A nice walk in the woods with the family

We went for a walk in the woods at Capesthorne Hall today, there was a classic car show on which was good, after a picnic we went for a bimble. I managed to get a few photos of our walk.







The woods there are spectacular, its full of very old trees and a few really big Oaks and Sweet Chestnuts. Some info on their web site http://www.capesthorne.com/

Finished the Kuksa shaped bowl

I finaly finished the Birch Kuksa shaped bowl today, I used flaxseed oil to bring out the stunning colour. The wood is from the same tree that I made the Kuksa from.





A photo of the Alder spoon with the bowl showing its size.

Alder spoon

Managed to get some photos done of the Alder spoon that I made, I have been using it at work as my pasta spoon for about a month now.

New bowl

I have been working on a Kuksa shapped bowl for a while now, just finding the time is hard but I have got some time off work now so I did a bit today. I can't wait to finish it really I'm looking forward to giving it its first coat of oil so I can see the beauty of the wood come through, The wood is Birch, the same as the Kuksa I made.



Its 9 inches x 6 1/2 wide x 2 1/4 inches deep It will make a decent sized breakfast or soup bowl.

Some spoons and a spatula

I've been quite busy with work recently so I have not had much time to post.
The weather has been nice here today so when I got home I decided to take some photos of some spoons and a spatula that I have made.

This spoon was made from Ash.



This one was made from Cherry.



This is the spatula that I made, my wife decided that she wanted it for the kitchen so it gets used most days.

A spoon to match

I made a spoon to match the Birch Kuksa, this spoon was made from some Cherry wood that was from a Japanese Flowering Cherry tree that was dying from Ganoderma applanatum.



I really like this wood the colours and Compartmentalization lines look great.





This was made from a branch piece that I saved from the chipper.

Finished Birch Kuksa

I finished the Birch Kuksa last night, I'm really glad with the way it has turned out and the contrast between the two colours of the wood is very attractive and the Linseed oil really brings it out.









There is some nice signs of compartmentalization and the brown rot caused by the Piptoporus betulinus, the wood was partly green when felled but when carving it was brittle in places because of the fungus so getting a clean finish from the tools was difficult as it would try and cube so I had to rub it over with sand paper, not something I would normaly do but in this case it has given it a nice polish.