Pole Lathe for the New Year!

Tags

pole lathe, spring pole, wood lathe, wood turning

One of the things I would like to build this year is a pole lathe. I had originally wanted to build a treadle lathe, but right now I am too busy to take on a project like that. So I figure a pole lathe would be a fun project that would be relatively simple to build in my spare time.

Basically I am thinking of something simple that could be build with the scrap 2×4′s I have out in the shed. From what it seems you can build a pole lathe from just about anything and it will work.

Here is one sort of like what I was thinking of building.

The other thing I will need is turning tools. I have heard mixed things about tools and thought I might ask to see if anyone has suggestions. I have read that the tools for powered lathes typically are not what you want for a foot powered lathe. Is this correct? Are there certain tools that I should have that I could forge on my own?

Thanks,
Dave

Applewood Spoon

Tags

apple spoon, applewood spoon, spoon, spoon carving, wood spoon, woodcarving

I thought I would will start the new year with a little applewood spoon that I just finished. After final sanding, I applied several coats of walnut oil and then burnished it with a round piece of walnut to smooth it out. I find this makes the wood very smooth and seals it up a little more.

The grain in the wood is very nice, however the final shape did not come out exactly how I wanted. I am still fairly new to spoon carving so I guess you get some that are not the best design once in a while. Still I thought I would share it here for critiquing.

Happy New Year!

Dave

Hans Karlsson Sloyd Axe

Tags

ax, axe, carpenters axe, carving, Carving axe, Gransfors Bruks, Green Woodworking, Hans Karlsson Sloyd Axe, hewing, Swedish Carving Axe

Hans Karlsson Klensmide AB
Snickaryxa Axe (Sloyd or Carpenters Axe)
Specifications:
Weight: 24.5 oz (695 grams)
Blade length: 4″ (100mm)
Overall length: 14″ (356mm)
Price: $172.50 USD (Dec. 2012)
From: Country Workshops http://countryworkshops.org/Axes.html

If there is one word to explain this axe, one word that I rarely use for a tool, it would be outstanding. Now I know this may not seem ground breaking to you, but to me that really means a lot. You see, I am very picky about the quality of bought items, and tools are one thing that I really demand perfection from when it comes to quality, ergonomics, and lack of flaws.

Now, if I were to use more than one word to express myself, what would I say? Well, here are a few that should give you some idea of how I feel: outstanding, sharp, superb, well designed, high quality, beautiful fit & finish, enjoyable, accurate, ergonomic, and comfortable. This is a great tool. Seriously, I mean it. Am I done ranting, you ask? No, not yet!!!!

Out of the box this thing is sharp. Very sharp as a matter of fact. A little test on my arm and it shaves as good as a store bought razor. The blade is flat ground which makes sharpening to this degree easy. This is not something you see very often and it means that this axe cuts very well and with minimum effort. Normally, axes have a convex grind which is fine for felling but not great for a carving axe. This is especially true when used with seasoned wood. Kudos here to Hans.

The shape of the axe head is superb as well. It is pleasing to the eye and the curve of the cutting edge is just right for accurate placement of your hits when chopping. This axe just seems to hit right where I aim without any adjustments to my swing. In a way it seems to be an extension of my arm and works effortlessly. The cutout on the bottom allows you to easily choke up on the handle for more delicate chopping. The axe head is small enough to allow you to grip over the eye of the axe and use it for shaving. This axe is very well thought out and designed.

The handle is nicely shaped and left with radial rings from the shaping process which gives it a good feel when chopping.  It also provides a little bit of traction to increase grip and keep it from slipping out of your hand in hot humid conditions. There is also a little antlered creature branded into the handle toward the knob. This is a neat little feature that is obviously non-functional, but shows that the maker cares about his tools and has pride in his work.

Preliminary tests of this axe included carving a seasoned spoon blank and shaping some green walnut. In both cases the axe cut very well and did not require any sharpening. It held an edge well and did sharpen easily at the end of the cutting session. Note that the edge was still sharp when I touched it up, I just lightly hit it with a fine diamond stone to see how it would sharpen.

Overall, I am very impressed with this axe. It has just the right combination of size, weight, and proper design, which makes it a great carving tool. The weight is light enough to be used for extended sessions without wearing you out, and it is light enough to do precision work. Compared to the Gransfors Bruks Swedish Carving axe, the Hans Karlsson axe is lighter and easier to cut more accurately with. Later I will do a side by side review, but at this point I am giving the nod to the Hans Karlsson Sloyd Axe.

Take care and ask any questions you might have. I will be happy to give you and honest opinion.

Dave

peeling ash splints

Tags

basket making, peeling ash splints, woodworking

Reblogged from Peter Follansbee, joiner's notes:

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Remember those ash splints I pounded out this season?

I've been little by little working some into baskets lately. But to do so, I have had to re-learn much of what I used to know in spades. In the mid-to-late 1980s I made lots and lots of baskets, but since then I have only made a few each year. And those were fairly simple examples.

Read more… 338 more words

Peter had this blog article about ash splints and since my friend Monica and I were just talking about it I thought I would reblog it here for her to see. Take care -- Dave

Merry Christmas

Tags

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope your day is filled with happiness and joy and perhaps a few woodworking tools.

Mueller Carpenters Hatchet

Tags

ax, axe, bowl carving, carpenters axe, Carving axe, hewing, Meuller, Mueller Carpenters Hatchet, Muller, spoon carving

For a while now I had looked for a short-handled hatchet to use for carving and rough shaping of wood blanks. I had previously tried out the Condor Woodworkers Axe and was not really satisfied with its use for this task. It was a little too light weight and the bevel of the cutting edge was too rounded and wedge-shaped. With a little work it is a decent general purpose hatchet for splitting and so forth, but not up to the task for the carving and roughing of wood blanks.

Mueller Carpenters Hatchet:

This spring I ran across a Mueller Carpenters Hatchet that I decided to order and give a try. Overall I have found it to be a pretty decent hatchet for the money. The head weighs 2.25lbs and is 15″ overall in length. The bit is 5″ wide and quite thin which makes it cut very nicely. Again as with most of the tools I buy I did a little work to it to fine tune things.

The blade was sharpened a little uneven which required me to file it at various places on each side to straighten out the edge. As it was the edge was a bit wavy when looking at it straight on. I also removed the paint from the head and the clear coat from the handle. I then applied several coats of BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) to the handle to seal it up.

This is how it came from before I did anything to it. Here you can see it in all its glory, covered in stickers and painted blue.

Here she is after I did the work that I talked about above.

Overall now it is a great axe for carving or hewing. It is a little on the heavy side for long sessions of carving but it works quite well. The one thing that I would like to modify on it at some point is the nail pulling claws on the back. I would like to completely remove them and thin out the handle just below them to make it more comfortable to choke up on. I will get around to this one day when I need to rehandle it. Until then I will keep the claws. Who knows maybe they would come in handy one day. They do pull nails better than any of my Estwing hammers.

Take care,
Dave

Woodworking books I wish were under $1000

Tags

Drew Langsner, Green Woodwork: Working with Wood the Natural Way, Green Woodworking, Green Woodworking: A Hands-On-Approach, Mike Abbott, spoon carving, Swedish Carving Techniques, Wille Sundqvist, woodworking

There are a few woodworking books that I would really like, but will never buy new because of the ridiculous prices. I am not sure why these cost so much but it is a little crazy to ask one thousand dollars for a book. I could see if it was Einsteins journal or something but come on, $1000 for a woodworking book? The Amazon listings do not say that these books are out of print, but they must be for the prices to be so high.

Here are the two books that are a thousand dollars on Amazon.com.

Green Woodworking: A Hands-On-Approach by Drew Langsner $944.21 new

Swedish Carving Techniques by Wille Sundqvist $1374.02 new

Green Woodwork: Working with Wood the Natural Way by Mike Abbott $266.78 new

The last book is only a quarter of a thousand dollars but still that is very steep for a book of this type. It is a shame that these books are so much money. Granted you can get them used, but you still are going to spend $80 to $125 for each of them which is more than I am willing or able to justify spending on a book. If these books are out of print it would be nice if the publishers would bring them back. If they are not out of print I would be interested in why they are so expensive.

Well, I can dream I guess, but I will have to try to find other ways to learn what are in these books as I will not own them any time soon. If anyone has an extra or unwanted copy of these books and would be willing to loan or sell them a bit cheaper please let me know. If a loan situation was possible I would pay shipping both ways.

Thanks,
Dave

Small Forged Knife

Tags

blacksmithing, forge, knife, knife making, womans knife

I forged this small knife a little while back from a piece of overhead door coil spring. The spring diameter was pretty small so there was not a lot of metal to form the blade from. This style, with the handle being made of the blade stock, is often called a “woman’s knife”. I am not sure why they called it that but apparently it dates back to the Viking days. Perhaps the Viking men carried big knives and swords, so the little ones like this they referred to as a “woman’s knife”.

Dave