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Caring for your wood.
Wood finish. What I use and how you can maintain it. My primary purpose of putting a wood finish is to seal the pores to keep it clean. But which particular finish depends on the purpose the wood will be used. I prefer oils and waxes which will sink into the wood rather than varnishes and paints which sit on the surface. I also prefer a satin finish rather than gloss. Food safe finish. The finish I use on all the plates and bowls I make primarily for everyday food use is flaxseed/linseed oil. This is a traditional ‘drying’ oil used for wood, either on its own as an oil or combined…
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Origin – A Makers’ Co-operative
Origin, a maker’s co-operative in Carmarthen, is a shop I am very involved with as many of you who have “liked” my Facebook page will know. Origin is a wonderful shop and I am so pleased and proud to be part of it. And it is such a really nice bunch of people. When I first joined Origin last year I spent time looking at all the work of the other makers, trying to memorize the products to help customers. I felt humbled by the wealth of talent. And then I thought about the hours of work and the years of experience, designing, altering, developing of skills and styles that…
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Commissions 2
Commissions come in all shapes and sizes. I enjoy the challenge of making replacement turnings for people. Most of my work is free form – I can choose what shape I want. Bowls, pots, vases, tea light holders. they are all things that give me the chance to look at a piece of wood and make the best I can from that particular piece of wood. If there is a rotten bit in the wood I can change the shape, it doesn’t matter. So it is good having the occasional challenge of turning something exactly like another piece. Since the original was turned by someone else there is also the…
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Milling Wood Problems.
Milling wood for furniture or wood turning is an interesting experience. The bark of a tree can hid many secrets. Obviously becoming more experienced means I can see subtle clues but there is not always anything showing on the bark after many years or decades. Sometimes milling wood and lifting up the plank reveals the most beautiful figuring that wasn’t expected. Then the excitement grows with each cut. Sometimes there can be disappointments – a nasty area where a dead branch has spoiled otherwise good wood or a rotten area, even a whole section that is hollow. One old Sycamore had a pink area in the middle that was very…
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My Milling Band Saw
I have two different types of saws that I use for converting tree trunks into planks, a milling attachment for a powerful chainsaw and this large band saw. Hopefully I shall make some videos in the future showing them working. For very large trunks, or if they are somewhere other than home I use the milling chainsaw which I’ll describe in another blog. If the wood is small enough and at home I have the band-saw. This was originally designed for sawing metal but has been adapted now to saw wood. Most milling band-saws do the moving through the wood and are portable, which has its advantages. With this one…