It's great when Alan turns up with his truck.
The last time he visited he left a good load of Birch.
I have customers waiting for me to carve out some kuksa.
I spent last week carving to keep up with orders.
I carved some of my goose ale hens the week before, this week I was on Beaver tail kuksa.
It's a design I came up with some years ago, not the easiest thing to carve as it involves chopping through a fair bit of end grain.
I have a few axes in my tool basket, enough to get the job done and share out when I have visitors.
I'm not a collector.
The H. Roselli bearded Axe is the best for this job in my oppinion.
I don't usually draw out or mark when carving, but on a Beaver tail I find it useful to mark out the round of the bowl, that's all.
A couple of well placed 'V' cuts and we're off to a good start.
Some shaping at the front end and a 'V' stop cut at the rear.
Chopping the waste wood from the back of the handle is a job that requires patience and a small pinch of accuracy.
Some years ago I wrote a blow by blow account...
I've changed the design a little over the years, made it a little more compact.
I had a couple of false starts during the week, radial splits at the front of the bowl.
This happens sometimes. It splits to test ones determination....
Keep on keeping on eh ?
At the start of the job, when the billet is split, cut off the first couple of inches, this should put you in a good place to start.
The hook knife is the next tool employed.
Super sharp with a nice curved back is the way forward.
Or use your best gouges.
I dont have any.
A nice Kuksa.
And useful chips for firelighting.
Now to finish off with a good sharp
MiniMac.
I started the Beaver tail below on the morning of May day or
Beltane as we call it in these parts.
And finished it by evening.
I needed the bottle of beer by the days end... J;-)
The final job is to oil the Kuksa and polish up the camera....
After the beer it's easy to get those jobs muddled...
Take great care.... J;-)
I'm taking a few days off now, but I'll be back at it mid week.
Enjoy...
J;-)
