My Apprentice's latest work

[squbrigg]

Felix has come a long way since he joined me in September of 2017, at the age of 10. He has progresses at a steady pace and constantly improves his skills. Today he completed his second half model, a sailing ship called the Harper, originally built here on the Miramichi River in 1839. His model is...

[squbrigg]

I have made a tiger cane, and you are welcome to copy it.

Bob...

[squbrigg]

Nice job Merle, looks good.

Bob

[squbrigg]

Most of my canes and walking sticks are made with Cherry. It has the best weight and hardness ratio for me and holds detail well, and isn't too difficult to carve. It has plenty of strength for the user and wouldn't fail if relied upon. I some times use Maple for shafts, or Oak, as well as some exotic...

[squbrigg]

For almost two years now, I have been teaching my latest apprentice the skills required to become a wood carver and ship modeller. Each Tuesday after school, he arrives full of ambition and thirsting for knowledge. Today he finished his half model of a locally built barque the Harper, and we made...

[squbrigg]

That is one shaggy bear, looks hungry. Stay out of her/his reach my friend and don't let it surprise you, or you may end up as bear crap! And that just wouldn't do! Would cut into your carving time.

Bob

[squbrigg]

My Dad was sweeping mines off shore before the invasion took place. Hell of a thing for those young lads to go through, he joined up in 1941 at the ripe old age of 15, and when released at wars end in '45 was still less that 21.

Bob

[squbrigg]

Beautiful job Tom, they would look great on my kitchen table.

Bob

[squbrigg]

Great to see you carving again my friend. That Moose antler looks gorgeous, great job on it. Am waiting to see how those foxes turn out. Keep us posted.

Bob

[squbrigg]

Isn't it great when you get to meet someone from the forum! I always enjoy it.

Bob

[squbrigg]

Cute look on his face, should bring lots of chuckles. Well done.

Bob

[squbrigg]

Don't ya hate it when that happens? I can't count the number of canes that I have had to repair because of falls. New beaks, handles, and chips and scratches. But on the other hand, if you have the skill to create a cane, you also have the skill to repair it.

Bob

[squbrigg]

The pipe is cut in two while still a blank, marked mirror image for the smoke channel and carved out, then epoxied back together, being very careful not to get epoxy squeesed into the channel when clamped together. Then carved the pipe out of the rough blank, and lots of sanding. Finished with Danish...

[squbrigg]

I doubt if the epoxy effects the smoke, doesn't taste any different. I am enjoying the pipe, and the new one.

Bob

[squbrigg]

Encouraged by my first attempt at making a pipe, I made a second one learning from my mistakes on the first one. A different hardwood this time, slimmer and a nice fit.

Bob...

[squbrigg]

Pfeil tools come sharp, to keep them sharp use a strip of leather glued to a piece of wood, rough side up. Some stropping compound rubbed on the leather will help, available at your local tool center. Check out how to strop on Google, plenty of Youtube video's available.

Bob

[squbrigg]

Thanks for the feedback folks, always appreciated. The secret of the hole through the stem is a steady hand, the roughed out shape of the pipe is cut into two matching pieces on the bandsaw and the hole gouged out is both matching sides and then epoxied back together carefully so as not to let glue/epoxy...

[squbrigg]

A dog sure does make a house a home. Congratulations.

Bob

[squbrigg]

For something completely different to carve, I choose a pipe, something I use to smoke when I was younger. I always found that the pipes I smoked were hot to the mouth so I figured if a longer stem would be somewhat cooler to smoke, and I was right. This one is a nice smoke, clear draw and comfortable...

[squbrigg]

That's a nice looking walking stick. Well done.

Bob