Yearly Archives: 2006

Planning For New Year, 2007

General

As we stare 2006 in the face, now is the time to reflect and contemplate what changes will make a difference for the coming year, 2007.

For me 2006 has been one of the busiest years that I can remember for a long time. My involvement in the automotive industry as Sculpting Manager has left little free time this year to fully immerse myself into my hobby of carving Welsh Lovespoons so the output has been significantly down, even the partially carved spoons that I have spoken about languish in the garage craving for attention. So, in an effort to bring a perspective to this coming year end, what is the plan for the New Year.

I tend to plan BIG, but then I remember I have two children under the age of five which instantly deflates the grandeur of the scheme leaving me with a few scrapes of an idea that I would like to accomplish, therefore let’s plot it out for all to see. Continue reading Planning For New Year, 2007 →

Carving Tools for Christmas

Tools

Another year is coming to an end and as you all well know this is the time of year to look for bargains. These deals are not just exclusively for clothes or home goods but it generally applies to everything that is sold.

In one of my recent emails I find that Woodcraft are selling carving tools at a good discount and with this company they guarantee to ship them out the same day as ordered providing the order is received by 2pm EST.

The first set of carving tools that caught my eye were a set of six, a Henry Taylor starter set. These fine tools are made with hand forged blades and beech wood handles, not the general inferior quality blades that you associate with a beginners set. They are razor sharp so they are good to go straight from the box. Yes, they come in a storage box, not just loose items. The curves on the blades supplied are relatively small but will work great on small relief carvings, ideal for carving small lovespoons or ornaments. The total length for the Henry Taylor carving tools is eight inches so they won’t be too cumbersome for detail carving and should nestle nicely in the palm of your hand. The price for this set is discounted by 30% which for me is a pretty good saving. Continue reading Carving Tools for Christmas →

Flexcut Blades™ Ordering Online

Tools

The lead up to this years Thanksgiving has been more than busy, my primary job has been eating up every available hour leaving no time to test out my new purchase of Flexcut™ carving tools. The one thing that I did get around to doing was to purchase via the website a selection of other blades that would compliment the original set. In doing this I was curious as to the service that I would receive, as in viewing the premises online, it appeared to be only a small concern.

Navigating the site was easy enough and only required an email address and password to continue with the ordering. The online catalog had a vast selection of available blades together with Mallet tools, Palm tools and Power handle sets. The Palm tools and Power handle tools all have the same available blades as the quick connect handle making it the buyers choice as to the type of carving tool purchased. As you well know I’m going for the quick connect blades to save room and weight.

The Mallet tools in contrast to the quick connect handle blades are more robust in design, designed primarily for larger projects and denser hardwoods. The blades still have the familiar look but are larger in size. The handles come with a brass ferrule and a sturdier ash handle giving an overall length of ten inches showing you that it has “work horse” written all over it. The one thing that stuck me about this website is that it doesn’t deviate away from the primary reason of visiting it. The tools are all Flexcut™ together with all the necessary equipment needed to keep them in good shape. Continue reading Flexcut Blades™ Ordering Online →

Flexcut™ Carving Tools On The Go

Tools

Have you ever considered using carving tools that are interchangeable with a single handle? To tell you the truth, I haven’t, I’ve always considered them to be an inferior product compared to the more traditional carving tools that you see. I’m use to using a firmly fixed blade within a wooden handle such as you get with Ashley Iles, Pfeil and Henry Taylor tools. This notion is due to the fact that these interchangeable blades are relatively thin compared to the fixed blade of the traditional carving tool and my thinking is, they cannot possibly be as sharp as what I am use to. To further solidify this bias I asked the owner and his associates at the local woodworking store if they had used these Flexcut™ travel carving tools and what were their impression, two of the three gentlemen had not used them and the third person injected that they indeed did have very sharp blades.

This was not the reaction I was looking for, I wanted to know from first hand experience if they would stand up to the test of every day carving. My reason for being in the store in the first place was to find something that was more suitable for carrying on a regular basis rather than a full set of palm tools. The palm tools are perfect for the person working in his workshop or garage but to carry them on a day to day basis they can become quite bulky once you have eight to ten various blade configurations. Continue reading Flexcut™ Carving Tools On The Go →

Santa Ana Winds Reward

General

The first winds of the fall season took full effect on Wednesday 18th October at my place of work, not that they were the strongest winds that I have encountered but the California Pepper tree that was planted in the grass median did not fair well. The fact that it had been planted over an existing foundation left very little room for the root system to drive deep to secure a sturdy foothold and the constant watering of the surrounding grass only made for the underlying soil to turn to mush. This was quite evident by the way the surface roots were flexing and it was only a matter of time before this superb tree would fall to the ground. The supporting poles that had been placed for that same said reason last year had already cracked at the base and to add additional poles would have been futile considering the stability of the under soil.

As I pulled into the parking lot that day I had an inkling that today would be the day that it would fall. The root system was more prominent than usual, probably due to the prevailing winds and I thought to myself that it would not be possible to save this tree if it fell, the weight would be too great to lift and support it back in place. I made a mental note to myself, when it does eventually fall I would have some of the cuttings for my carving projects, when the chain saw is called to reduce this tree to logs. Continue reading Santa Ana Winds Reward →

The Beauty of a Commissioned Piece

Welsh Lovespoons

It is very rare that I have the opportunity to make a duplicate Welsh Lovespoon after I have sold one on ebay. I tend to use ebay purely as a feedback engine and rely on the amount of hits and possible bids on the carving to see how the design is received. The last carving that I put up was received quite well with a reasonable amount of hits, about fifty. My own assessment of the carving was that it may appeal to people who would like to offer it as a unique gift to friends or family who are getting married. As in a previous post, “Two Hearts Equals One” it was a small carving of 6″ x 2″ made from Popular, a hard timber that is readily available from Home Depot.
Continue reading The Beauty of a Commissioned Piece →

Wood Bonanza

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With the winter storms just around the corner, fall is an ideal season where the vigors of summer growth can be cut back to reduce the likelihood of falling limbs. This annual prune back not only reduces the stress to the trees by allowing the wind to pass through but can also bear dividends to the carver. The larger than normal limbs of four inches in diameter can be cut into twelve to twenty inch lengths and left naturally to dry out. The time span for the timber to dry out to a stage of being usable can range from three months to six months as a minimum, although I like to leave it longer, depending on the environment where being stored. In my instance it is the garage, unheated.

With my own cuttings I stand them on end allowing a natural frow of air to dissipate the moisture. I also leave the bark on so that the drying out process is not too fast so as to prevent cracking. By standing the logs on end gravity plays a big part in the drying out process with the moisture falling to the bottom of the log and the top drying out. In this instance regular rotation will allow an even purging of the fluids and a less likelihood of cracking. Once the two ends feel as dry as each other the logs can then be stacked horizontally until needed. Continue reading Wood Bonanza →

Two Hearts Equal One

Welsh Lovespoons

In the interim of carving a couple of large Welsh Lovespoons, I’ve had a small piece of Poplar that I wanted to use to produce a carving of 6 inches by 2 inches, this size carving is always enjoyable because the carving is smaller and more manageable. It can comfortably be worked by sitting down at a bench and carving with smaller palm held tools that are easily available through Ashley Iles and Pfeil. With this type of tool you can easily manipulate with control one handed but be careful, do not slip as they are razor sharp.

While this project has just finished I thought I might share the methods that I used in producing this latest Welsh Lovespoon.

In this particular carving I wanted to convey togetherness, so what better to have in a carving than hearts and vines. Yes, it is a simple design but it can also be elegant in execution. I would have a heart shaped spoon bowl with vines twining to a pair of hearts and the vine continuing beyond into a clover shape. When you decide on a design for a carving it doesn’t have to be the most intricate in the world, simplicity allows for better self expression. To give you a better idea I have some images of the work. Continue reading Two Hearts Equal One →

Ashley Iles, One of Sheffields Finest

Tools

The company of Ashley Iles has been in existence since 1949 when Ashley decided that he wanted to make and offer superior tools to people of his previous trade, pattermaking. These carving tools and wood turning tools have become one of the premium grade of hand held tools today. Each one is still fashioned in the old traditional way, by hand forgers, grinders and hardeners allowing the Ashley Iles Company to offer an unconditional guarantee.

“Any goods manufactured by us found faulty in material or edge keeping quality will be replaced unconditionally. Any tool returned to us, which we have made, we will regrind free of charge.”

With that kind of guarantee how can you go wrong, my own carving tools that I have, I’ve had since they were given to me as a present 34 years ago and are still serving me proud to this very day. My small set of five London Pattern carving gouges were for being accepted to my patternmaking apprenticeship and are now being put to good use in the carving of my Welsh Lovespoons. In my latest carving, these carving gouges are put to the test on the seed pod of a Queen Palm and are proving to have as keen an edge as they did when they were first purchased all those years ago. Continue reading Ashley Iles, One of Sheffields Finest →

Lovespoon From a Queen

Welsh Lovespoons

I spoke in detail about my notion of carving a Welsh Lovespoon from the seed pod of a Queen Palm, well that notion has transpired into action. Sketching out on the actual dried pod with a 2B pencil to formulate the outline, the overall length turned out to be about eighteen inches in length with a width of five inches. I decided to try carving the bowl first to see if the material was of any substance and I was quite surprised to find that carving it was very rewarding. The wood (for a better word) cut crisply with my Ashley Iles carving gouges with no ripping of the material. With that knowledge I now know it is a valid material with a reasonable density, I can now press on and give the carving the attention that it fully deserves. Continue reading Lovespoon From a Queen →