Carving fun!

What a hot day today has been! The workshop seems even hotter than outside too. I have spent my day mostly between working on the piece pictured, drinking coffee in the sun and playing in the garden with Dylan! He comes up to the open workshop door(he can't get in!....safety first!) and with the sweetest little way says "Daddy, outside please", I just can't say no to that.

Between the playing and coffees I made this small hollow form to try out my new 'Microplane' rasps on. These were recommended to me by a friend who could not speak too highly of them, and after using them I can see why. They are far better than a 'surform' although they work on the same principle, the finish achieved from working gently with the 'fine' blade requires not much

sanding(thats always good in my book!)

The form was turned from English Elm to a thickness of 5mm as I wanted the finished piece to be quite light in the hand. The carving was mainly done on the lathe with the form mounted between a friction drive and tailstock as this seems to give good access to the sides of the piece. The last inch or so at the top had to be done with the piece cushioned in a vice. It was then hand sanded down to 320 grit, the top ring textured and coloured with acrylics and a coat of oil applied to the main body.

There could easily be many more designs done around this idea as it is so versatile and tidily produced with the new tools.