270 days ago
by jjw5858 |
2 comments »
Autumn sails its way into late September as I was joyfully surprised at some random pieces my Father cut down in our woods that sat in front of the shop. He found a wonderful twisted piece of Sassafras that just begged to be honed into a hiking stick! I took the hatchet to certain areas and relieved some bark and sapwood where I thought best and with a little hewing and shaving I had a very rustic and different looking hiking stick for new paths on cooler days.
The finished piece was just ...
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275 days ago
by jjw5858 |
3 comments »
Well friends the journey of shaves, blisters and spoonery at this portion of the climb is bringing us to the top of one small hill with various mountains yet to adventure. This blog was a real joy to share, theres something really rewarding making wooden ware. Once you learn your way around the hatchet and train the mind to see shapes within the extended branches of any forest species, it is truly amazing to bring out something so small and delicate from a thick and sometimes brutal branch.
...
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288 days ago
by jjw5858 |
6 comments »
Well I thought it might be best this evening to get to the shop and keep up with the spoon practicing and see where are am at with things. I felt good and energized after a fine meal of venison burger, potatoes and greens. I have to say that deer meat is a terrific source of rocket fuel and lucky for me I have no better source than my uncle Topper who lives in the cold hills of the upstate NY. When it comes to some well hunted eats there’s no better of a choice than Toppers freezer for some d...
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301 days ago
by jjw5858 |
5 comments »
The shop is filled with a wonderful strong scent of fresh Cherry wood and the mission is on to evolve a cut branch into a country spoon. Very interesting this country spoon making is, so many great “spoonists” with their different styles and approaches but I suppose my greatest influence so early on is Peter Follansbee. His episode this past season with Roy Underhill in The Woodrigh’ts Shop truely captured my creativity and fascination to have a go at this kind of work. If y...
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303 days ago
by jjw5858 |
7 comments »
I always try to be as open as possible to anything that can jut a feeling of inspiration for my impulses of creativity. Recently I was lucky to catch a wonderful episode of Rick Steves. This particular trip he was in Germany and I caught the portion of the show where he was in Rothenburg at the St. James Church. Contained within this massive glorious structure was something that definitely made my jaw drop….the fantastic woodcarving held as the center piece of the church by Tilman Rieme...
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315 days ago
by jjw5858 |
6 comments »
I decided to turn the shop inside out recently moving some things about and bringing out my shavehorse with a maple branch in hand. I have been yearning to get back on this horse needing to get some draw knife work in and let the shaves cover me with a wisdom that only nature hides inside itself. Handtool woodworking has some mysterious outlet of stress and satisfaction I gather only us newave hobbiest’s need to feed our efforts of taming its addicting applications.
The drawing of th...
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321 days ago
by jjw5858 |
7 comments »
As I have stated a few times before I have only been at this wood working game for just over 2 years now. A few months into this journey I graduated up to some chisels and mallet simply trying to understand the elementary basics of paring down wood. I believe the first task was a very green horn lap joint followed by smashing a mortice in..lol. Maybe smashing is the only way of the untrained hands as they yearn to make masterpieces, only while seeing them in our dreams until we can put as man...
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322 days ago
by jjw5858 |
6 comments »
Hi gang, hope all is well out there!
Well, as the sanding is getting underway for my trestle table I have really been learning more and enjoying this spoon carving craft.
It really is a great way to refresh your outlook and break patterns that may become repetitive in the process of executing your creative ideas.
I have enjoyed the hatchet work and learning just how much you can produce with 4-5 tools.
For me…... a sloyd knife, smaller knife, hook knife, camp hatchet, and sp...
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325 days ago
by jjw5858 |
7 comments »
This was a cooler sunday morning, the sun took some time to hide away and let the clouds make for a mood that told me….it’s time to visit Ralph at the auction!
I enjoy when the sun sleeps in on a sunday morning, and somehow for me every sunday has that certain aspect of relaxed and lazy with a touch of depression as well mixed in it. Not sure why or how that happens in my mind, but it seems to find a way of doing it. I guess that’s why when the penned Kriss Krosstofferson...
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330 days ago
by jjw5858 |
8 comments »
I always find it amazing that no matter what we plan on any given road in our lifetime there are no guarantees of where you will be or how it will work out…. only that you are here right now and alive.
Finding the old angled key dowel the other day from that old trestle table (to help work on my table) woke up some thoughts and visions of many years gone by.
I decided to get into my truck soon after that feeling with camera in pocket and take a few snapshots of the cabin where I r...
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