Well I had partial success and partial failure with my new turning hooks. I have used them heavily for several days now and 3 have broken, the tips have snapped off. Close inspection showed the grain structure was fine so there are three things I can work on for the next batch. Make the whole tool a little softer by…
Today I did some more work on the tools I rough forged on the bladesmithing course. I ground them and polished them then put them in my little “furnace” which is a rather grand name for a pile of firebricks and a blowtorch. Each one was heated then the small hook formed on the end, larger ones I form with…
Last weekend I went to Kent on an intensive bladesmithing course with master smith Owen Bush. I have been forging my own woodturning tools for 15 years but everything I do has been learned by trial and error and I wanted to see if I could improve the quality of my tools so that they stay sharper for longer. It…
I like to make things for use, personally I get a lot of pleasure out of beautiful but functional objects that I use in my daily life and that is what I aim for in my work. So it was a pleasure to receive this message today from the customers I mentioned on Friday 18th. “Thought you might like confirmation…
Today I had a meeting at the Peak National Park talking about potential commemorative projects having recently built a bridge for them. The idea is that some people would like to have something beautiful and functional as a memorial…a sculptural bridge, gate or seat perhaps. Much of what is available is suburban in character and I would like to be…
Its been another week of porringer making, I find it most efficient to make just one style of bowl for a couple of weeks then I’ll switch to something else. After a while the body just does the job swiftly and efficiently with little need for conscious thought. At this stage I am free to think about other things and…
Today I was making porringers that is small bowls with handles out of a 250 year old beech tree. Its very satisfying when I have a day where I go all the way from tree to finished bowls in one go. These bowls are copies of an Elizabethan one found in Sothwark not far from the Globe Theater so I…
