Category Archives: cherry

Riving a Cherry Crook

Some cherry branches with nice crooks fell during some recent windstorms. I snapped a few photos while splitting them into spoon blanks to show how I typically go about it. They can be split with an axe or wedge, but … Continue reading

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Asymmetrical Cherry Crook Bowl

The treetops had been on the ground since the logging crew left the woodlot over a year ago. I climbed over brush and through the jaggerbushes that had sprung to life in the new abundance of sunlight. It was slim … Continue reading

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Duckling Revisited

The ducklings liked the new island so much that they decided to live there. All day long they follow the swan boats and eat peanuts. Robert McCloskey, Make Way for Ducklings (1941) As I finished this latest little duck bowl, … Continue reading

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That Line on the Outside of the Bowl

Mullet, D.A., rattail, fade, French braid — there are many options for what to do with the hair on the back of your head. Likewise for the outside of a bowl. Maybe it’s because my own hair situation provides me … Continue reading

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Small Side Panel Cherry Bowl

A few days ago I finished this cherry bowl for a local fundraiser. It features a relatively narrow side panel below the edge of the rim that makes an ideal spot for some chip carving. I took a few shots … Continue reading

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Another Bowl Beginning

Why does this never get old? As I was roughing out this big cherry bowl, I thought about how I’ve gone through this process so many times over the years, and yet it remains completely engaging, even thrilling. I suppose … Continue reading

Posted in adze, cherry, green woodworking, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Check for Checks

You know how when you carve a big deep cherry bowl then set it aside to dry after the green carving stage, and you’re really happy with it, and the next day there’s a crack? Yeah, I hate when that … Continue reading

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Inshave

Last weekend, I was hollowing a big deep bowl from a cherry log. After the adze work, I reached for a tool I use from time to time to fine tune the form of a large hollow. I’ve seen tools … Continue reading

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Library Bench

Sometime around 1980 I borrowed a Charlie Brown book from the Greenville Public Library. Then I lost it, then found it three years later. I don’t remember if any late fees were ever paid. What a scoundrel. This fall, I … Continue reading

Posted in carving, cherry, Lettering, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 37 Comments

Two Foot Two

That’s the length of this cherry bowl, so it will need a big table. It’s rare that I make bowls that long. This one began as one of my demonstration pieces for the the recent adze article in Fine Woodworking … Continue reading

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