Thread: Beginner advice required. What do I need to make this?

For the bowl you can carve it, power or hand, chop it, or turn it on a lathe. Probably the absolute cheapest way forward is to power carve it. I have one of these King Aurthers jobbies (http://katools.com/) with the section of chainsaw chain that goes on an angle grinder. Cuts wood amazingly fast. Make sure you wear a leather jacket, gloves, face shield and goggles when you use it. Makes a huge mess too. This thing, on a 13k r.p.m. angle grinder will throw chips nearly 10m and it will easily take off your hand if you are careless with it. These carbide studded doughnut jobbies make short work of the smoothing too http://www.saburr-tooth.com/. After using these two all you need to do is sand and finish. On your carved spoons I suggest the 1/4" shank saburr tooth burrs. You can run them with a die grinder, I use a Foredom tool. Makes very short work of spoon carving. Here is a pic of an ambrosia sycamore bowl I made using these tools.

ambrosia sycamore carved bowl.jpg

Cheers,
Rob

Wow very nice!!! I'd be very pleased if I could produce something like that. Very nice!

I'm looking at hand carving most of it as I don't have any power tools at hand. Am thinking of getting the following:

• Axe. Will get a small one from the local hardware store. I've read that I'll need to reshape / sharpen with a file.
• Gouge. Any suggestion on sizes?

So my plan is to cut the wood to size and shape with an axe and then use the gouge to shape the curve of the dish. Would that be a good approach?

I do have access to a dremel too, so might use that to smooth out the edges and then sand by hand to finish.

You're going the hard way eh? If you're not built like Popeye you will be if you chop many bowls. Look for a bowl makers adze at junk shops or on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUGE-CURVED-...item19e891131c. You will just make a mess with an axe on the inside. Find yourself a nice tree stump to work on, and watch your hands as it is very easy to get tired chopping bowls and slip.
Thanks for the compliments, she liked it too.
Anthropologists everywhere agree, tool use is a sign of intelligence.

Originally Posted by rob streeper

For the bowl you can carve it, power or hand, chop it, or turn it on a lathe. Probably the absolute cheapest way forward is to power carve it. I have one of these King Aurthers jobbies (http://katools.com/) with the section of chainsaw chain that goes on an angle grinder. Cuts wood amazingly fast. Make sure you wear a leather jacket, gloves, face shield and goggles when you use it. Makes a huge mess too. This thing, on a 13k r.p.m. angle grinder will throw chips nearly 10m and it will easily take off your hand if you are careless with it. These carbide studded doughnut jobbies make short work of the smoothing too http://www.saburr-tooth.com/. After using these two all you need to do is sand and finish. On your carved spoons I suggest the 1/4" shank saburr tooth burrs. You can run them with a die grinder, I use a Foredom tool. Makes very short work of spoon carving. Here is a pic of an ambrosia sycamore bowl I made using these tools.



Cheers,
Rob

Rob,

With respect mate I don't think it wise to recommend to a self confessed woodworking "newbie" a power tool that as you put it "could take your hand off" !

Johnzo - I have no experience myself in bowl making but I'm sure one of the guys/girls will be along to offer some sage advice shortly.

Cheers, Scott

Good Morning Johnzo

Woodworking ultimately comes down to technique. You can be like me - blunder along in the dark and invent lots of bad habits - real hard to unlearn, buy lots of crap tools and never sharpen them properly. If I could turn the clock back 40 years this is what I would do:

• join your nearest/most convenient mens shed (google to find). Most are very well equipped with power machinery, power tools hand tools, benches, etc - and you will get a lot of advice and assistance from the members.
• enroll in a basic woodwork course(s) at your local TAFE and/or adult education centre. Maybe even a university.
• perhaps a friend or neighbour can mentor you.

As you develop some skills using their gear, you will be better able to select and maintain the tools that you need.

It is a never ending road - I wish I had made mine straiter.




Fair Winds

Graeme

Hi johnzo
Power tools are fantastic things to use
And can be fantastic things to harm you really well
Do some reading do some more
Try and find a local woodwork group to join
Or even someone near by with more experience
I'm not trying to put you off
But if you have never used a power tool let alone an angle grinder
Try to get some help
Or take it very carful and slow
Enjoy but be safe

Originally Posted by Ozziespur

Rob,

With respect mate I don't think it wise to recommend to a self confessed woodworking "newbie" a power tool that as you put it "could take your hand off" !

Cheers, Scott

+1 here. The Merlin & Lancelot cutters are not suitable for newbies to wood working / carving at all! Not that long back a turner with a fair bit of experience but new to power carving was lucky to survive after a mishap that gave him 110+ stiches in the neck.

If you do go that route - and I would strongly advise not to - read the instructions & safety warnings!

Find a mentor or a club / mens shed and get basic tuition for you own safety.

Johnzo,

Of course it goes without saying that use of any tool necessitates being careful. Safety in work of this kind should always be a first priority as practically every tool used in woodworking has an associated hazard. Some tools are much more hazardous than others but the unwary and incautious will not find a good end in this field. In woodwork you will certainly hurt yourself sooner or later. Hopefully the injuries will not bring serious damage or permanent disability but you should always be aware that they can happen and take steps to mitigate the potential for occurrence and reduce the consequences. Power tools are always more powerful than we are, that is why we use them and it is what makes them useful. As I pointed out in my first reply to you, they can take your hand off and I think that that warning is strong enough. An axe or adze can also easily amputate an appendage. If you don't know what you are doing you need to find out before you commence your work by either studying the process, manuals, how-to books and/or by asking someone who knows.
The advice on seeking a mentor is good, but be aware that for every good mentor there are several poor ones.
You should not however be fearful as being afraid of a tool almost guarantees an accident. Don't use something that you are unfamiliar with or that you are not confident that you can use safely.
Wood itself can also be hazardous. The wood wenge is what is known as a 'septic wood' - splinter wounds tend to become infected and if you have for instance diabetes such an infection could be extremely serious. See http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...-and-toxicity/ for information on the hazards associated with various wood species.
For me these considerations are what I call 'common sense' which as has been rightly observed is not too common. Sharp things, power tools, welders, torches, vacuum and pressure chambers, chemicals, dusts, electricity, furnaces and so on are what I call Darwinian Selectors and all can be dangerous if used improperly and some are potentially lethal.

Cheers,
Rob

Hi guys,

Thanks very much for the advice and warning on power tools and the like, I do actually want to go down the hand carving route though. This Men's Shed business is the first I've ever heard of it, thanks for the suggestion.

I might pick up a few carving tools to mess around with to see how I go with them and then consider a course if I still enjoy it.

Appreciate the help guys!

Here is a couple done with just a small gouge & 1" chisel.
A small bowl in Holm Oak & a Mancala game board in Yew.
mancala board.jpg

Mark

Oh very good Mark! Very similar to what I want to make. Are you able to outline the steps you used to make this? Also small gouge, what size would that have been? I'm still familiarising myself with all the different sizes.

Originally Posted by Old-Biker-UK

Here is a couple done with just a small gouge & 1" chisel.
A small bowl in Holm Oak & a Mancala game board in Yew.
mancala board.jpg

Mark

https://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=181624&p=1749409#post1749409

Next Sunday 23rd February is the annual Traditional Tools Group Tool Sale at Thornleigh. At time of writing, this is the only tool sale in Sydney for 2014. There will be a wide range of hand tools available, including carving tools, axes etc. And you might get some advice during any quiet periods from experienced sellers. Details are in the thread above, or the web site below

Cheers
Peter
The Traditional Tools Group website: http://www.tttg.org.au/php/tttg_Page.php?n=04

Oh bugger me!!!!! I'm going away down the south coast this weekend

Sounds like it'd be perfect to go there uhhhhhhh

Originally Posted by Heavansabove

https://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=181624&p=1749409#post1749409

Next Sunday 23rd February is the annual Traditional Tools Group Tool Sale at Thornleigh. At time of writing, this is the only tool sale in Sydney for 2014. There will be a wide range of hand tools available, including carving tools, axes etc. And you might get some advice during any quiet periods from experienced sellers. Details are in the thread above, or the web site below

Cheers
Peter
The Traditional Tools Group website: http://www.tttg.org.au/php/tttg_Page.php?n=04

Johnzo - The bowl was a lump from the log pile, roughly hacked the shape with the 1" chisel then nibbled away the inside with the gouge (about 1/2" as I recall). Didn't do it all at once, just a bit whenever I felt like it - sort of thing I could take out the garden on a nice sunny day, sit and chip away with a beer close to hand.
The outside was similarly treated with the gouge to give the same surface texture as the inside.
The Mancala board was from a yew plank about 1" thick. Copied the design from a commercial board and again just nibbled away at it.
Rather than machine it, I wanted the 'hand made' look I had seen on boards in Africa.
Both finished with Danish oil.

Mark