Category Archives: tools

Don’t Forget Your Compass

Posted on July 20, 2024 by Dave Fisher

Only three weeks until I head to Pete Galbert’s for our six-day bowl carving course. Among the various tools we’ll be using, the compass is an important one. I use mine on every bowl I make. It does a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Cherry Chicken

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Dave Fisher

It reminds me of that old joke- you know, a guy walks into a psychiatrist’s office and says, hey doc, my brother’s crazy! He thinks he’s a chicken. Then the doc says, why don’t you turn him in? Then the … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, books, cherry, holding, layout, quotes and excerpts, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Cherry Bowl Finished

Posted on April 20, 2024 by Dave Fisher

I’ve finished the cherry bowl that I mentioned in my recent Drying Revisited post. The oil has cured and it’s ready to serve. I’ll share a few more shots of the finished bowl below, but first some photos of some … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, cherry, holding, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Joel and the Barrel Knife

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Dave Fisher

We were wrapping things up at the end of the bowl carving class. Joel Paul and I were talking about bowls and tools when he handed me this: I had no idea what it was. Heavy. A fancy plumb bob? … Continue reading →

Posted in tools, Uncategorized | Tagged | 6 Comments

“Beddar Wood” is Basswood

Posted on September 4, 2023 by Dave Fisher

As soon as I opened the pack of shims, I recognized the particular scent. I took a closer look at the package and noted that the manufacturer celebrated this wood as superior to the spruce, pine, cedar, or plastic used … Continue reading →

Posted in finding wood, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

I Remembered How!

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Dave Fisher

It had been several months since I had roughed out a bowl from a log, the longest period of time in the last 25 years or so. There’s still plenty of settling-in to do here, but I was able to … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, bowls, cherry, holding, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Dog Holes and Vise Jaws

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Dave Fisher

I like holes in my benchtop. I use them for holdfasts, bench dogs, pegs of one sort or another, and for securing a carving vise. I’ve written many posts over the years that show me using these techniques in one … Continue reading →

Posted in holding, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

My (New?) Workbench

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Dave Fisher

What you see above is the face frame/apron from my old workbench. Southern yellow pine 2x6s joined with mortises and tenons, with a sliding deadman in the middle. I had made this as an addition to my old bench several … Continue reading →

Posted in holding, nature, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

Transitions

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Dave Fisher

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been getting a few jobs done at the new place as part of the settling-in process. One of them was the fencing-in of a small area in the back to allow our dog, … Continue reading →

Posted in nature, tools, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Riving a Cherry Crook

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Dave Fisher

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 →

Posted in cherry, finding wood, spoons, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments