debor054

Richard Proenneke  Using only hand tools to build his life in the Alaskan Wilderness. I just had to share this video, it's got everything from log cabin building, to furniture making and even some spoon carving - and all with only very basic hand tools. Amazing!... Two other films about this remarkable man are also available to view.

Just a quick post... I have been playing with my new Axe  and 'carved' a basic cooking spatula and kitchen spoon. Neither of which are finished yet, so this is more of a progress report really.  The wood is from a small Ornamental Cherry tree that I cut down from the garden a few weeks back and is soaking wet green. I don't really know much about Green Wood Working (yet), so I imagine I have to leave things to dry out before they can be finished? Any advice from readers would be appreciated! The cooking spatula is functional from a 'Bushcraft' perspective but that's about it! I should have paid more attention to the small knots, the main one causing problems is on the side and there is another tiny one in the center of the 'blade' - A lesson learnt. Once the wood has dried out I will try and sand a finish on it and oil it properly. As for the spoon, well these pics are straight off the axe I haven't touched it with a knife yet. I have tried to keep t...

Another post ...at last!... Sadly again without in any real useful or interesting content. Lately (as regular readers can probably tell), I have been lacking motivation in the wood working department - for a number of reasons.  Firstly,  I don't have any wood around that's suitable for any of the things I'd actually like to make - such as a tool chest. My ' Timber Investment ' is still drying out in the shed and wont really be ready for anything other than really rustic work and gardening projects for a little while and I am too tight to purchase more premium cost wood from the timber yard. Secondly, in my quest to escape the timber merchant , I have been trying to process the raw billets of Oak and Walnut with a lot of frustration! While my little bench was fine for pre planed wood, it's simply not man enough to handle the rough 'scrubbing' of the billets down to usable dimensions. The poor thing racked so violently, it almost fell to pieces! The base ...

Wow 2000 page views - another 1000 in just over a month!  Now I feel really guilty due to my lack of posts over the past few weeks. So what's been happening? ... Not a lot on the wood working front to be honest. I have been spending my time doing a little DIY around the house, building the raised beds and getting the garden ready for Spring. Lots of digging, collecting of manure and compost preparation etc. I The new ' Timber ' has been stored away in the garden shed as it's a bit wet, not 'tree wet', but rain wet. It was soaked on the day of delivery, probably due to being stored outdoors at the wood yard, so I'm giving it time to dry out a bit. This could take some time with our damp weather over here in the UK, once Spring arrives and the sun starts to heat things up a bit I'm sure things will improve. I did bring a board or two straight indoors to see how they might handle being dried faster due to our central heating. I had rough cut a 6ft board int...

I am currently away from home and visiting my parents in France for the festive period. So while away from my workshop and tools I certainly didn't expect to be making blog posts.  Lately, I have been reading a lot of stuff by Peter Folansbee . Peter uses predominately Oak which is not sawn but rived by splitting  and it inspired me to go and have a rummage through my parents woodshed.  Walnut - which I think was felled early 2011 Oak of around 1.5ft diameter which was felled late last year 2010 While there are a few Oak & Walnut pieces, unfortunately, everything has been cut to firewood size lengths, but ... with some determination I might be able to get some stock for small boxes.  The Walnut looks like it would be amazing once dried, planed and finished! Time to start 'playing' - what tools have my parents got I  can use? Attacking a likely piece of Walnut - first some mark up. Using a wedge to scribe all the lines before splitting anything. First lightl...