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  1. Stringmaker

    Small spoon

    Very nice indeed and nicely rescued. I am under no illusions as to my own skills; I can turn out some nice pieces but what I lack with the knife I have no shame about making up for with the abrasives. One of my early birch efforts has a tiny translucent part in the centre of the bowl but there...
  2. Stringmaker

    Made my first char cloth!

    Well done, I remember the first batch I ever made; it is great stuff. As Red said, it doesn't matter at all if the gas ignites at the hole, the cloth inside is not burning. You will definitely find that some cloth is better than others, depending on how heavy duty your source fabric was. Window...
  3. Stringmaker

    John Rae - Has a Wrong been Righted?

    He was done a great injustice indeed, and it is appropriate that he has at last been vindicated.
  4. Stringmaker

    What have you learned recently?

    I learned yesterday what a fascinating wood to work is Yew. I am in the process of making a spoon as a present for someone and I am deliberately breaking the rules of heartwood versus sapwood in order to get as much contrast in the layers as possible. I'll probably use this one as a practice...
  5. Stringmaker

    Going to Conwy - What to do?

    As has been said, you are in a great location there to do and get to all sorts of places. If it is still running then I thoroughly advise the Great Orme cable car. If the weather is clear then you will be ogling like a meerkat as the view develops with the ascent. Really really fabulous visual...
  6. Stringmaker

    Fire Cooked Up Early Human Culture

    Now I'm sure most of us don't need to be told about the hypnotic hold of the fireside after dark, but this looks to be quite interesting. http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/fire-cooked-up-early-human-culture/ "An anthropologist studying current hunter–gatherers finds that...
  7. Stringmaker

    Igniting a Dorito with a ferro rod?

    If anyone beats me to the experiment we need to know! P.S. I did see a US guy manage to ignite a pile of "Fritos" with a ferro rod but he didn't half have to work at it; he probably took an inch off the end to get them to catch.
  8. Stringmaker

    What have you learned recently?

    This is going to sound pretty lame but I learned the specific definition of a tree and a shrub. On a different note, I learned yesterday that the reason I've been feeling progressively worse over the last three weeks (after my op), and am unable to keep solids down is that I seem to have a...
  9. Stringmaker

    Igniting a Dorito with a ferro rod?

    Unfortunately the experiment will have to wait. I am a bit under the weather at the moment and so cancelled my demo session :(
  10. Stringmaker

    Igniting a Dorito with a ferro rod?

    I shall report back; I was just thinking of scraping the fine surface flavouring up a bit, just like outer birch bark. The perfect one stop survival and nutrition kit...
  11. Stringmaker

    Mrs told me off for this

    Well done you. She was the rude and ignorant one and needed bringing down a peg. I'm afraid I would have told her a few home truths about courtesy and customer service and then walked out.
  12. Stringmaker

    Hello from an American in Italy

    Great reason for joining. Nearer the time I have no doubt that if you could be specific with a time and location, some of the wonderful folks on here would be more than willing to show up in person. Also, if you have a time/location then it is a fair bet that you won't be far from some kind of...
  13. Stringmaker

    Igniting a Dorito with a ferro rod?

    Yes I know that one will burn with a flame ignition source, the same as prawn crackers. Has anyone got one to go up with just sparks? I am doing another fire lighting demo on Saturday and I like to throw in the odd quirky thing to engage people, especially if the whole subject is new to them...
  14. Stringmaker

    What shape striker / firesteel do you use?

    Like most people, one striker is never enough :) Here is my collection: The one I use virtually all the time though is the one on the log at the seven 'o clock position. I find that radius of curve is perfect for getting the maximum length of striking surface with one flick. I usually...
  15. Stringmaker

    Competition time...

    Righty ho, as promised, today is Monday so I shall reveal the answers. From left to right we have: Silver Birch Ash Ash (with bark mostly removed) Field Maple (bark removed then oiled) Hawthorn Sweet Chestnut I did say a couple of them were sneaky; not deliberately so, that is just how I...
  16. Stringmaker

    Competition time...

    Thanks; no I'm not a mason, just a very rudimentary spoon carver who likes making mallets for splitting.
  17. Stringmaker

    Competition time...

    Good efforts folks; there are a couple of sneaky ones which I shall reveal tomorrow. If I was entering this I'd only get one right!
  18. Stringmaker

    Competition time...

    Looks like someone could pick up Ray's book for a song here; I'll keep it going until Monday then wind it up.
  19. Stringmaker

    Competition time...

    There is still room for a winner folks, only two woods correct so far.
  20. Stringmaker

    What have you learned recently?

    There seems to be a lot of it about; open surgery is no picnic! Alas, hospitals these days get a bit nervous about people taking body parts home so the stones stayed with them. I reckon they would have polished up nicely.