential for a smaller eating spoon, but I also like to use them for wall … Continue reading →

Posted in green woodworking, holding, Uncategorized | Tagged | 5 Comments

Lettering

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Dave Fisher

With my “Bottoms Up” post a couple weeks ago, there was a comment/question about what I use to do the lettering and date.  I thought I’d elaborate more on the answer in this post. In the photo above, I’m using … Continue reading →

Posted in Lettering, patterns, tools, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Oh, It’s Drying Time Again…

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Hewing a bowl with an axe and an adze certainly qualifies for what David Pye called “the workmanship of risk.”  The risk doesn’t end when the axe is laid down.  Anyone who is going to carve many bowls is sure to have some … Continue reading →

Posted in cartoons, carving, drying, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

1974

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Dave Fisher

In 1974, I hadn’t yet learned to read.  I didn’t know what I was missing.  Two books with a similar theme were published in that year, and they are both gems.  Both involve married couples traveling thousands of miles to … Continue reading →

Posted in books, photography, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Bottoms Up

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Dave Fisher

It’s time to think about bottoms.  After all, your bowl is going to spend most of it’s life resting on it, and it is an important design consideration.  You can even add some fun designs.  Folks might even smile when they … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, cherry, layout, proportions, sketch, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Measuring Beauty?

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Dave Fisher

 The question of measuring beauty — that is objective assessment beyond “Very nice,” “Exquisite,” “This appeals to me” — has troubled scholars and other laymen at least from the time of the Greeks.  And, beginning with the Greek philosophers, there … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, proportions, Uncategorized, video, walnut | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Beyond Words

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Dave Fisher

When I was beginning to make things out of green wood, I purchased a couple VHS tapes from Country Workshops.  One, filmed in the Swiss mountains, follows Ruedi Kohler as his skillful hands make a coopered bucket.  The other takes the viewer … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Folkstreams

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Dave Fisher

A visit to the Folkstreams website can provide a person with some healthy perspective.  It is a rich collection of films of varying length on a wide spectrum of traditions, including handcrafts.  There’s much more to see, but to begin … Continue reading →

Posted in books, video | Tagged | 3 Comments

A Windfall Goose

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Dave Fisher

I found this stylized goose bowl in the curve of a wind-fallen cherry tree.  Usually, we think of “finding” spoons in the crooks of tree branches, but I occasionally find bowls as well. Grain flowing through the form allows for lightness, … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, books, finding wood, layout, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Contentment

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Two old men, radiating contentment… Their trade seemed to have been a refuge for them. Perhaps their serenity came from making things that gave pleasure to others.  Or making things they knew would outlast them, give them a little power … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, quotes and excerpts, sketch | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments