i've been spoon carving off and on for close on 25 years, getting back into it again a bit more seriously lately. bought my first adze and a drawknife, great additions to the process. now working on small cups and bowls so things are progressing nicely.
as it happens though there are a couple things i'd really like to add to my tool roll :
the first is a teardrop scorp, one sided blade. the other is a wee dogleg gouge.
the trouble is that these tools are not cheap! in fact assuming one pays the basic going rate you're looking at something like £150+, and a LOT more if you opt for those offered by the popular makers. not really what i had in mind. and besides, who knows what you'll want next? unlike the bum fluff from certain politicians i could mention money _really_ doesn't grow on trees around here so ...
so i started thinking "what do i need to DIY this?". i'm not totally shooting in the dark here. in a previous life i took a run at being an indy jewellery maker so i got to know torches and metals and simple forging fairly well, albeit of much softer metals (obv).
anyway, i started poking around and discovered what looks like a fairly viable option for a basic DIY garden forge for small scale stuff without getting into bottled gases and suchlike:
that's a box bellows -- Japanese style in this case but one of the Chinese style is a bit simpler to make -- connected to a steel pipe connected to a wee firebrick-lined pit with a shovel full of charcoal thrown in. pump the bellows, heat the metal, forge the blade, repeat until you've got what you need.
like i said, i've got somewhat related metalworking experience, i could bang a cheap-and-cheerful bellows together without much trouble. scrounge a bit of pipe, flea-bay a few firebricks, make a bit of charcoal in the back garden and what's to stop a fellow from giving it a go?
of course with any blade that does tough work heat treating is where things can get complicated but assuming you stick to basic metals -- 1080, 1095, maybe O1 if you're feeling adventurous -- that too should be doable without going apeshit on complicated gear.
so -- and thanks for reading this far, i know i do go on a bit -- has anyone tried this or anything like it? success or fail i'd be very interested to hear about it.
as it happens though there are a couple things i'd really like to add to my tool roll :
the first is a teardrop scorp, one sided blade. the other is a wee dogleg gouge.
the trouble is that these tools are not cheap! in fact assuming one pays the basic going rate you're looking at something like £150+, and a LOT more if you opt for those offered by the popular makers. not really what i had in mind. and besides, who knows what you'll want next? unlike the bum fluff from certain politicians i could mention money _really_ doesn't grow on trees around here so ...
so i started thinking "what do i need to DIY this?". i'm not totally shooting in the dark here. in a previous life i took a run at being an indy jewellery maker so i got to know torches and metals and simple forging fairly well, albeit of much softer metals (obv).
anyway, i started poking around and discovered what looks like a fairly viable option for a basic DIY garden forge for small scale stuff without getting into bottled gases and suchlike:
that's a box bellows -- Japanese style in this case but one of the Chinese style is a bit simpler to make -- connected to a steel pipe connected to a wee firebrick-lined pit with a shovel full of charcoal thrown in. pump the bellows, heat the metal, forge the blade, repeat until you've got what you need.
like i said, i've got somewhat related metalworking experience, i could bang a cheap-and-cheerful bellows together without much trouble. scrounge a bit of pipe, flea-bay a few firebricks, make a bit of charcoal in the back garden and what's to stop a fellow from giving it a go?
of course with any blade that does tough work heat treating is where things can get complicated but assuming you stick to basic metals -- 1080, 1095, maybe O1 if you're feeling adventurous -- that too should be doable without going apeshit on complicated gear.
so -- and thanks for reading this far, i know i do go on a bit -- has anyone tried this or anything like it? success or fail i'd be very interested to hear about it.