David Fisher, Carving Explorations

Making and using shrink pots for grain and food storage is an ancient practice. In one of the greatest woodworking books, Woodworking in Estonia, Ants Viires, dedicates several pages (89-95) to it. In various regions of Estonia, these containers were known as “ummik” or “umku, umpu.” He asserts that these containers made by hollowing out a log or branch predate coopered containers. He goes into welcome detail on methods. For example, Viires explains that often the hollowed log would be put into boiling water or soaked to expand further before the bottom was inserted. But he states, “We also have evidence of the insertion of the dry base into the green wood container without ‘boiling’ or soaking; this may be considered an older method.” I guess I’ve only made “old school” ummiks. More on Woodworking in Estonia later.

I made this grey birch pot (above) fifteen years ago and it has stored ground flax seed ever since. I pop off the top every morning and sprinkle some flax seed on my oatmeal, because I live on the edge like that. A plastic container would be just as practical, but it wouldn’t give me as much joy or be so pleasing to the hand and eye.

There’s the grey birch pot in the lower left beside the larger black birch container I just finished.

This black birch bark wasn’t smooth like paper birch or grey birch. So, while I left the bark on, I shaved the outer surface away with a drawknife, leaving a series of subtle vertical facets. On one side the bark was dappled, on the other side not so much.

Shrink pot lids, should the pot need one, can be projects all their own and can certainly take longer than the pot itself. I made the lid from some quarter-sawn sycamore I’ve been hanging onto.

One of the tools I use pretty regularly, but hardly seem to mention, is a coping saw. I don’t have a band saw, but even if you do, I think a coping saw should be hanging near your bench. It’s such a simple thing, and so effective. You can get fancy ones, but I’ve gotten good service from this Eclipse model that’s available for around twenty bucks. There are similar ones made by many different brands. A pack of 6 1/2″ blades will last a long time. I prefer the finer blades, like an 18 or 24 TPI.

A shot of the finished lid. I decided to make the handle/finial out of the same sycamore and suggest a rising sun. Especially appropriate if the pot stores your morning oatmeal or coffee.

The handle is joined to the lid with a long tenon. I’m shaving the tenon cheek with a chisel in the photo above.

There’s another angle of the finished lid. The rabbet on the underside of the lid can be carved from the lid piece itself, or a separate piece of wood can be glued to the underside of the lid. In this case, I shaped a thin basswood board to a snug fit then glued it on. When the glue dried, an idea came to mind and I hurried and went ahead before I talked myself out of it.

Linseed oil and beeswax on the outside of the pot and lid, no finish at all on the inside. It’s 9″ high and 5″ wide. By volume, it will hold nearly 1 1/2 quarts, about 45 fluid ounces (1.3 liters).

I want to finish this post with a return to Woodworking in Estonia, because I can’t emphasize enough what a treasure it is.

There are hundreds of illustrations and photographs in the book. Above and below are just a couple of the ones from the “shrink pot” section.

There are so many interesting and practical methods for work-holding discussed and pictured in the book. Check out these two below. Both of them feature horses that hold the work with pressure from end to end, like a “bowl horse“. I was delighted to see this when Lost Art Press published and made it widely accessible in 2016. This allows the craftsperson access to the entire upper surface of the workpiece. Works great for shaving shrink pots too.