Category Archives: Uncategorized

White Oak Bowl — Layout

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Dave Fisher

  This past winter I made a couple rocking chairs from white oak.  An extra bolt from the white oak log had been sitting around since then, and I decided to carve a bowl from it.  I guess I’m a glutton … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, layout, proportions, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Good in Everything

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Dave Fisher

And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything. — William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, Act II Scene 1 For a couple hours earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in nature, trees, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

And Now for Something Completely Different….Chestnut

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Dave Fisher

My latest bowl, this boat-inspired piece, came from a Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) tree that grew a couple miles from my home.  In the photo, it is riding on waves of walnut bark on the wood stack.  I’ve got more … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, holding, layout, patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

The Great Adze Shortage of ’15

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Dave Fisher

It seems that it is difficult to acquire a good adze these days.  I’m not looking, but I have been getting emails seeking advice on what to do about it.  These folks wish to carve bowls, and are willing to … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, cartoons, sketch, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 43 Comments

New Walnut Bowl

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Last week, I spent some time along the Niagara River.  I saw the Falls again (I live only three hours away), and they are still thrilling.  But what I noticed more than ever before were the beautiful trees on my walks … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, patterns, sketch, trees, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Close Encounters of the Wood Kind

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Dave Fisher

For those of you that recognize what that is: no, I have not turned to turning.  My turning experience is limited to doing a little spindle turning, mainly on the spring-pole lathe.  But I did make the easy hour-and-a-half trip … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Moth-Inspired Curves

Posted on June 20, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Nature will bear the closest inspection.  She invites us to lay our eye level with the smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.  She has no interstices; every part is full of life. –– Henry David Thoreau, … Continue reading →

Posted in layout, quotes and excerpts, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Apple of His Eye

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Near the end of March 1845, I borrowed an axe and went down to the woods by Walden Pond nearest to where I intended to build my house…. The owner of the axe, as he released his hold on it, … Continue reading →

Posted in axe, carving, quotes and excerpts, sharpening, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

We Shall Not Cease From Exploration

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Dave Fisher

We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. — T. S. Eliot, “Little Gidding” As one might guess from the … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, Lettering, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Chairmaker’s Notebook

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Some of my favorite books have beautifully drawn illustrations.  Books by Eric Sloane and Edwin Tunis come immediately to mind.  I can now add another to that list: Chairmaker’s Notebook by Peter Galbert. One difference is that, while Sloane and … Continue reading →

Posted in books, green woodworking, sketch, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 7 Comments