Category Archives: walnut

Curves and Chamfers

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Dave Fisher

When a bowl is almost finished, with over 99% of the wood to be removed already on the shop floor, I’m always amazed at what a difference those final few cuts can make. Most of those final cuts could be … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, tools, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Take a Whiff

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Dave Fisher

Yesterday, I was carving the flutes in a walnut bowl and I started thinking about what a big role smell plays among the pleasures of working with wood.  As I savored the rich aroma of the walnut, I thought of … Continue reading →

Posted in green woodworking, sketch, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

Back to the Hens

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Dave Fisher

I remember first seeing The Serenity Prayer on a trivet that hung on my grandmother’s kitchen wall: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, holding, layout, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Knotty Story

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Dave Fisher

This tale from my isolated workshop is actually quite tame compared to Boccaccio’s famous ones from the 14th Century told by a group of friends isolating themselves in an Italian villa; unfortunately timely circumstances. Amid the adjustments to the ever … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, bowls, layout, nature, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Fluted Walnut Bowl

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Dave Fisher

After making many bowls, I’m still thrilled by the prospect of shaping a rough chunk of log into a finished bowl.  The just-finished walnut bowl in the two photos above began with flattening the bottom and fairing the upper surface … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, axe, quotes and excerpts, tools, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Rooftop Bird with 12/12 pitch

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Dave Fisher

It’s been a couple years since I wrote this post about a bowl orientation I call a rooftop bowl.  In it, I discussed working with this type of blank and suggested experimenting with quarter-log splits and other angles.  Of course, … Continue reading →

Posted in bird bowls, bowls, finding wood, holding, layout, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

Raise Your Handles

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Dave Fisher

The handles on this just-finished walnut bowl really grab me.  They rise up from the edge of the hollow and extend broadly in a sweeping arc. Here’s a sketch to explain how I create a waist in the arched blank to … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, layout, sketch, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged | 5 Comments

Carving Outside

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Dave Fisher

My craving to be outdoors only seems to be intensifying over the years, as does my love for carving.  It’s a good thing, then, that these two desires are sometimes compatible.  On Sunday afternoon, I found myself carving a walnut … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, holding, nature, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Convergence

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Dave Fisher

Each life converges to some centre Expressed or still; Exists in every human nature A goal, Admitted scarcely to itself, it may be, Too fair For credibility’s temerity To dare. — Emily Dickinson, from Each Life Converges to some Centre … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, carving, patterns, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

The Three Stages

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Dave Fisher

I’m preparing a couple blanks for my program at Fine Woodworking Live in two weeks.  I noticed I had walnut bowls sitting around in three stages, so I’ll call them Larry, Curly, and Mo.  Larry is a log section — … Continue reading →

Posted in bowls, finding wood, green woodworking, holding, layout, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , | 5 Comments