Category Archives: walnut

Bowl from a Plank: Part 2

Back to the “bowl from a plank” that I started in this post a couple weeks ago. After preparing the blank and laying out the hollow and rim, I began to hollow the bowl. Remember, this plank was completely dry. … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, finding wood, Lettering, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Bowl from a Plank

Sourcing, storing, and/or processing green logs can be a challenge for some people based on location and other circumstances. There are ways around it. I’ve written a few posts that feature bowls carved from dry wood, or other creatively-sourced blanks. … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, finding wood, layout, patterns, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Arch Top and Flat Top

These two walnut bowls are very much alike in all aspects of their design except for the shape of the upper surface. I split both blanks from the same log. After hewing and planing both bottom surfaces flat, I gave … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, holding, layout, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Walnut Bowls and Hosta Flowers

Earlier this week, I was preparing to take some photos in the shop of two recently-finished walnut bowls, but the light filtering into the shop wasn’t really bringing out the color variations in the wood. I looked into the back … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, nature, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Bowl from Dry Walnut

Wood is much easier to carve when it’s green, and you can get right to work with a large blank of fresh uncracked wood straight from the tree. Then you can let the bowl dry, stress and crack free, before … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, carving, holding, patterns, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

New Walnut Bowl

This bowl started with a black walnut log about 13″ in diameter but only 13″ long. I split it into quarters and was able to get this bowl out of one of those sections. Bark up orientation, so the flow … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, carving, layout, patterns, proportions, sketch, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged | 21 Comments

Round Walnut Bowl Underway

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 , | 8 Comments

Frost and Form

You know, I’ve often said that every poem solves something for me in life. I go so far as to say that every poem is a momentary stay against the confusion of the world. But, of course, any psychiatrist will … Continue reading

Posted in bowls, quotes and excerpts, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Curves and Chamfers

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

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