Category Archives: layout

Round Walnut Bowl Underway

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Dave Fisher

The plan is to carve a deep round bowl from black walnut with a wide surface below the rim for a lettered inscription. Here, I’m refining the hollow with a crooked knife after having done the rest of the hollowing … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, drying, layout, proportions, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , | 6 Comments

That Line on the Outside of the Bowl

Posted on September 26, 2021 by Dave Fisher

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 →

Posted in bowls, cherry, layout, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 32 Comments

Carving American Chestnut 3: Foot Shape

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Dave Fisher

Onto another stage with the chestnut bowl. Although a little bigger and deeper, the design of this bowl has much in common with the cherry bowl on the left. Same general upper outline, narrow side panel, arched top. But the … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, layout, patterns, proportions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Bird Bowl from Straight Grain

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Dave Fisher

Most of the bird bowls I make come from crooks, with the form following the flow of the fibers. In designing and making this bowl, I tried to achieve similar lines and a sense of movement within the constraints of … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, figure, finding wood, layout, patterns, quotes and excerpts, sketch, tools, trees, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Small Side Panel Cherry Bowl

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Dave Fisher

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 →

Posted in bowls, carving, cherry, finding wood, holding, layout, patterns, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

Carving American Chestnut

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Dave Fisher

The solstice may still be a couple weeks away, but the first day of summer for me was yesterday. I celebrated by digging in to a special log. American chestnut. Big, green, American chestnut. I carved some chestnut a few … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, finding wood, historical reference, layout, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

A Burl and a Box

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Dave Fisher

I rarely work with burl, but when a piece from a Norway maple came my way , I decided to see what I could make from it. I ended up with this cup (4 1/2″ in diameter and 2 1/4″ … Continue reading →

Posted in burl, layout, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Carving Catalpa

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Dave Fisher

When a friend of mine sent me this big chunk of fresh catalpa wood, some memories came to mind. When I was a kid we had a big catalpa tree in the yard and I had fun playing with the … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, finding wood, layout, tools, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Love and Coffee

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Dave Fisher

I’ve missed out on a love affair with coffee.  Seems like just about everyone else has had one and most of them last a lifetime.  Long before iced-coffees became chic, my grandfather loved cold black coffee.  He kept it in … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, finding wood, layout, Lettering, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Breakfast for Five

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Dave Fisher

About two years ago, I wrote a post about busting up a big cherry log into various bowl blanks.  This experimental piece came from either the billet labeled A or B, so it has vertical grain (had I sawn it … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, cherry, layout, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 5 Comments