SHAVING and LEGGING UP SATISFACTION

 

Stool making has been a most pleasurable job these last few months - re-turning the tops of legs, deciding if the drilled holes will come all the way through so my feature oak wedges will be seen and positioning my trade mark Laburnum dot are all most satisfying. It's simple axe work to get those legs looking right, going with the grain, just going by eye until they look right, then out with the trusty drawknife to get the facets looking purposeful and a neat finish with a spokeshave to give them that wonderful silky thrill when you run your hands down them. This one has an Elm top, the Elm coming from Yorkshire, the Leeds neck of the woods. Legs are also Elm this time from Essex, Magdalen Laver, and from a tree that I felled due to Dutch Elm disease. The satisfaction of getting out all those shapely legs and pairing them up with a smashing lump of wood is excellent.  I always prefer to use oak wedges it's a good contrast on the whole and so tough you can give it a good hefty wallop and it goes straight in to give that friction fit that means it's not going anywhere when the glue's dried.

  

Japanese saws are my go to tool for tidying up the top - great smooth cut on the pull cut and it really doesn't need any extra finishing - I loathe using sandpaper - if you're using the right tools and they're sharp it keeps everything simple clean and tidy.

 

My levelling up technique is the same as has probably been used since folks decided to have legs on their seats and works every time. I use the Japanese saw to cut the ends off - they make excellent kindling - I don't see the need to waste any of this wonderful commodity.

 

Colour Transformation

Some of my recently made and mostly sold stools....

 

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REBEK UPDATE

 

 Finished Rebek

Feeling pleased  with the overall appearance - was concerned my 'f' holes would impair the sound because of the positioning. According to most of the photos I've seen of new and genuine old ones they are positioned more parallel to the bridge but I'm not a slave to tradition and I did give the shapes and positioning a great deal of thought.  Laburnum neck and tailpiece are great colours, totally natural with just a light wipe of linseed oil. 

 

 

 

The bow is made from Silver Birch which I shaved and bent gently till it simply felt 'right' in my hand. It took a bit of time as I struggled to find the perfect piece of straight grained wood and it seemed to take a ridiculous length of time to get it flexible enough without going too thin. Success in the end and fitted with horsehair, I played the first notes in trepidation as all the recordings I listened to on YouTube had sounded like cats being tortured!  It sounded sweet and melodic - I was playing Irish jigs though!  I've since decided that the folks I've seen & heard playing it may well be great luthiers but they're not much cop as instrumentalists! The small gadget is a peg tuner, my fingers are too big to get round them comfortably so I made this handy little device using Box, Sycamore and Ash - works a treat and I use the GDA string tuning for the violin. Next musical project is the archtop guitar...
 

TOOLS IN THE GARDEN

 

Great hand tools - you can never have enough and these were given by a neighbour in a cracking good box. Clamps, a few more to have hanging around open at different intervals all ready to go is excellent.  Not sure when I'll use the Stilson but it's a magnificent specimen - Vanessa came up with a few suggestions for politicians but we'll go no further on those! There's a good Record convex sole spokeshave A151 and a Record scraper plane 080. I gave both these a workout and they needed very little work doing just a good sharpen.  If you haven't already got a curved sole spokeshave in your kit you should try one out - marvelous - perfect for shaving legs.

Really smooth sole - previous owner looked after his tools more than most folks do. I'd not used one of these before and I was actually quite pleased with the result
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wood Turning Combined with Carving by Hand for Kitchen Wares

Wood Turning First - by Power or Pole Lathe

Choose a wide enough piece of wood for the finished width of your desired spatula.   If it's not you'll end up simply turning another spurtle or thieval!  I've been using some of that wonderful fresh green Sycamore I found in one of the dry ditches around by the Abbey church.  So not only did I have to check size carefully I was also keeping an eye out for that green fleck staining that I don't like the look of on utensils.

Allow enough wood at either end to give enough to remove as you finish the work so you're not getting a small indentation where the centres of the lathe grip. We don't want unsightly or nasty unhygenic little indentations in our cooking implements do we.   Then let the imagination flow - I find doing these little things most therapeutic, gently changing the sweep of a handle the slight nuance of a curve - only thing is once the wood's cut you can't stick it back on.  I like to turn gently, not like a maniac racing away that removes all the pleasure and I think you should be able to enjoy your work and not feel that I'm on an assembly line.  Yes I do need to make a certain number of products to earn my living but that doesn't prevent me from enjoying my chosen profession.

Once the handle is fashioned to your taste then it's time to get those carving implements out.  Sometimes it's simply a 2.5 inch carpenters chisel for a good flat cut or perhaps a series of knives and then a few sweeps with the spokeshave.  Most important is to take your time and if the grain doesn't seem to be co-operative maybe it's because you're not working with it but against it. So turn the work around or if it's the spokeshave or drawknife try a push cut instead of a pull or use the tool at an angle to the work - it's very important to be flexible and try different things out.  And remember there's not definitive right way - it's what's right for you and what's comfortable and what works...

   

TURNING a SPINNING TOP - A Power Lathe or Pole Lathe

Power Lathe or Pole Lathe - That is the Question???

I've a power lathe with 10 foot bed in the workshop - it's an Apollo - hand built and a beautiful piece of engineering.  I spoke to the chap who made it and he was still in love with my model and could actually remember making it when I chatted with him on the phone.  So I've been making more treen using power and it's something that's taking me a long time to get used to.  I've also acquired a pillar drill and bandsaw - all very horrible, noisy and dusty!  So I've also had to invest in an industrial type hoover and a proper extractor and a ventilating head vizor mask thing to protect my lungs from dust. So I decided I'd still turn the wood green, one I like the ribbon shavings and two you don't get the dust.  Also I can turn as slowly or as fast as I do on the Pole Lathe.
So spinning top time and I did use my axe to start to rough out my billet but stopped myself and used the machinery!  This is all in aid of my back which I'm really careful of ever since I had an attack of sciatica which took months to recover from, so remember folks look after your back!

Billet prepared with Band Saw

  























Then for a bit of turning to get a good shape.

Power Lathe

Used the pillar drill to get the holes good and parallel - now I do really appreciate this power tool much less strenuous on the chest and shoulders!

Pillar Drill

Shaping is fun - plenty of beads & coves, decorate with black lines, think of the centre of gravity and you should be fine.

Spinning Top Components

Separate the components, carve your point and your just about set for a record breaking spinner.  I used a Hazel twig for my puller - looks good and does the job.

Spinning Top

And the movie of how well it balances and the speed it goes at - it's half time speed folks that's why the parakeets sound like a horror movie in the background!   And then have a look here at the movie Making a Spinning Top using a Pole Lathe for the same process - I know which one I prefer...

Spinning Top Movie