Tag Archives: tools

Carving with Kids

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Ten years ago, when my son was six, I gave him a pocketknife.  My wife thought this was stupid.  Within a day, I was with him at the emergency room watching him get stitches in his finger.  This was rough, … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Start Where You Stand

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Dave Fisher

  Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.”  Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.” — George Herbert, “Jacula … Continue reading →

Posted in quotes and excerpts, sketch, tools | Tagged , | 10 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

Basking in the Sunshine

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Dave Fisher

The plus side of the cold temperatures lately has been beautiful clear sunny skies.  I propped up this cherry bowl in the window to bask in the sunshine and help along the curing of the flax oil.  I do this … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, cherry, holding, layout, patterns, tools, Uncategorized, video | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Hollowing with an Adze

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Dave Fisher

Following up on my last post about adze design, I wanted to share a series of photos that show the procedure for my adze work.  At the stage of the first photo (above), I’ve hewn and hand planed the upper and … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, bowls, holding, layout, Uncategorized, walnut | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Do You have an Outie or an Innie?

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Dave Fisher

I have some general information on tool selection here at my website, but I’d like to focus more specifically on the adze in this post.  It is probably the single most expensive tool used for this work, so it pays to choose … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, tools | Tagged , , , | 52 Comments

What’s a saz?

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Dave Fisher

That was my first thought when I was asked recently to make one; well, the bowl part of one.  Turns out that a saz is a long necked Turkish lute (I found the photo of the one above — I had … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, carving, tools, Uncategorized, video, walnut | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Prepare to Pare

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Dave Fisher

I was paring the interior of a cherry bowl recently.  Whenever I perform this operation, I hold the gouge in an unorthodox carving grip, reminiscent of a scene from Psycho or Julius Caesar. This allows me to register my thumb against … Continue reading →

Posted in carving, cherry, holding, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Get a Grip

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Dave Fisher

You may remember the “Pine Tar Game:”  On July 24, 1983, The Kansas City Royals were losing 4-3 to the New York Yankees in the top of the ninth inning.  George Brett, the Royals’ last hope, approached the plate with two … Continue reading →

Posted in adze, axe, tools, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments