Another Reason to Like Black Cherry

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Dave Fisher

Between the holidays and other things, I was a little out of rhythm in the workshop for a while. But this past week, I made some progress on several projects, including the prep work for some cherry bowls. The cherry tree (Prunus serotina) had fallen a few years ago and had been undisturbed since. The bark was still intact. Anticipating the coming deep snow, I cut a couple lengths from it and was happy to find the heartwood in great shape, and green. The sapwood is toast, but the decay stopped dead in its tracks at the heartwood, right at that thin dark ring.

If this had been maple or a host of other species, there would have been no chance after that much time. Below is a page from one of my favorite books, Green Woodworking by Drew Langsner. I still refer to it often, and I’m reminded of it even more frequently. Below is a page that includes a helpful reference chart on decay resistance.

I was thinking of making a long bowl form this whole length, but when I split it, an impressive twist was revealed.

I cut it into shorter lengths to reduce the cumulative twist from end to end. So, shorter bowls.

As I hewed a flat surface, I tested those chips by flexing them to make sure the wood was still strong and sound with no unusual breakage indicative of significant decay. Good stuff it seems.

I finished flattening the surface with a drawknife at the bowl horse. Another chance to get to know this particular piece of tree.

Then I flipped it over and shaved away the punky sapwood before striking a compass arc on each end. Shave down to those lines, and my arch-top bowl blank is ready for layout.

I recorded a little video as I did that. At first it may seem like three minutes of random and rapid drawknife work, but there’s a method to the madness. I start by reaching back about 3/4 of the way along the blank and making a series of cuts to remove the excess wood above the line that is facing me. Once I’m to the line all along the arch, I flip the bowl end-for -end and do the same in that direction. Even though I can’t see the line on the opposite end now, I know that it is right where the surface meets the end. So, I can start the drawknife at the very far end and remove the wood from there to the line in front of me. I’m not in a race; the speed and momentum of the knife facilitates the cutting and helps to assure a straight flat path of the knife from line to line. And it’s just such a joy, along with the scent of these green black cherry shavings filling the shop.

As the snow whips around and piles up outside the window this morning, I’m glad that I have these cherry logs inside.

I hope this Eastern Towhee that I watched and snapped a few photos of yesterday has a spot sheltered enough from today’s storm. He must not have noticed the range map that says he’s supposed to be further south this time of year.

What wonderful camouflage. Those side patches are just about the color of dried oak leaves and, incidentally, black cherry wood.

Posted in books, bowls, cherry, finding wood, green woodworking, holding, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Skullduggery on eBay

Posted on January 9, 2026 by Dave Fisher

This morning, I received an email from someone who noticed that images from my blog had been grabbed to create scam posts by a nefarious eBay seller. I happen to know where this bowl is sitting happily, and it is not at the “Unique_Handicrafts_Shop”. It makes me wonder if they actually ship anything to the buyer. I think not. But wait….there’s more:

This same scam seller has done the same with many other of my photos as well as photos from other makers. See more of the “Unique_Handicrafts_Shop” at this link.

When it comes to computer and online technology, my understanding is quite limited. It’s a wonder that I keep my website and blog together. So if anyone has some suggestions for ways I can at least make things more difficult for scammers, let me know. Put a tag or label on each photo? I see they’ve added their own. Or maybe it’s just the way things are. I assume that anyone familiar with my work would realize it’s a scam, but I hate to think of someone who is unfamiliar losing money over something like this.

I did finally find a way to issue a report to eBay informing them of the situation this morning, but I see the seller and the items are still active at this point. I doubt if I’ll hear anything back.

But before eBay shuts them down you’d better make an offer! I’m kidding. Do not do that.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 22 Comments

A Couple Tall Ones

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Dave Fisher
Shrink pots 2026, 16 3/4″ high and 15″ high.

I’ve just finished two tall shrink pots. Each represents an experiment with texture and pattern, respectively, and I plan on making a small example of each to take along to my classes at Pete Galbert’s later this year. Meanwhile, both of these are available for purchase now. More photos and information are below.

Both of these began with the boring of a 2″ hole through a green log. The video segment above, recorded back in July, shows me boring with a T-handle auger in black birch. This is the log the taller of these shrink pots came from.

After boring out the centers, shaving down the exteriors roughly round with a drawknife, and fitting the bottoms, I let them dry and shrink. Then they sat around for several months. Blank canvases. The one on the left is black birch. I worked around the exterior walls, across the grain, with a gouge to create textured parallel graduated bands (wider at the bottom of the pot, narrower at the top).

For the one on the right, red maple, I shaved and planed to create an octagonal exterior, then decided to add a chip-carved pattern. I sketched right on the walls, playing around with ideas. After I carved the pattern along each of the eight ridges, the possibility of the four-sided chips (like dots) in between struck me. They line up to create a shallow spiral around the pot and a steep spiral in the opposite direction.

Both are painted with milk paint from Real Milk Paint Co. (RMP finishes) and topcoated with Viking Purified Linseed Oil Wax. I was out of any greens, so both of the colors resulted from mixing blues and yellows from the sample packets I had on hand. The one on the left has an undercoat of a mix of paprika and persimmon. There were plenty of small test pieces.

The lids are cherry and walnut, respectively, and both finials are from riven hickory, for strength in their slenderness.

As I mentioned, both are available for purchase. Ready for storing your dry spaghetti, paint brushes, pick-up-sticks… If you’re interested, please email me at dandkfish@gmail.com. Thanks!

Left (carved rings): Black birch, cherry, hickory, milk paint. 16 3/4″ tall (11 1/2″ without the finial) x 2 3/8″ wide. $475 includes shipping. SOLD

Right (chip carved): Red maple, black walnut, hickory, milk paint. 15″ tall (9 1/4″ without the finial) x 2 3/8″ wide. $475 includes shipping. SOLD

Posted in paint, patterns, shrink box, Uncategorized | Tagged | 9 Comments

Wishes for the New Year

Posted on December 31, 2025 by Dave Fisher

Last week, as I anticipated another road trip for us all together around our star, I carved this ornament.

Here’s my sketch of the design in my notebook. I cut a circle out of a thin (3/8″) basswood board, painted it simply with some acrylic paint, then transferred the drawing with graphite transfer paper and a stylus, then carved. The diameters of the circles, in inches, are on the sketch. I’d like to explore this design more at different scales, wood species, and backgrounds.

I’m ready to hang my 2026 Dickinsons Reach Calendar, having just received it in the mail. This year’s calendar is one of my favorite editions. It features the artwork of Scott Kessel, all from his time spent at Dickinsons Reach over the last 17 years. They are in various media, and they are all wonderful and inspiring.

Wishing you all a peaceful and joyful new year!

Posted in Lettering, paint, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Peter Galbert Workshops 2026

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Dave Fisher

Not to interrupt your holiday preparations, but just a quick post to let you know that Pete Galbert has just published his full schedule for 2026 at Peter Galbert Workshops. It’s a great lineup of classes with Peter Galbert, Peter Follansbee, Tim Manney, Andy Glenn, Bern Chandley, and newcomers (to Pete’s) Chris Schwarz, David Douyard and Eric Goodson. You can check out the whole schedule HERE. Registration opens up on December 28th.

I’ll be back again teaching a new class in which we’ll explore container making and letter carving. Here’s the description:

In our week together, we will explore container-making with both green and dry wood including the making of a box in the form of a book.  These projects will provide ideal canvases for decorative carving and letter carving, and we will practice both before employing them on our projects.  In addition to carving techniques, we will work to develop individual designs that are meaningful, aesthetically pleasing, and sympathetic to the material and overall forms.  As always, we will also work on important tool sharpening goals and procedures.

First in June, then again in October. I’m looking forward to it!

  

Posted in classes, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Hal Borland on Snow

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Dave Fisher

I’ve taken a few photos during our snowy December here. I’ve paired them with words from an essay Hal Borland wrote in 1961, from his essay collection Sundial of the Seasons (1964):

One of the penalties of modern life is the loss of appreciation of snow… To travelers everywhere snow is a blinding, slippery hazard to foot and wheel and wing.

Yet the snowflake, of itself, is a thing of fragile, evanescent beauty. it is a delicate water crystal, one of the most transient of all natural forms, a wisp of mist that has briefly acquired tangible shape. A snowfall can transform a woodland into a place of magic, a meadow into a shimmering wonderland. A snowdrift is the frozen grace of the wind, perfection of line and curve and form.

Snow can temporarily restore the lost innocence to a scarred and naughty world of disillusionment and folly.

We know these things. We can believe in them for a little while at the beginning of any Winter.

Posted in nature, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Whittling A Julfågel

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Dave Fisher

Four years ago, I wrote about Phil Teeter and his Julfågels (“Christmas Birds”). A couple days ago, I learned that Phil passed away last month. I went out back, cut a little branch junction and whittled a Julfågel. What fun with just a little branch, a knife, and Phil’s inspiration.

I’ll show some more carving photos further down, but first I’ve copied my original post from four years ago here:

Phil’s Julfågel (originally posted Dec. 4, 2021)

Last Christmas, Phil Teeter sent me some cheer in the form of these delightful carvings. Phil explained that they are Julfågel (Swedish for Christmas Bird), “very rare and shy — they appear at Christmas and bring good fortune.”

Phil has strong connections with Sweden and has visited there several times, including a few Country Workshops craft tours with the likes of Drew Langsner and Jögge Sundqvist. There, he visited many inspiring craftspeople in their workshops, including Beth Moen, AnneLie Karlsson, Anja Sudberg, and Bengt Lidstrom. He even had a crawfish feast in Hans Karlsson’s forge!

With all of that Swedish experience, I assumed Phil’s Julfågel stemmed from some centuries-old Scandinavian tradition, but that wasn’t the case. They came out of Phil’s creative fire, sparked, in this case, by AnneLie Karlsson. AnneLie had carved some pencils from small branches and Phil purchased one. Back at home in Colorado, AnneLie’s pencil inspired Phil to explore the form and add the story, resulting in the Julfågel.

In the photo above, you can see the general progression Phil goes through in carving a Julfågel. Here’s a little more on the materials from Phil: “I have only used aspen for these. Pretty much the perfect wood. Easy to carve, the limbs grow the right way, it takes paint well and I have acres of it. I use artists oils for nearly everything but here I use acrylic. Dries fast and there are really nice transparent colors. The ones you see on my birds are alizarin crimson, Jenkins green, transparent yellow, iron oxide and bone black.”

Branches are all over the place — aspen not required. What a fun Christmas project, and maybe a good opportunity to introduce a kid, or an adult, to carving. Talk about good fortune.

(End of the original post)

Now back to just a couple days ago and that little branch junction. The way I’m holding the branch in the photo above, the tree grew toward my knife hand. The Julfågel’s hat is in my left hand. If you go looking for suitable branches, the Julfågel will be upside down.

So joyful just playing around with ideas as they come to mind, like the facets up the hat.

Now for some color inspiration…

Phil Huber (of Woodsmith Magazine) kindly sent me these photos of Julfågels carved and painted by his nieces and nephews, with Uncle Phil, at a holiday gathering last year. No rules.

So, have some fun carving a Julfågel with a kid, or an old kid, or solo.

And while I’m referring back to old Christmas posts, here’s a link to a related one, from eight years ago: Carve Some Toys. There’s still plenty of time.

Posted in carving, green woodworking, paint, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Revisiting the QRS-Tree-UV Design

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Dave Fisher
QRS-Tree-UV alphabet boards 2025, 6 5/8″ x 14″, butternut and basswood. D. Fisher

Three years ago, I drew up the design for these “QRS-Tree-UV” alphabet boards. I wrote about my design process in this post back then. I’ve had some fun revisiting the design and carving these three new boards. There they sit among the oak leaves in the sun, just a day or two before this week’s snowfall. These three are available for purchase and so is the pattern.

First, the pattern. It always takes me longer to design lettering than it does to carve it. It is time well spent. I’ve finally gotten around to setting things up to make this design available and I hope it encourages you to carve it. Or maybe you can apply it to other mediums. It’s all set up HERE if you’d like to check things out in more detail. If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll be happy to answer and update the page accordingly.

Back to those three boards. There they are again, above, but in a more subdued light out of the sun. A little more about them: They are each about 6 5/8″ x 14″ x 3/8″. The one on the left is butternut with a white wash of thinned artist oil paint. The middle one is basswood (aka limewood or linden) with green artist oil. The right one is also basswood and artist oil, with the leaves painted orange.

The price of $550 includes shipping. If you’re interested in one, please email me at dandkfish@gmail.com. Thank you. Update: All Sold

I’ll include a larger shot of each of them below.

Each is ready for hanging.

Posted in design, Lettering, patterns, plans, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Walnut Tray and Autumn Leaves

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Dave Fisher

This black walnut tray started out as an experiment in rehydrating kiln dried wood. One of the carvers in my October class asked me if I had ever tried soaking a block of kiln dried wood to bring it back to a green moisture content. I hadn’t.

So, after I returned home, I took a piece of kiln-dried black walnut, 12″ x 8″ x 1 1/2″ and submerged it in a bucket of water for over three days. A rock held it under the surface the entire time. That’s it on the right above, with an unsealed piece of the same board to the left.

It didn’t work. Even after three days, the water saturated the wood only about 1/2″ deep into the end grain and maybe 1/8″ deep on the face grain. Beyond that, it was like carving, well, kiln-dried walnut. The good news is that steel is harder than kiln-dried walnut, so I went ahead and carved the tray. I was curious if the water soaking would lead to any cracks as the moisture dried from the end grain. No problems. Maybe a few weeks in the water would have soaked the wood to the core? I’m not sure. Maybe some other time.

Meanwhile, the tray worked out well. It’s 11 3/4″ long x 7″ wide x 1 3/8″ high. One potential use is for holding stationery. A5 size fits nicely with a little extra room for a pen or pencil. Of course, there are lots of other possibilities.

I did some chip carving on the ends and just below the rim on the sides.

There’s the plan view. Another project from a plank, and this one can be made from a 6/4 plank. Maybe you’ve got a chunk of 2×8 laying around? The layout was done with a compass and drawing bow, the same techniques used for the Bowl-from-a-Plank.

When I flipped it over to carve my mark and year on the bottom, an idea struck me. The windows over my workbench treat me to a view of trees. There’s quite a variety in a short space at the back edge of the yard: maple, tupelo, red oak, tulip poplar, hickory, black cherry, beech… I sketched, carved, and painted a representation of their varied fall colors on the bottom.

The paint is milk paint. Mixes from sample packets from RMP. I cut pads from veg tan leather to protect the tabletop and the trees. Finish is a blend of pure linseed oil and beeswax.

This one is available for purchase. $675 includes shipping. If you’re interested, email me at dandkfish@gmail.com. Thank you. SOLD

Every autumn, I’m reminded of Peanuts comic strips. The falling leaves theme is one that Charles Schulz returned to many times. Here’s one of my favorites:

A last shot, outside. Only the oaks and beeches are holding onto their leaves now.

Posted in bowls, nature, trees, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Three Shrink Pots

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Dave Fisher

I’ve finished three shrink pots that are available for purchase. I’ll provide some details about each of them below. If you’re interested, please email me at dandkfish@gmail.com. Prices include shipping. Thanks.

I’ll start with the pot on the left, Riven Twist, It’s related to my most recent post in which I mentioned making a stain from black walnut husks. I made the body from a maple tree that fell just across the road from us. I formed the outside with four strikes of the fro and left the natural split surface, along with the twist in the tree revealed by the splits.

I stained the bright white maple wood with two applications of the walnut husk stain. More applications would have darkened it more. After the lid was finished, I went over everything with a linseed/beeswax blend.

The lid is made from black walnut wood with “granny smith” milk paint. The “finial” is a burl I set aside years ago from a maple or birch log. I pealed the fresh bark from the outside back then and left the surface under the bark to oxidize. This finally seemed like an appropriate spot for it.

The rabbet under the lid is formed by a basswood board with a little chip carving. Three brass screws secure the burl to the lid from below. 9 1/4″ x 3″. $400 includes shipping. SOLD

Now onto the next one, All the Fish Needs. This birch pot with no lid is ideal for holding pencils and pens, or it could have all sorts of other uses.

I carved the outer surface with a gouge to create a texture of wavy random flutes. On the side wall of the pot, there was a tight pin knot. I made that the eye of a fish that merges with the water. With my pen knife, around the lower portion of the pot, I carved a line from Thomas Merton’s translation of Chuang Tzu (Zhuang Zhou) from Merton’s 1965 book The Way of Chuang Tzu: “All the fish needs is to get lost in water.”

After carving, I painted with artist oil paint, blue first, followed by a coat of white which I rubbed back. 5 1/4″ high x 3 1/4″. $350 includes shipping. SOLD

The final pot in this group, No Longer Blue, might look familiar. I showed it in a post several weeks ago, but I had painted it a (too) bright blue. The more I looked at it, the more I wished I had done something different with the color. So I did. I shaved the surface down to fresh wood and repainted. This time with two shades of milk paint, “granny smith” over “blue spruce”. The lid and finial are black walnut. The body of the pot is quaking aspen.

11″ high x 3 5/8″. $400 includes shipping. SOLD

Posted in shrink box, Uncategorized | 5 Comments