How I Sand My Carvings

 Here is a video showing what I have learned about choosing sanding grits.

Busy as a Beaver

I'm afraid I have become an infrequent blogger. I have been busy. This summer has been for making many, many spoons and discovering the joys of selling them at local craft fairs. I sit there and carve and meet a lot of nice people and even sell a few spoons in the process. One thing that stands out is the connection people seem to make with the woods I use and the stories behind the spoons. It leads me to think that everything I carve should have a story. So this little Beaver does. I have been an active Boy Scout leader for the past 13 years. As much as I enjoy working directly with the youth, I also enjoy training adults. One such leadership opportunity is to be on staff for something called Wood Badge. Once you get involved with Wood Badge you are one of eight "critters" - beaver, antelope, bobwhite, bear, buffalo, owl, fox or eagle. I'm a beaver. Everyone on staff ends up collecting a lot of critters over the years. I don't have many, so I decided to carve my own. Here he is, ready to come with me as I head out to camp for this year's course. enjoy!

A Parrothead Gnome

A friend asked me if I did custom work? I do woodcarving - I guess you could say everything I carve is a custom project. His request was for a "Parrothead Gnome". First let me say he had already bought one of my "regular" gnomes. I had to ask, "do you want a parrot that looks like a gnome or a gnome with a parrot head?" With this question, I revealed that I did not know what a parrothead is. After a quick web search I realized that was the name for a follower of singer Jimmy Buffett. Ah ha!

The request was for "a gnome with a "fins up" hat, hawaiian shirt and holding a can of beer". Sounds like fun, so I got started. It soon became clear his normal, clunky boots wouldn't be right, so I gave him a pair of sandals and a band-aid on his heel ("stepped on a pop top..."). This was super fun to carve and even more to paint.

Testing the foredom reciprocating handpiece

Here's a short video test driving a new tool.                  

Here's a link to the other tips available from Flexcut.

Spoon Blitz

I haven't posted in a while, and there's a reason. I have been in the shop cranking out wooden spoons so I could build inventory for some craft shows. This weekend was my maiden voyage into the world of craft vending. I started out with a nice event called Go Green Greenpoint, held in Brooklyn, NY. I didn't know what to expect, so I'm happy with the result, which was quite few sales, meeting a lot of nice people, handing out lots of biz cards and making shop consignment shop connections. I think the fair would have had a larger crowd if the sun would have shown up, but you can't have it all. Along with getting all good comments from visitors to my booth, I met some nice vendors and got some leads on the best shows in the area to be part of in the future.

A Nice Cache of Walnut!

I got lucky again this week when I found 18 feet of local walnut cut by the town and left lying for - well me! But if I didn't take it, I'm pretty sure it was going to wherever the town dumps trees. I plan to carve and turn these pieces. I'll post when I figure out what to do with it.

Harvesting Burls

A few weeks ago I noticed a fallen tree (maple, beech?) with 7 huge burls. I contacted the owner of the property and he was happy to let me take them. All I have is a small branch trimming chainsaw, but with some help from a buddy, we were able to get it cut up and brought back home - in two trips! I made a few small spoons from some of the smaller pieces. I hope to have a lathe soon and these will be exciting to turn.