Friends,
I have been on an adventure to make hand-hewn breadbowls. It has been a learning experience that began with seeing Rip Mann’s bowls at the Waterford, VA show, some of which sold for more than $500 apiece. I was captivated by the idea of buying and adze and a big piece of green lumber and hacking out a beautiful breadbowl. I ran into some problems. First was in finding large enough pieces of wood. Two weeks ago I found a 5 foot cherry board that is 4 1/2″ thick and from 20 to 24″ wide!! It is partially air dried, and the nice man only charged me $68. See photo.
I didn’t wait to start making bowls until I found the big board. I got some smaller exotic wood blanks, about 8″x8″x2″ and started carving. I made a set of four – one for each of our grown kids and one for my wife and I. A photo of the “Four Bowls of Eternal Happiness” is attached.
I bought a Pfeil adze which has a 9″ handle and a #9 sweep iron with a 2″ wide edge. I began to learn the pluses and minuses of adzes. You can’t swing one for four hours!!!!:-) Also, I found that they are really for larger bowls, say 12″ in diameter or more. To attemp to use one on a small bowl is dangerous to your thumb, and not very effective. Later I also found a blacksmith named Don Dillon in North Carolina who makes an adze designed and used by “doughbowlmaker” JP Madren. It has a #3 sweep and is really tuned for doughbowls that are at least 12″ by 18″ and 3 to 4″ inches deep. With experience, one sees how the shape and sweep of the adze really determine the shape of the inside of the bowl.
So my bowls, so far, are products of my BIG mallet and my 60mm #7 sweep Pfeil gouge, and a few other straight and long-bend gouges to clean things up. I made two bowls from trees cut down behind my house in October. They are in the shape of doughbowls but smaller, due to the size of the tree. It was fun learning to carve wet wood, and learning about how to keep the things from splitting after carving them. More on that in another message if anyone asks. Photos of the two small doughbowls are below. My wife really likes the primitive look of the gouge marks. The small bowl is red oak. My friends and I have not yet been able to identify the type of wood in the larger of the two bowls. The smaller of the two breadbowls was my first attempt at hand-hewing a bowl, and I think it came out rather well. These bowls will go to my kids and be known as “The Doughbowls of Trans-Generational Cohesion”. In other words, I hope the kids lime em and keep coming back for more.
I have also attached a few photos of my tools in case anyone is interested. The next bowl carving experience will be to go at the BIG CHERRY BOARD and make some REAL large doughbowls. I have been “exercising” with the adzes. I can last a much longer time now, and I am getting much better at causing the adze to take shavings. This is a learned skill.
I also carved a small poplar bowl to exercise some smaller gouges. Photo attached.
A few people asked me if these are really “Fine Woodworking”. My response is that any bowls that can sell for $500 apiece are pretty fine. As always, I don’t plan on selling anything I make. I just keep having fun, and trying to find new skills to master.
Thanks,
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Replies
Mel ,
Those are beautiful , I can just feel the fun you had making them .
dusty
those are really nice bowls!
I don't know about 500$ but they're priceless if they keep you and your children connected.
Chaim
Make your own mistakes not someone elses, this is a good way to be original !
Mel, are you trying to tell us something?
Beautiful work. And the poplar one.. Some think popular is a junk wood. I feel the opposite and the bowl proves it.
"Fine Woodworking".. You bet!
Now you need to carve some forks and spoons in contrasting woods for the bowls.
Absolutely lovely. I'm impressed. But what about the ones made with that Adze?
Happy New Year!
They are beautiful, Mel. That is really Fine Woodworking.
(Now, if you could only put some cabriole legs on them for Bob!)
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Mel,
Well at long last and Finely done. They look awesome and the fun/work and devotion to your family is reflected in them.
This is the kind of inspiration needed in the magazine. Someone decides to make bowls and has never done it before. Grabs a hunk of wood, a tool they never used before and voila, beautiful new bowls.
A huge congratulation to you young man,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob @ Kidderville Acres Long time no see!
Hope you still use the tools... Just a HI! to you and your family.
Hi Mel,
First of all, wow! I love what you are doing.
Secondly, that price you got on the thick and wide cherry board is outstanding.
I have to admit that my wife has been asking me to make wooden bowls (a large salad bowl and a large bowl for dough) ever since I took up woodworking. I've explained that I don't currently have the right tools for it -- I have neither gouges, nor adzes for hand-made bowls, nor a lathe for turned bowls. So your post was very inspiring to me!
I've also noticed some very high priced wooden bowls at juried craft shows and at the artists' cooperative store in my town. I mentioned these to a friend of mine who is a woodworker, and who would like to turn bowls, and his reply was: "My question is, how many of these bowls do you think that they sell at those prices?" I guess that the high prices shouldn't fool us into thinking that bowl-making is lucrative!
I've got a few questions for you. How do you hold the bowl while working on it? Especially when working with adzes, how is the bowl blank held? Do you begin by carving the interior and then shape the exterior as the final step before finishing?
-Andy, contemplating spending a day in his 32 degree workshop despite having a cold.
Andy,
Thanks for the nice words. Glad to hear someone else is thinking about making a hand hewn bowl in the future. Bowls turned on a lathe are easy to make, and they can be gorgeous. If your wife just wants a nice wood bowl, turn it, and save yourself a lot of time. There really is not much sense in hand-hewing a round bowl, because most people will think it was turned. So I have been making mine in a more rectangular fashion (as big as the blank was).I recommend that you show your wife the website of Rip Mann. It is at:
http://www.handhewn.com/and then click on the "Bowls" button and scroll through his bowls. Those bowls are in museums and collections. Those are the ones which go for high prices. He doesn't use a chain saw to do the "hogging out". He does his work with a big adze and then does clean up work with a scorp. I watched him sell some of the expensive bowls. I plan to make a few in his style with my BIG cherry board. Show Rip's website to anyone who asks about high priced bowls. Those are very nice "show pieces". I don't think I would chop onions in one of those bowls. You asked about holding the bowls while using the adze. Because the blanks I have been able to get are too small to use an adze on the interior portion, I have only used the adze on the exterior. Rip has two books out. If you are going to make one of these things for your wife, I'd suggest you buy one of his books. He shows how to hold the bowl at various angles to put different amounts of curve on the bowl. Rip does the exterior first, and then does the interior "to match". I used my BIG 60mm #7 gouge for all of my bowls except the small one. It was easier for me to do the interior first and then make the outside curve match. This may be like the old question in dovetailing, do you do the tails or pins first?So how do you hold the bowl while using the adze? I am right handed so I hold the bowl with my left. The adze is more of a "shaping" instrument, than a "hogging away" tool. When Shaping, you are removing "wood curls" -- as you do when shaping with a gouge. You continue to tap a gouge with a mallet to get a long curl. To do the same with an adze, you continue to hit at the same moving point. This takes a lot of practice. And your arm needs to get in shape to do it. Like skiing, those aren't muscles that you use every day. Bottom line - You hold the bowl at the angle that will let you take a slice (a thin wood curl) off. You adjust the angle you are holding the blank to achieve that. The GREAT thing about using an adze is that you never need to use clamps, which you need to do when carving with gouges. You just rest the bowl blank on a stump, lean it to the right angle, and start to "adze." I hope that helps. These are difficult things to describe in words but easy to see. You can see traditional looking doughbowls at the website of JP Madren at:
http://doughbowlmaker.com/index.html
He uses a chain saw to do the basic work. His work sells much cheaper than Rip's. To see some of the most complex and beautiful bowls in the universe, go to Steve Schmeck's website at:
http://www.manytracks.com/Steve also has pages which show his work in progress on various bowls. He does not use an adze. He uses a hatchet, gouges, etc. He is more of a traditional woodcarver and sculptor.Hope this helps.
Thanks for writing. Let me know what you think of the other bowl makers (the good ones :-) )
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
Your question regarding whether bowlmaking is fine woodworking reminds me of the story about the preacher giving a sermon on God's creation. "God is perfect, so everything He creates is also perfect," said the Parson. With that, a hunchback dwarf stands up in the back pew, and says, "What about me!?" Without missing a beat, the preacher replies, "Well, you're about the most perfect hunchback dwarf I've ever seen!"
In a similar vein, yours are some of the finest handhewn bowls I've ever seen. Pretty work, that. Can't even see the biscuits holding them together.
Ray
Ray,
Your wisdom is limitless. If Taunton needs a preacher, you are the MAN. VTAndy asked a few questions so I tried to answer them and I listed three websites of professional bowlmakers, each with a quite different take on things. If you get a chance, please look up those three sites and give my your personal feedback -- your reaction to the three different styles.
Thanks for the nice words.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
If you truly think my wisdom is limitless, then I've sadly deluded you. Just as I'd planned. Likewise for my skills at preaching. I was a scoutmaster for three years, a time back. It was tiring enough for a lifetime, and close enough to preaching that I will pass on the job of FWW chaplain, thank you very much.
I'll check out those bowl websites.
Jan 3 eh? When my boy was that close to getting out of the Marines (they call it getting "short", timewise) he said, "I'm so short now, I could parachute off a dime." Happy landings.
Ray
(they call it getting "short", timewise)When I was in the Military.. (they call it getting "short", timewise)We called it a '[Short Timers Stick'.) And I made many of the so called short timer sticks.. They were (at the time) a .50 Cal (EMPTY OF POWDER ) on a hunk of brass rod brased to the end of the Empty .50.. (I was a grunt that could weld/brase/DRIVE/fIX A TANK AT THE TIME) Second Armord Division 'Hell On Wheels'...I NEVER had a Officer correct me for doing it.. Then, I thought they were REAL people also!
But can you fix one of these:
But can you fix one of these:No but I can drink out of the broken weld!
Reverend Ray,
I have been thinking that when I was young, I should have become a preacher and a woodworker. I believe I could have made the preaching pay for my woodworking expenses.
Just as we are all "Modern Masters", we are all purveyers of the wisdom that we have acquired. Some of us purvey it better than others. You do an excellent job of it. A lot of folks do a good job of it here in Knotsworld. Interestingly enough, we are all purveying to each other -- sort of like a "mutual purveying society". If I close my eyes after eating the right kind of mushrooms, I envision a community of woodworkers standing on each other's shoulders. It kind of reminds me of an Escher drawing. I have to stop eating those mushrooms.
Go in peace, my son.
Reverend Mel
Happy New Year to you and all of the other preachers on Knots. Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel, My advice is "Don;t follow the cows too closely". haI have been around other woodworkers all of my life. I can's think of another group that everyone thinks they know everything there is to know about the subject, or the best way to do something related to it, and unwilling to change their distorted views. I would like to think that I am one of the exceptions, but sometimes I have my doubts about that, which I find disturbing, so I try to not think about it. ;-)Mel, I don;t recall if I have ever directed you to my website which is down, but here is the local gallery handling my work. http://www.cctaylorgallery.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=2
Edited 12/29/2007 8:29 pm by KeithNewton
Keith,
I just returned from a journey through your bowls, furniture and chairs. If I were younger, I would come to you on bended knees, head down, and beg for you to take me on as an apprentice. I love the way your work incorporates both turning and carving. I am in awe.
Having seen your work, I am going to burn all of mine, go away to a cave and live in sackcloth and ashes, along with my gouges, and practice until I am worthy. Well, maybe I won't go that far, but seeing your work has had a profound effect on me. It gives me some directions and goals to shoot for. Up til now, the bowl maker who impressed me most was Steve Schmeck. He doesn't do any turning. He just carves from green wood. Look him up on google and check out his site. Like you, he has the ability to envision new and beautiful forms and make them happen.
In Virginia, I am a long way from Little Rock, but if I get near your city, I would like to see your work and visit you. Likewise, if your travels take you near Washington, DC., please let me know you are coming. I don't have any work that will inspire you, but my wife and I will put on a nice barbeque and we can tell some woodworking lies.
I have bookmarked your gallery's website. Thank you for letting me know about it. Send me your personal website and I'll look it up when it is back in working order.
Let me ask two questions about keeping the bowls from cracking. If it takes you more than one day to make a bowl from green wood, how do you keep it over those nights? Do you just put it in a paper bag? And when you have finished the turning and carving, do you just keep it in a paper bag or two? On my two green wood bowls, I followed the advice of Rip Mann's book:
- while making it, I kept it in a plastic bag with a little water added.
- when drying it, I started by slathering it with mineral oil. I put it in a plastic bag for 12 hours a day for a week, and out of the bag for 12 hours a day. I added mineral oil for the first few days. So far, so good, but I really would like to know how you do it. I'd like to do it without the mineral oil if possible.
Thank you very much.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel Thanks for the great compliment, and the offer to visit. I wish I had the offer a couple of years ago. I had applied to enter the Smithsonian show, and was accepted, but was just too broke to be able to afford the trip and expenses.
Anyway, I would look forward to visiting and showing you around here. You should throw a few of those tools in a carry-on bag and fly out. On second thought, flying with those wicked looking tools, maybe checking them would be smarter than overhead. We could have a primitive tool hack-fest or something. Remember when you started out talking about starting this project, I suggested doing it with either a sharp rock, or beaver tooth lashed onto a handle, to make it even more archaic. I have a camp down in the bottom woods where I grew up, and have been thinking of setting up a primitive shop to utilize some of the old relic cypress which has been laying around since the first logging over a hundred years now.To answer your questions. I keep a spray bottle handy while I am working on the green wood. You can wet it all you want at that point. If I need to quit work for a night, I use a plastic bag, but some projects that take a long time, may start getting moldy or blotchy in a plastic bag, so for those, I will spray enough to keep them moist, and cover them with an old blanket or bead-spread. Anything which just slows the air movement / drying. Once I am ready to start drying, I just normally use a paper bag, if they will fit into one. If not, a cardboard box will do. The goal, is to just slow the drying so that moisture leaving the surface is not faster than the moisture in the middle, or thickest part can move up to the surface. I don't bother with the in / out 12 hr cycle. I would forget that it was out, and let it crack and ruin.The oil that you are putting on it, has nothing to do with drying, so if you want to use something else, don't bother with it. It would probably cause problems with any other finishes. :
Keith,
Thank you for the info on spraying a piece you are working with, and then just using a bag or a box while it is drying. I will move to that approach with my next project.
Your camp and the old cyprus sounds great.
By the way, I am not married to old tools. I love them and to learn to use them. But modern tools are not so bad eaither. For example, I will be getting and angle grinder and a few of those circular discs with chain saw cutters on the edge. (for outdoor use only) They look quite interesting. Also, Like Steve Schmeck, I am not wed to the adze. So far, I have found large gouges much faster and easier to use, and far more precise. Of course, that could be due to my needing more practice with the adze. But thinking about it, a big mallet and a big gouge can put a lot of power into a precise cut -- much more force than can be delivered by adze that weighs a pound and a half. I like to try many of the alternatives and see which one "fits me" best.
If you make it into the Smithsonian again, I would be happy to stand their by your wares, wearing a Keith Newton mask, telling people how to make out the checks.
Have fun. Happy New Year.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Hi Mel, I don't know if you followed the thread about carveright machines, but I posted some suggestions over there for the fellow who decided not to get one. The angle grinder was the first thing on my list, followed by a list of other tools which make the work a lot faster and easier. My list is not in order of importance, but rather sort of the order from starting a project, roughing out, progressing toward the finish end.Here is a link to that if you are interested.
http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=39230.18
Keith,
I saw there was a thread on the carveright, but I did not read it. I will go there now and read your writeup. Thank you. Do you use the King Arthur "Lancelots" and "Squires"? There are three versions of each, and they can be combined in a number of ways. I am wondering how real the differences are? I am thinking of just using it on an angle grinder to rough out BIG bowls, and then go to gouges. The 22 tooth Lancelot is supposed to give a smoother finish than the 14 tooth, but the latter is faster. I am not interested in either speed or fine finish. I am most interested in a device with is least likely to "catch" or cause me to screw up. In other words, I would like a tool which is as forgiving as possible. If you have any info on this, please let me know. If not, I will figure it out. Like most things in woodwork, it aint brain surgery. Thank you.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel, I think mine is the lancelot, with about 24 teeth. It is so covered with crud that it would be hard to find the brand. I have never used the others, so can't say how well they work. I need to order a new chain for mine, it has been sharpened so many times, there isn't much tooth left. When you get it, I suggest that you set the guard to one side, so that the usable part of the blade is pulling the tool away from you, rather than putting the guard toward the motor side, and working on the end. The latter position is harder to control, as the tool will be trying to rotate. They are pretty easy to control, when you use a light side to side sweeping motion, but are a bit tricker when you start taking deeper plunge cuts. The biggest danger with these tools may be before and after you make the cut, but the blade is still spinning. My famous songwriter brother Wood, made the mistake of letting his touch the work after he finished making some cuts, while the tool was still spinning. It touch unexpectedly on the way down, and spun out of his hand then landed on his leg just above the knee. It looks like a shark bit his leg. I have forgotten how many stitches he said they had to use to close all of those cuts. It seems like several hundred, and several hours in ER.
< If not, I will figure it out. Like most things in woodwork, it aint brain surgery> While this may not be, don't turn it into some kind of re-constructive surgery. Ha, K
Keith,
Thanks for the warning about what can happen while the teeth are still spinning. The King Arthur company has all sorts of warnings about this in their literature, which of course, is not around when you are using the device. I have been using real chainsaws for a long time, so I hope that I have learned to be careful. Still things can happen. I am sorry about what happened to your brother.
You probably have a Lancelot. Do you have one Lancelot or two? The King Arthur people recommend two. They say it is faster. I am not sure I need "faster". I take it that you have one wheel, and that it has worked fine for you. I'll go with that. Do you have any recommendations on an angle grinder, or are they all the same. I have never looked into angle grinders. I am not much worried about which brand, but if you know of anything I should, please let me know.
Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Nice work Mel. I didn't take time to real all of the other posters, but would just like to suggest that you contact some of your local tree-service guys and find where they dispose of their trees, for a ready source for green wood. After working green, I don't know why you would want to make the chore harder by working dry wood. Keep them in a paper sack or cardboard box while they dry. Keep farther away from the pith than the one which has it in the rim.
I didn't take time to real all of the other posters...No 'real' posters here,, Just sort of like us with better manners?Not that You had bad manners!
Edited 12/29/2007 11:11 am by WillGeorge
Keith,
Thanks for writing. This is the first time I have worked with green wood, and I love it. I have already contacted some local tree people. I am sure that I will meet a few of them that will work with me in getting wood for bowl blanks.
You have a keen eye. You saw the pith at the top of one of the bowls. That was my first attempt. The tree was small. I didn't want to make the bowl too short so I only went about a half inch from the pith. I stayed further away with the second bowl. In the future I will stay even further away. I understand the problem. Luckily, the bowl dried without splitting.
Later this year I will make a few large bowls, and will put up photos. Thanks for the encouragement. It is working.
Happy New Year,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel, those are truly lovely. If you keep this up we will have to start calling you SIR......
Paddy the jealous
Mel,
Those are luscious bowls and I am inspired to go a-looking for some good logs down i' the wood. Also, you have collected a fine set o' tooling there.
I notice you are a bowl-smoothing man. Do you despise the gouge-mark finish or is the smoothness dictated by the bowls' intended functionality? I confess that I like the texture of gouge marks (especially if done to some kind of rough pattern) but the smooth finish looks a lot more practical and (and I guess some would say: more refined, elegant or even modern).
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts about how you arrived at the detail of the finished look (as well as hearing about the main process, of course).
You are now appointed Bowl Wizard of Knots!
Lataxe, in admiration.
Lataxe,
I had one photo of four very smooth bowls, and one photo of two doughbowls which have all of the gouge and adze marks. The smooth bowls were made from exotic hardwood and looked good to me in a smooth finish. The doughbowls are supposed to be more rustic and that is the way I left them. In the future, all of my big bowls will be rustic. I like them that way. My wife likes em that way, and you like them that way. It is settled then. But I reserve the right to make an occassional smooth bowl if the wood and the size of the piece seems to call for it. Lataxe, I don't plan to be a "bowl carver for life". After I make a few of the big ones, I have other things that I am off to. Thanks for writing. Thanks for the nice words.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Excellent Mel--indeed, very fine woodworking!
I suspect if the bowls were in FWW, some would consider hacking out bowls to not be fine work. Pity. Some of the greatest work I have held were various Appalachia objects a friend collects.
Your bowls make me want to do some. Inspiring others is one aspect of what fine woodworking is all about.
Take care, Mike
MIke,
Thank you for writing, and for the nice thoughts. It was very nice to meet you this year. It was interesting to find out how many friends that we had in common in your neighborhood. Here's wishing you and your wife a great 2008.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Bowl makin'
Mel - I like your bowls and the attitude you take towards making them. I've made well over a thousand and most all have been made from start to finish in one sittin'. I've literally worked on one bowl for 12 straight hours and aside form being very tiring - it's also pretty dumb. "1 bad swing = many stitches" is a saying that Don Dillon the blacksmith you reffered to has pretty much trademarked.
I never started off with the thought of making a thousand, or even making 10 - I just wanted to make "1 pretty bowl for my wife" and the first ones were all "butt ugly" in anyones eyes (but my mothers). I made them to pay medicine bills for my sick youngun and more recently and for a good long time to come will be making them to pay for a house and 3 acres I just bought so that my granddaughter will have a room all her own.
I've sold them for $40 years ago, and have some many times that amount getting over $500 for some eye knockers. You don't get rich making bowls, and aside from an occasional real beauty - you'll manage to pay the bills to keep the lights on and the tax man happy. I make them because I want to see what's inside that next log that God hid in there just for me to find and show the world. It's never done just for the money, cause it ain't all thaty great. I have a ton of folks coming to my website all the tiome and I can sell all I can make - it's just that as you get older the makin's a little harder. have a nice 'un and keep knockin' chips. ...jp madren - http://www.doughbowlmaker.com
Thanks for the message
JP,
That thread is three years old. I was really surprised when I saw a new message in it. Thank you for writing. Thanks for the nice words. I wrote to you a few times back when I started. You were a real inspiration to me. I did get away from using the adze. You use the big chain saw. I use an angle grinder with two 4" chainsaw blades side by side to give me a half inch wide cut that is about an inch deep. I can hollow out and shape a bowl pretty quickly with it. Then I go to carving gouges, and sometimes I use a power sander on them to finish them off.
I have given a bunch of bowls to family and friends. I don't sell anything. I am retired and enjoy woodwork.
Again, thank you very much for writing. I admire your work, and you got me started with the bowls.
Mel
Bowl makin'
Mel - I like your bowls and the attitude you take towards making them. I've made well over a thousand and most all have been made from start to finish in one sittin'. I've literally worked on one bowl for 12 straight hours and aside form being very tiring - it's also pretty dumb. "1 bad swing = many stitches" is a saying that Don Dillon the blacksmith you reffered to has pretty much trademarked.
I never started off with the thought of making a thousand, or even making 10 - I just wanted to make "1 pretty bowl for my wife" and the first ones were all "butt ugly" in anyones eyes (but my mothers). I made them to pay medicine bills for my sick youngun and more recently and for a good long time to come will be making them to pay for a house and 3 acres I just bought so that my granddaughter will have a room all her own.
I've sold them for $40 years ago, and have some many times that amount getting over $500 for some eye knockers. You don't get rich making bowls, and aside from an occasional real beauty - you'll manage to pay the bills to keep the lights on and the tax man happy. I make them because I want to see what's inside that next log that God hid in there just for me to find and show the world. It's never done just for the money, cause it ain't all thaty great. I have a ton of folks coming to my website all the tiome and I can sell all I can make - it's just that as you get older the makin's a little harder. have a nice 'un and keep knockin' chips. ...jp madren - http://www.doughbowlmaker.com
Mel,
I see you are done. I am still working on mine. First one did out of green poplar cracked down the center something awful and has been consigned to the flames. I am interested in the depth you seem to be working with with. I started out trying to do a 6 in deep bowl and it has turned into something I don't like. The prorations are just off. I also like the big sweep gouge and scoop -- I need to get those tools. When I get something done, I remember my promise to post, not matter how it turns out
DoughBowl Drying
Mel - your bowls are some nice work! Keep at it. If you enjoy it - there's a part of you in each one you make!
As far as it goes - I learned everything the hard way (so you shouldn't have to) ...and after spending numerous hours hand carving a bowl you may want to try using something other than just a box or bag to put it in. "IF" you have wood that has been laying out a good while (not connected to the ground) you may get by with that approach, but "IF" you're using fairly freshly cut green wood you need to slow it Waaaaaaay down on drying - depending on wood type. I pretty much only use Red Maple on my bowls as I want to make bowls that are as beautiful as they are durable. Almost all the old bowls were made of poplar, tupelo gumor yellow magnolia - soft woods that could be easily carved with the tools of that time (wrought iron, heavy tools that were hard to get sharp, easy to dull) Maple is fine grained (not worth a cuss for axe handles, great for furniture and bowls) and has very few air pores so it is much harder to crack up "after" it is has been properly dried. Using high grade spring steel adzes will make working Maple do-able, and as you put in one of your posts above where you mentioned me and my website ( http://www.doughbowlmaker.com ) I use a chain saw to make a few straight cuts so that I can knock out some big chocks starting off and get down to where I can carve a little faster. ...back to the bowl - in a green state most any wood is easy to crack (maple more than most due to its fine graining) A 14.5 wide x 24 long x 4.5 tall bowl will lose almost 1/4" of height, up to 1/3 of an inch of width and just under 1/32 of length, and if allowed to dry out in the open it will bust literally overnight.
Food Grade Mineral oil is fairly cheap (can be bought at any pharmacy) - mixes with the sap instantly - takes 4-8 weeks (depending on temp and humidity) to evaporate out, and leaves no trace behind that it was even there so that you can easily refinish your bowl with whatever your choice of finishes may be. On the "JPsGems" (bowls that I make that may have some gorgeous coloring or graining that would be greatly enhanced by adding a glossy finish) I use an FDA approved finish that is non-toxic after it cures three days. I've made over a thousand bowls in the past 22 years(still try to make several each week) and have tried many drying techniques, and even after all this time I'm still refining my ability to get out of the wood whatever beauty is hindin' in there for me to find... Hope this will help someone . I lost a bunch of bowls starting off as I had no one willing to share this with me and I'll help anyone I can.
JP,
Thank you very much for your great message with info on drying, and on the use of different woods. I learned a lot from you when I started doing bowls, and this message continues my education. I have had a few bowls crack when I left them in a paper bag to dry, but most did not crack.
I fix the cracked ones by putting in three "biscuits" across the cuts on the outside of the bowl. It is decorative and it is useful. All of them have been fine after I did this.
Keep up the great work. I only do some bowls. I also do carving and furniture. I like the variety.
Again, thank you again for helping me out. I have told a lot of people about you and your website.
Mel
Great bowls
Now to find some Box Elder or some Purple/Green Poplar. ;-)
Bruce,
You want some box elder. I recommend that you contact the folks at Dunlap Woodcrafts. Their website is:
http://www.dunlapwoodcrafts.com/
The folks at Dunlap have fantastic and expensive domestic hardwoods, including box elder. You can call them at
(703) 631.5147
Let me know if there is anything else you need. If you ever get up to Northern Virginia, let me know. You and your family are invited to my home for a barbecue.
Mel
Lumber
Thanks, Dunlap isnow bookmarked, but. But being in NE Ohio I am overblessed with local mills. I just found another Amish mill that is "over the top" amd may never go to another mill , ever ! They even had 4' -6' by 18" - 24" sections of flitch cut walnut logs in the rough and dried. Straight and crotch sections at $125-$200. Basswood up to 16/4.
I mentioned to Box Elder and Purple/Green poplar for your bowl adventure, As I just picked some of that myself.
NE Ohio
BruceS I'm from the Chardon area and always looking for a good saw mill. Do you mind letting me in on your gold mine you found?
Mel: HI!
Glad to hear that you are back to 'carving'? Is the use of several adze and gouges shapes really carving? I think so....
Late this June we had a big rain/wind storm and my neighbors house got clobbered by a huge old maple. A VERY large section of the tree broke off and went through their roof. It landed at foot of their bed while they were sleeping. They were NOT hurt but very shaken... It took a crane to take that part of the tree out of the house.
All of the local neighbors came out the next morning with our Chain Saws... About eight of us old men with chain saws and the women cooking food and trying to keep us from drinking too much beer while we worked. None of us cut anything but wood so I guess the women kept us safer than men alone would ever be by ourselves....
We left the main trunk in one section and cut up the rest for the Village to grind up and haul away in wood chips for ground cover. The chips are mostly used in our several childrens play parks as a cushion when falling.
Anyway... A few of us wanted to make a huge slab for a very large outdoor table for their yard.. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Our damaged neighbor has always had us over for food and a few brews.. Hard stuff,, We have to bring our own.
I have a large, very old adze that has a very sligh curve. Hard to use because it likes to 'skip' across the wood surface. I was doing the 'finish cutting', behind the others with chain saws were cutting for a flat (sort of) table top. Well, all hell broke loose...
We think that very old tree came down because we found millions of large black ants inside of it where the section of tree broke off and then crashed into the house...
Their house is the first line attack (over many years) from the west to east winds comming from the Big Airport... That tree must be very old and attacked by wind for many, many years...
As I followed my friendy chain saw workers with my 'tool'.. I took a another 'wack'.. The wood exploded! Knocked me to the ground and some of my chain saw workers... We all we not hurt.. Maybe a bit supprised at what had happened.
A huge chunk of that trunk came out in our faces..
I 'think' it is called SHAKE.. A defect of trees which are commonly exposed to high winds; the bending from wind causes the growth rings to separate.
Not sure, but I think' some lathe wood turners run into this at times. Maybe some hand tool users.. Mel.. I mentioned to keep you safer...
EDIT: And then just from some old man that his favorite movies (other than the 1930-1940's) is Sin City and the first Alien movie...
12/28/2007 is just a 'bit' of time for me...
WG,
I didn't try to get this thread started again. Somebody wrote to me, and then others started writing. This thread was started back in 2007.
Mel
Jim,
Glad you like the bowls. Thanks for writng. If you want to learn how to carve them, stop up to Burke, VA for a day. We'll carve a bowl with an angle grinder.
Mel
jimin,
Stop by anytime, I have been known to use plasticwood in my carvings...
Ray
Ray,
You use plastic in your carvings?????
I thought you said "Bondo". I keep getting you mixed up with Charles Neal. :-)
Tell me, do you ever hear of Charles Neal anymore. I remember you said that you had come across him a while ago. He has put out about fifteen DVDs, and he is giving classes. He gave a talk at a WWG meeting about a year ago on how to make Cabriolet legs. I mentioned that a cabriolet was a car. He wasn't pleased. Since then I have stopped using the term "cabriole", and now follow his example, and use the term "cabriolet". I am hoping it will catch on. During the talk that Charles gave, he brought up the idea of using Bondo in the repair of old furniture. My mind was really expanded that night.
I got to go out and get a couple of cans o Bondo. I want to make a couple of cabriolet legs and some finials.
Mel
Hiya Mel,
I do have a can of Bondo. I used it on some of the sheet metal on the Chief. Most recently, and apropos to FWW (!? can one use "Bondo", and "FWW" in the same sentence??) I experimented with using Bondo to make a reverso-molded sanding block to sand some molding that had some..integrity issues. Its usefulness was not worth than the smell it left in the shop. I can't recommend the process.
I haven't met Mr Neal, haven't heard anything about him recently, or in the past couple years for that matter. I have visited his website, and I've seen some of his work firsthand; several years ago, we were both donating to some of the same local charity/benefit auctions. His work looked pretty good to me; maybe, like many other "makers" it became more attractive (profitable) to be a "teacher" instead. Undoubtedly, the client pool is much larger for teachers of woodworking than for makers. Another reflection of our transition from a manufacturing economy to a service economy? I digress..
The language we use is in transition too apparently. If a lecturer is using "cabriolet" instead of cabriole, l wouldn't "refudiate" him, but just go with the flow. Let the Language Rectification "Corpse" determine if the new word/usage is proper in translation-maybe the speaker was used to speaking Austrian.
Try plastic wood, instead of bondo. It comes in wood colors, unless you want green infills... Bondo inlays! Bondo bellflowers inlaid in a Seymour tambour desk...Hmmm...you out there Rob? Any thoughts?
Stay cool,
Ray, who might be suffering from the heat
First and Last Annual
Knots Seminar
Participants will explore the importance of the Right Plane in acquiring commissions, and how that relates to professional musicians' choosing of magnesium-framed over aluminium-framed bicycles--does that influence the commissioning of original musical compositions; vis-a-vis the building of boxes vs playing other (talented) peoples' songs.
Discussion in small groups to follow, at ten paces.
Group pictures at 11:00. On the local news.
Ray
Ray,
Your message explains why I haven't gotten any commissions yet. I thought it was because I don't have the skills to do really fine woodworking in an appropriate amount of time. But having read your message, I may have been being too hard on myself. Maybe i haven't gotten any commissions because I don't have fancy planes. I like the way you think.
Mel
PS small discussion groups at ten paces! I love it. We could call it the Hamilton-Burr woodworking conference.
Jim,
for inlays, the interesting stuff I have seen includes:
1) ground up or shaved brass or copper in epoxy,
2) ground up turquoise in epoxy.
Together with Bondo, we can come up with a new industry. Let's make some money in woodworking. (for me, that would be a new thing)
Mel
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