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ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT TO GET IN ON THE AWESOME RAFFLE-FUNDRAISER TO SUPPORT THE PATRIOT WOODWORKER! Another active week here for our turners! Our Patriot Turners- @AndrewB received an African Padauk blank which he turned into a beautiful bowl- Andrew takes us through the process in this post- And a Myrtlewood bowl Here is more on this one- Andrew also is trying his hand at pen making. He showed us a couple of his attempts in these- and this one- Andrew went back and picked up on a previous post and several of our members offered additional tips and hints @Gerald is adding detail to one of his bowls with carvings Gerald is certainly a man of many talents! What’s Coming Up- Cindy Drozda is hosting another live, virtual demonstration in a couple of weeks! Click on the above image for the link to registration and more information. For The Newbies- @AndrewB mentioned he ordered and received a new bowl gouge. Sharpening and reshaping the gouge is probably going to be on his list of first things to do. Here's a video from Mike Waldt demonstrating this steps. Once the gouge is sharpened, you can turn more than a bowl with it- Expand Your Horizons- If your eyes can stand the strain, here's a project, from Woodcraft, that's sure to be a hit- If that's not quite what you want to tackle, try this from Mike Peace- This is sort of specialized and it's from an idea that AndrewB brought up. Andrew was applying epoxy to some wooden cups to make then suitable for liquids. If you are considering something like this, the folks at Alumilite have a video on the process but you'll need a "cup turner". They are available at hobby supply stores but can be built for a few bucks. This idea works great for applying run free finishes, too! New Turning Items- Something new from Ruth Niles Bottle Stoppers You can find more information at- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/stainless-threaded-inserts/ The folks at Woodturners Wonders have their 1" Purple Power Sanding Discs available- Prices and quantities are at- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/purple-power-1-sanding-discs Everything Else- Mike Peace's videos from last week- Some would say I'm addicted to Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ). OK, I AM! But that doesn't mean I don't know how to use the "old time stuff". I got a bunch of wild cherry and have been roughing out bowl blanks. Just to prove I can turn with antiques- OK, so the next one I cheated- Safe turning and stay well

Have had this hollow form turned maybe 3-4 years and got started on the plan yesterday. Plan is a rosebud just starting to open. These first pics are my carving setup for this type carving. Using a Wecher to carve with. The stand holding the piece is a Trent Bosch carving stand. It allows flipping the piece or spinning it. Then put on lathe yo sand. Better dust collection.

Haven't had a chance to view the entire video, but it's a neat take on a carving mallet.

Just a great tip, for you woodcarvers.

Daylight Savings time begins this coming weekend. Don't be late to Sunday School!!! Our Patriot Turners- Last weeks "Wednesday's..." had a reply from @Gerald showing us some tops he made. His post generated several comments- In case you missed it, here's the link to where the conversation begins- How about that cool way Gerald hold his turnings while the finish dries! Gerald then showed us some of the other tops he has turned- Check this post for more examples- I need to apologize to @Masonsailor. I completely missed his post on the additional work he has done on the Lazy Susan Tulips. Check out the metal work and his installation progress- Member @Bob Hodge posted a beautiful cherry bowl- Bob also asked our opinion concerning finishing the inside of a turning. He received a bunch of responses. Please head on over to his post and maybe you can add to the ideas from our turners- Bob also made us all jealous with this post about his new source of turning wood! How's this for some beautiful grain- Check out where Bob picked up this gorgeous piece of wood- @FrederickH asked our opinion on some shop made turning tools. Check out Rick's post and see if you can add any information to help him out- @Woodbutcherbynight asked our opinion on a technique for turning a narrow mortice- He received several ideas on procedure and tools. What do you think would be the best way to accomplish what he wanted to do? The topic of working with textures continues to receive comments and questions. If you haven't been following along, here is some additional information- What’s Coming Up- Our awesome sponsor, Easy Wood Tools, wanted everyone to know they will be displaying their products at the Secaucus, NJ Woodworking Show. Thanks @Jim from Easy Wood Tools! Also- Click on the above images for links to more information. For The Newbies- You have seen them in the videos and social media. You have probably thought "I can do that!" Well here is your chance to give it a try. Mike Peace shows us the steps for making a small Winged Bowl. Expand Your Horizons- Tim Yoder is always enjoyable to watch turning. With this video, Tim gives us an insight into what the turning might look like when still hidden within the tree. New Turning Items- Saw this while watching a live feed from Carl Jacobson. It's not really a "new " item but it might just open up a new avenue for some of our turning endeavors- A Carving Stand that can be locked into your lathe banjo or bench mounted. It accepts your lathe chuck so you don't have to unmount your turning. Available from- https://trentboschtools.com/product-category/carvingstands/ Everything Else- Well, I finally finished up that hollow vessel (spaceship). Two applications of brush on gloss poly and an application of black acrylic paint on the inside. The black burned rings on either side of the gold leaf aren't as pronounced as I imagined they would be. Live and learn. I am more please with the photo results from the Mike Peace imitated photo booth. I do need to be more careful in making sure all of the dust is removed before taking pictures. I have on final piece of that walnut log. But, this failure is going to mean a different, smaller turning. Just have to figure out how to remount it- Also started an elm bowl from the old tree we had taken down last year. Roughed out and now soaking in the liquid soap/water solution. Safe turning

Folks, I was talking to a young man the other day and he sat in on a Native American bowl making class briefly, back on the east coast. He did not remember what this method of bowl making was called, and I am unable to find anything online about the method. The method of carving a bowl by Native Americans goes way back, as old as our land is. Apparently the Natives would take the timber, char or fire the center of the timber (bowl blank) as to make it easier to carve out the center of the bowl because the center is black and soft. They used the same methods for their dugout canoes, burning the center, to soften the timber or log, and dig it out with implements. Has anyone heard of this method of bowl carving? And if so, what's it called so I can research it, thanks!

This magnificent huge carving was posted on FB without giving the artist credit. It does show him but I hope he gets recognition for such a wonderful carving.

Good day Patriot Woodworkers!!!! If you are looking for a hobby that is fun and portable with little investment – think whittling! Using nothing but a knife and a piece of wood, you can create a project in a matter of minutes, giving instant gratification to even a beginner. Whittling differs from carving in that no chisels,gouges or power tools are used. Carver and author Tom Hindes was a guest at the Fox Chapel Publishing booth at Woodcraft’s National Sales Conference and Vendor Trade Show, held in Columbus, Ohio, in May. Tom’s book, 20-Minute Whittling Projects, is published by Fox Chapel and available at Woodcraft. Tom discovered woodcarving after retirement from his career teaching industrial arts and technical training development. Wanting to work on something small and light, he began carving Noah’s arks, complete with the pairs of animals, and was immediately hooked on carving. Over time, he began focusing on whittling, “carving with one knife” as he classifies it. “Whittling is easy, fast and fun. It’s also portable – you can take it wherever you go,” Tom said. “While some people pull out their cell phones when they’re waiting in a waiting room, I work on my latest project!” Children are naturally drawn to Tom’s work because they like small things and don’t require much detail to figure out what the whittled piece is. “The most interesting place I ever carved was at a funeral home!” Tom laughed. Focusing on what Tom was doing occupied some rambunctious children, much to the relief of their parents during an otherwise trying time. SUPPLIES FOR GETTING STARTED KNIFE – To get started in whittling, Tom recommends an easily transportable knife, like a folding pocketknife, with locking carbon steel blade. Knives with high-carbon steel blades are more expensive than traditional stainless steel knives, but they are easier to sharpen – an important factor in a knife that you will use repeatedly. Also, Tom says a sheepsfoot blade shape is better suited for whittling than a drop-point blade. The tip of the knife should be closely aligned with the main cutting edge, which makes it easier for cutting small details. “Keep a second pocketknife for everyday use, like opening cardboard boxes, to avoid dulling the sharp pocketknife you use for whittling,” Tom advises. If you end of doing a lot of whittling, you may want to invest in some specialized carving knives. The Flexcut Whittlin’ Jack is a nice size knife for your pocket and features two high-carbon steel blades in one – a detail knife and a roughing knife. STROP – A strop maintains the cutting edge of your knife. “I strop my blade before and after every whittling session,” Tom shared. “Sometimes I even strop it during the whittling session.” The WoodRiver® Bench Stropand the Flexcut Knife Strop are two great examples for carvers and whittlers. Add lapping compound to the textured leather surface to keep your blades sharp and ready to go. GLOVE – A carving glove is another good investment to protect the hand as it holds the wood. Woodcraft offers several sizes of safety gloves for carving, from extra extra small (3″ – 4ʺ) up to large (9ʺ -11ʺ). Made from a patented combination of Kevlar, Spectra and stainless steel, these gloves are unsurpassed for cut resistance, durability, softness and wearability. PENCILS – Keep some pencils handy to sketch and draw detail lines onto the wood. “This is also great if you are on the go and you don’t happen to have a pattern – you can just sketch one,” Tom said. WOOD – According to Tom, the main requirement in selecting wood for whittling is that the wood must be able to hold detail – in other words, have a tight wood grain and be knot-free. Basswood is generally the wood of choice for most whittlers, especially for beginning whittlers. Thanks for following along and we hope this little bit of information maybe useful to you. Keep up the great work Patriot Woodworker's!

I love this book, I ordered it from Tools For Working Wood and it's also available on Amazon. The book is a hard cover and full of great illustrations and images. The author Jogge Sundqvist walks you through what is needed to carve bowls, wooden ware and many other useful items for the home and garden. The principal of Slojd is to create self sufficiency in work, from making your own tools, to cutting down a tree or parts of a tree, and processing the wood by hand to bring it to the point of working it into something useful. I have become as of late very interested in wood carving, green woodworking and other bodger type work. I will someday build a pole lathe as well. Jogge walks you through the processes from which tools to purchase for carving, how to keep them sharp, and how to use the special Swedish knife grips that look very intimidating at first, but once you study how ingenious the grips are, and the natural safety stops in place to prevent from cutting oneself, it all makes sense and I cannot wait to get a hold of some green tree limbs and start splitting and working the wood with hatchet and knives. I give this book a big thumbs up. Enjoy!

I am in search of any project or lumber/slab that is Butternut or made primarily from Butternut. I need some project butternut images to install in our wiki page for Butternut, would anyone here like to donate an image(s) of your own work to our wiki? A full reference and credit to you and or your website will be shown. Wiki | Butternut THEPATRIOTWOODWIKI.ORG Wiki If you would like to share your project made from Butternut with us, I would like to use your image in our wiki. Please keep in mind that images used in our wiki become open source and free for use by the public as our wiki is completely open source and in alignment with these copyright rules. Wiki | Copyrights and License THEPATRIOTWOODWIKI.ORG Wiki Thanks in advance for your time, any images of butternut are needed, slabs, finished work, boards, etc.

It wasn't a surprise that I found a project in the catalog "Spice Chests of Chester County". I had been looking for a challenging project and found one in the duplication of one of the spice chests. Using only photographs, I proceeded to draw up a full scale drawing of the chest. This alone was a challenge and took me many tries to get the drawing to look right in both size and proportion. Little did I know that the rosettes and finials were Victorian replacements. When "Fine Woodworking" came out with articles on Philadelphia finials and rosettes, I removed the Victorian ones and replaced them with period correct ones. The primary wood is walnut, the secondary woods poplar. The chest is a 1/2 scale of a tall chest-on-chest(tallboy) made in Philadelphia, c. 1775 and is made in two sections.. the lower and upper portion. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take photographs during the build.