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Category Archives: walnut
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 sense of smell, smell of walnut, truffle smell, wood aroma
22 Comments
Back to the Hens
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 bowl carving, hen bowl, walnut bowl
13 Comments
Knotty Story
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 bird bowl, Boccacio, Decameron, walnut bowl
15 Comments
Fluted Walnut Bowl
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 carved bowl, fluted bowl, walnut bowl
22 Comments
Rooftop Bird with 12/12 pitch
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 bird bowl, carved hen, rooftop bowl, walnut bowl
23 Comments
Raise Your Handles
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
Carving Outside
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 carving bench, carving outside, holdfasts
10 Comments
Convergence
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 carved flutes, Carved walnut bowl, Each Life Converges, Emily Dickinson
25 Comments
The Three Stages
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 bowl carving, walnut bowl
5 Comments
Walnut Necklace
I just finished the carving on this walnut bowl. I snapped a few photos while carving the “necklace” around the rim. But first, a point about gouges: One gouge can be pretty versatile, depending on how you use it. You … Continue reading