Hand Tool Headlines
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David Fisher - Carving Explorations
Ready for Maine
I’m returning to Peter Galbert Workshops in Berwick, Maine to teach another bird bowl class this week. As part of my preparations, I carved another hen bowl to make sure I remembered how. We’ll carve a long and sleek goose-inspired … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Strange and Unusual Shrink Pot
In the 1988 movie Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder, as Lydia, professes her strangeness with quiet self-assurance: “I myself am strange and unusual.” About a year ago I was asked to incorporate that line into a piece, and the idea developed in … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Drew Langsner’s “The Chairmaker’s Workshop”
I’ve written before about how influential Drew Langsner and his books have been in my woodworking life. But I haven’t mentioned much about his book The Chairmaker’s Workshop specifically. That’s my copy from the ’90s. I love it and I … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Four Shrinkpots and Some Tool Thoughts
I’ve just finished four shrink pots that are available for purchase. They are made from various wood species, which I’ll detail below. All are finished with a mixture of linseed oil and beeswax. The lidded ones all have tight-fitting lids … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Moby Dick Book Box
There’s a long tradition of making boxes and other items in the form of books. I’ve made a few now, each in a different way. In an old post I showed one joined from several pieces and another example made … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
August 2025 Spoons (and Such)
I always keep my eyes open for interesting branch crooks that can make good spoons or other things. Here I’ve got a group of 11 available for purchase now. All of these were carved from branch crooks with the design … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Bowl Carving Instructional Video Sale
Four years ago, while we were all still under pandemic restrictions, Elia Bizzari turned lemons into lemonade by asking some of his fellow craftspersons to make a series of live interactive instructional videos with him. I jumped in for bowl … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Birch Ummik and Woodworking in Estonia
Making and using shrink pots for grain and food storage is an ancient practice. In one of the greatest woodworking books, Woodworking in Estonia, Ants Viires, dedicates several pages (89-95) to it. In various regions of Estonia, these containers were … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Cracked Pot
I roughed out this cherry shrink pot with split sides a few years ago. It cracked a couple days into drying, leaving a 1/2″ wide gap. It’s a rare occurrence, but sometimes you get lucky. My first inclination was to … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Blue Maple Bowl
It started out as a red maple (Acer rubrum). The top half of the tree snapped off a month ago across the road. I hurried and started carving away on some of it. Maple doesn’t store well for long in … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
Before I Forget… A Few Things
This post was going to be about using my favorite T-handle auger, the one I use to bore the hole to begin making a shrink pot. With a couple green lengths of tree available, I took a few photos as … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools
The New Peter Galbert Workshop
Two weeks ago, a bunch of us were savoring our last day of class together in Pete Galbert’s new workshop facility in Berwick, Maine. Pete’s old workshop was in a 19th century former mill building and it was a great … Continue reading
Categories: Hand Tools