Chocolate powered woodworking
Work in progress. This roughed-out bowl is about 16 inches long. It sits atop the debris of the half-log it came from. I’m guessing 1 part bowl, 8 or 9 parts chips. … and there are more chips to come.
What to do with the chips? Garden mulch.
Updated, 4/8/2020 mostly done. Much smaller chips.
My refurbished “Boy Scout” axe has been doing a fine job, but as I learned more about bowl carving I wanted something better for actual carving. First, I wanted a larger cutting area, similar to the Swedish style. Second, I wanted a special grind, flat on one side and tapered on the other … for right handed carving.
Sergey Fadir at FadirTools in Ukraine quickly agreed to the requested grind, and actually did a special forging that echos the grind. This asymmetric axe does exactly what I expected, easier carving with fewer glancing blows. THANKS Sergey!
…and a short video…
Slight correction to the voice in the video. I have since learned that the bowl in the video is not oak, but ambrosia maple. … maybe a bit harder than oak.
My tree identification capabilities are woeful. I can manage a few when I can see their leaves, but in winter, without leaves, nada. I live near a forested public park. A few months ago, a crew removed a number of trees that were crowding one of the roadways. I stopped to pick up a couple of logs. My first impression was oak, but after doing a lot of tree bark images searches I now doubt that it is oak. …and I haven’t yet found a good, comprehensive, guide to identifying by bark.
FWIW, it looks like the staining is associated with beetle holes. Whether useful for anything else, the longer one makes a good chopping block.
Can anyone name that tree? [Leave a comment.]
(Click an image to access a slideshow that offers a “View full size” link. Then, click again.)
Thanks!
