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Re: Couple of new bowls
[QUOTE=BullRunBear;339118]Those bowls are lovely. Do you use hand or power tools? Also, what do you use for a finish to bring out that gorgeous grain? (I'm shortly going to make a first attempt at carving a spoon with a sloyd and hook knife and wondered if bowls can be done with similar hand tools.)
Thanks, Jeff
First off,,,, Thank you Jeff!
I use a combination of power tools and hand tools at times, meaning I may use a side grinder with a Lancelot carving disc to debark and rough form the outside and rough hollow the inside,,,,Or I sometimes use an axe to debark and form the rough outside and rough hollow the inside. The next step is always with "HAND TOOLS" (an arbitrary controversial expression) So I will refer to hand tools as gouges, knives, spokeshaves, etc.
As I usually start with GREEN wood, I will refine the outside with gouges spokeshaves, straight and bentknives. Then I refine the hollow with bentknives and gouges. As I get closer to the finished shape then I use scorps,scrapers and sand paper starting with 100grit once the piece has DRYED. The drying of the bowl can take weeks or months. I use brown paper sacks to dry the bowls as this process eliminates most if not all mould issues.
The next steps are to continue to take out the "WONKS" these are the humps and hollows that plague the finishing to a smooth concave and convex form. These wonks will show and will be felt by the touch, if not taken out. This bothers my sense of ascetic and quality of skill that I am always striving for, if they are present in the finished article.
Wonks can be caused a number of ways, thus take a number of ways to remove. The most common way to get a wonk is to not see it as it is developing. The most careful carving, scraping and sanding can create wonks. The way to tell is to constantly "FEEL" for them. Then use a low luminous light source 40watt light. or less a flashlight, to see how the light casts shadows in the hollows. This gets harder and harder as the process gets refined, the touch is the most reliable way to tell if you have wonks.
Complicated grain is another way of developing wonks as the grain may alternate from soft to hard and in some grain may be in any or every direction. This is where I use a soft rubber pad with the sandpaper to sand the high points without sanding the low. once I have worked through the grits to as high as I feel I need to to capture the best surface I can with the type of wood about 400grit. I wash the bowl with hot water and raise the grain. Then I leave this to dry over night and sand from 350grit to the finished grit of 1000 to 2000. This is not really "SANDING" after 400 grit it is more like polishing as I am not removing any real wood so much as getting rid of the scratches left by the previous grit of sandpaper, At 1000grit the scratches left by the sand paper are there but so small they take a good eye to detect.
The next step for me is to oil the bowl, mineral oil or a salad bowl finish and buffing with a soft cotton rag. I leave it over night and repeat at least a few times. The finish may take a lot of time and effort to achieve from some perspectives,,,so be it... this is the way I get the finish I like. If you wonder how fine the finish is.... look at a guitar, that is my visual reference. I don't know if this will help any but it is simply how I do it.... H
[QUOTE=BullRunBear;339118]Those bowls are lovely. Do you use hand or power tools? Also, what do you use for a finish to bring out that gorgeous grain? (I'm shortly going to make a first attempt at carving a spoon with a sloyd and hook knife and wondered if bowls can be done with similar hand tools.)
Thanks, Jeff
First off,,,, Thank you Jeff!
I use a combination of power tools and hand tools at times, meaning I may use a side grinder with a Lancelot carving disc to debark and rough form the outside and rough hollow the inside,,,,Or I sometimes use an axe to debark and form the rough outside and rough hollow the inside. The next step is always with "HAND TOOLS" (an arbitrary controversial expression) So I will refer to hand tools as gouges, knives, spokeshaves, etc.
As I usually start with GREEN wood, I will refine the outside with gouges spokeshaves, straight and bentknives. Then I refine the hollow with bentknives and gouges. As I get closer to the finished shape then I use scorps,scrapers and sand paper starting with 100grit once the piece has DRYED. The drying of the bowl can take weeks or months. I use brown paper sacks to dry the bowls as this process eliminates most if not all mould issues.
The next steps are to continue to take out the "WONKS" these are the humps and hollows that plague the finishing to a smooth concave and convex form. These wonks will show and will be felt by the touch, if not taken out. This bothers my sense of ascetic and quality of skill that I am always striving for, if they are present in the finished article.
Wonks can be caused a number of ways, thus take a number of ways to remove. The most common way to get a wonk is to not see it as it is developing. The most careful carving, scraping and sanding can create wonks. The way to tell is to constantly "FEEL" for them. Then use a low luminous light source 40watt light. or less a flashlight, to see how the light casts shadows in the hollows. This gets harder and harder as the process gets refined, the touch is the most reliable way to tell if you have wonks.
Complicated grain is another way of developing wonks as the grain may alternate from soft to hard and in some grain may be in any or every direction. This is where I use a soft rubber pad with the sandpaper to sand the high points without sanding the low. once I have worked through the grits to as high as I feel I need to to capture the best surface I can with the type of wood about 400grit. I wash the bowl with hot water and raise the grain. Then I leave this to dry over night and sand from 350grit to the finished grit of 1000 to 2000. This is not really "SANDING" after 400 grit it is more like polishing as I am not removing any real wood so much as getting rid of the scratches left by the previous grit of sandpaper, At 1000grit the scratches left by the sand paper are there but so small they take a good eye to detect.
The next step for me is to oil the bowl, mineral oil or a salad bowl finish and buffing with a soft cotton rag. I leave it over night and repeat at least a few times. The finish may take a lot of time and effort to achieve from some perspectives,,,so be it... this is the way I get the finish I like. If you wonder how fine the finish is.... look at a guitar, that is my visual reference. I don't know if this will help any but it is simply how I do it.... H
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