dervishcarving

Any ideas? I am trying to turn some larger bowl (the small ones seem to come out real nice and people have asked for some large ones) but the problem is that large bit of wood have momentum and so turning it on a normal pole-lathe is difficult (and hard work). I have heard about the possibility of a ratchet-type system you could adapt a pole-lathe with to make it turn only 1-way and you add momentum as you pump your leg. Anyone got any ideas where i might get plans for such a thing? Ta d

liking nelly, smooth finish was definitely the way to go on this one

Have been doing some carvings for a community are close to home, this was for the children's play area. Not really fat enough but it was the biggest piece of wood i could find so had to do. Thanks to Splinters for the inspiration for this piece through the Gruffalo he did earlier this year. Transporting it was amusing, he was driven through the town on the bucket of the manitou One of the horns got damaged when we were 'planting' him but a bit of 'evening out' and it was fine. The kids seem to like him so that is all i wanted really. One wee girl just said "Oh, we have a gruffalelo" That made it all worth while. now on to the next project....

nice site, cheers. today i made another, smaller bowl. the lip is better on this one. Now i want to try my hand at some slightly larger ones, i think i can go up to about 6 inches radius

Lovely stuff there! We start some big slabbing work on friday for benches etc, this gives me something to aim for

Could ypu PM me them please? I am a stubborn buggr and tend to just 'self teach' but I would love to learn more advanced techniques once i get the hand of basic bowls

they would use whatever is cheapest They are still pretty popular tho, i think i have sold more of them than anything else, including teh insect-things i make

Well baggy mine are not as good as yours. the first effort was pretty poor, i caught teh edge of the bowl with the tool and it cracked and a big bit came off but i learnt a few things (like... keep the tool away from the edge ) second one came out much better. the rim is still a bit rough but its better. Not having anyone who can show me how to do it is a disadvantage (and if im honest, I'm still learning how to use the pole lathe) but its very rewarding isnt it? Hopefully it will dry without cracking

I like the long pointy one very 'Tolkein' . Also like the slightly a-symmetrical shape, its more natural looking. Might be an issue with the very thin neck on the pointy one? (i assume any child seeing one will pick it up then drop it, i know what i was like as a kid). nice shapes tho.

is that the 25 quid one from B&Q? had looeked at that a while back but didnt know how rugged the wheels are

ok..so i'm not a qualified tree-climber but i have about 38 years of rock-climbing and 8 or so years of potholling (rigging and exploring). I dont know if you tree-climbers use a cows-tail? i always use one climbing. basically a short length of rope with a clip (screwgate usually) at the end. Usually I have 2 of them, one is very short, used to clip a bolt and hold my body close in to the rock, one is about an arms-length so i can clip anythign an arms-length away. Both of these are attacjed directly to the harness at the main D. What you show in the picture looks like a similar idea but with a variable-length capability. is there a reason you wouldnt simply have a cows-tail idea but with enough length to go from your harness, round the branch (in the pic) and then clip onto itself? would give you the side-pull stability. IF you wanted adjustable length you could attach it back to itself using a shunt insted of a screwgate? just random thoughts from an unedjumacated rock-jock

kudos... huge effort that paid off in spades

Nice horse there! We made the beds for 3 new horses today. Used a chainsaw to shape them out of 2 inch thick planks of ash. will knock up the other bits over the next few weeks ready for the groups of kids who will come to try bodging in the near future.

hornet probably... and man! they hurt a lot

there seem to be a couple around where i carve, scary big bgrrs!

if anyone ever has soem in the Portlethen area (just south of Aberdeen) i could do with some half a tonne or so would do me fine

thanks for teh knife-source Simon, just picked up a carvign knife for a tenner! I bought a spoon-knife for 25 quid the other day, wish i had seen this post first! As for the pendants, love them i dont have the skill or patience to do small-stuff, i will stick to my trusty chainsaws i think

Hang about? me? Nah, i like to start off at a run and see how i get ont thats kinda clear from the stuff i am nwo carvign (given i only started in late Feb). Finding some decent blanks might be a problem, I have access to plenty of fairly green ash but its maybe a bit thin. I guess i could start with a saucer

Thats really not bad Marty, i think you show some promise I find the Swiss army knife is a little like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut so i now use a pair of nail clippers and harsh language (plus the odd cutting-remark during the blocking-out process) D

I did LANTRA training but NTPC assessment. Means i have a cert that is recognised by ALL the uk ... for now at least

So.. figured out how to use a basic lathe to make bowls, made a mandorin, just received my 3 basic bowl-turning tools (BenOrford made) and turned some handles for them. Now i just need it to not be pishing down on sunday so i can try some basic techniques. Thanks for the inspiration baggy

I kinda agree there.... a weekend with instruction etc plus equipment is pretty good for the price. I use a lot of green-wood stuff and its not always the most streighforward thing to make, havign somebody show you the ropes is always handy free plans are also a bonus and i have made copies of them

If it were my descision i would have gone for a deal of some kind but the wood was gifted by the FCS and is all going to various community projects. Its all working out this time so we have no complaints thanks for the price-ideas chaps, good to know what we have to get together to cover these costs

thanks for that. we put the time in to shift stuff to and from the mill for him so its 'well fed'. we cant afford to pay for help, we just do it ourselves

ah.. did say its theoretical discussion . im part of a charity group, we do a lot of community work, we have somebody doing a lot of milling for us BUT i dunno how much we should budget for it the next time if we have to go to a different 'miller'. this is based in north scotland. there is no complaints about the chap who is doing it now but its a side-line for him and i dunno if he will be able to do it next time. we tend to get them milled to 2inch thickness