Project w/ Pics New spoon carving/shave horse

[Mike Davis]

My wife enjoys carving spoons and has a wall full for her efforts. Last year she broke her arm and still has some pain when she carves so she asked me to make her a “clamp” for carving. I’ve been tossing around some ideas for a few years and thought this would be a good way to test some of my thoughts. This is the start. So far all of the wood has been supplied by Scott Smith. Some of it was from nearly 20 years ago and some was acquired within the last few weeks.

I’ll have more to share as I progress. But here is the start.

 

[ashley_phil]

cool looks nice

 

[ptt49er]

Please keep up the wip pics! I find your creative process very educational.

 

[Mike Davis]

Please keep up the wip pics! I find your creative process very educational.

Sorry I can’t elaborate on the process but it’s all in my mind.

 

[ptt49er]

The progress pics will shed some light into how you work and create. No need to elaborate much further.

 

[Mike Davis]

I did make a sketch for this. Only because we needed to discuss the dimensions. I’ll try to make a photo of that.

 

[Mike Davis]

This is a rough sketch for our design discussion. Some parts are not to scale and some dimensions have not been decided.

Interesting side comment, feel free to ignore or skip over.
When I lived just off the campus of UofA in Tuscaloosa there were a lot of foreign students. One of my neighbors was from Thailand. He and his wife taught me to cook some authentic Thai dishes. Not what you get in American ‘Thai’ restaurants. We had some deep discussions on culture, cooking, and art.

He asked me several times how I became a decider. Kinda threw me at first. Finally I asked him what he meant and he told me the closest translation in Thai for a graphic artist or designer was not designer, that means something else. In Thai I am a decider. It makes sense. One decides how something should look and how to make it.

If you can’t see the drawing let me know, I’ll ink over it and repost.

 

[ashley_phil]

Decider what a great term and description!!

 

[Mike Davis]

Now I’m doubting myself. It feels a little tippy. I think the rear legs need to be set wider. The front leg is set back to allow more swing for the clamping bars. But it may also need more tilt for stability. I’ve started on the castle to hold the clamping platform and I may decide to use bolts instead of a wood dowel. If so I’ll have to bush the holes down to 9/16. I’ll ruminate overnight and take a fresh assessment in the morning.

 

[LocoWoodWork]

I rarely regret ruminating... The picture seems to suggest the rear legs could use more splay. It's looking great.

 

[ptt49er]

Looking good, Mike. I agree on the back legs,can't have momma rolling it over.

I'm interested to see the spoon holding/clamping arrangement.

Thanks for the pics!

 

[Mike Davis]

Remade the head with lighter, cheaper materials to test the geometry and ergonomics.

 

[ashley_phil]

looks good probably stable i'd think.

 

[Mike Davis]

Had a little success after some dumb moves today. I forgot to change the Forstner bit after the step stool class Saturday so I drilled the two leg holes too small. Had to turn some pine down to fill then re-drill with the correct bit. I like this leg angle much better. It feels more stable and I think it looks better as well.

I did not change the front leg, I kind of like the slight incline and the castle box balances better.. I may change it later, probably just shorten the leg a little.

This is exactly what we want, the new seat is 6 inches higher to fit Pam and me. The higher carving platform will be much easier on our backs as we won't be crouching over to work. And at shows I will be in a more upright stance to more easily talk to people and show them how to work.

 

[Mike Davis]

I bought a new Japanese pull saw to cut the tenons flush. Problem is... it's not a flush cut saw even though the catalog specifically said flush cut saw. And I made sure of that before I bought it. Normally I would just flatten the teeth, but this is fire-hardened (teeth only) and I don't want to grind it. The odd thing is that only about every tenth tooth is set. I looked but not that closely. That's why all the blue tape is on the seat. I guess I'll buy another saw.

Any recommendations for a good flush cut saw?

 

[Henry W]

I bought a new Japanese pull saw to cut the tenons flush. Problem is... it's not a flush cut saw even though the catalog specifically said flush cut saw. And I made sure of that before I bought it. Normally I would just flatten the teeth, but this is fire-hardened (teeth only) and I don't want to grind it. The odd thing is that only about every tenth tooth is set. I looked but not that closely. That's why all the blue tape is on the seat. I guess I'll buy another saw.

Any recommendations?

Return to vendor?

 

[Mike Davis]

Return to vendor?

No, I have used too much. And it cost around $10 so I’ll use it for something else.

 

[ptt49er]

I've really enjoyed this one.

https://a.co/d/0cD0eQOZ

 

[LocoWoodWork]

I've had good success with the small Irwin from Lowes, small, flat and sharp as they come. YRMV

EDIT... Just looked them up $39.00!!! That's crazy, I paid under $10.00 last time I purchased one.

 

[Mike Davis]

I really wanted a longer blade. The one I found was 11". I have 2 of the FatMax Stanley flush cut saws with 5" blade and supposed to be replaceable but I can't find the blades anywhere...

I just ordered a 2 pack similar to Phillip's link for $8. Will see what I get there.