A first attempt at carving a Kuksa

[Biker]

.... now the sandpaper comes out...

Insert sinister theme tune there "Dun... dun dun dun, DUN!"

No tto take away the hours of fun you're about to have sanding, but using a medium/course flat file on convex faces before using the sandpaper really shortens the work time. The inside of the bowl will just have to be done with elbow grease and patience. You can get that from B&Q

 

[Stringmaker]

Insert sinister theme tune there "Dun... dun dun dun, DUN!"

No tto take away the hours of fun you're about to have sanding, but using a medium/course flat file on convex faces before using the sandpaper really shortens the work time. The inside of the bowl will just have to be done with elbow grease and patience. You can get that from B&Q

Hmmm I never thought of using a file; I use a hardwood block with whatever grain of paper I need. I have the whole set of grits through 80 to 2000 if I want to get that silly. I also plan to try using a piece of abrasive wrapped around a round stone for the bowl so watch out for the next pics (probably w/c 19th March).

As an aside, I finally made a lovely mallet from a piece of Ash that I was happy with, and now I'm getting obsessive about finishing and fine sanding the handle on that!

Damn this green woodworking!

 

[Biker]

I also plan to try using a piece of abrasive wrapped around a round stone for the bowl

Now that's a really clever idea. I always end up using the end of my finger with glass paper wrapped around that hoping to get a decent finish. To be honest in the course of my carpentry work having to make concave surfaces smooth is not listed high. But when it comes to making stuff for fun like that Kuska you're doing little tips like that rounded stone wrapped in glass paper are brilliant. Thanks for that. You've taught a carpenter of 34 years experience something new. I'm chuffed to bit about learning it as well.

You do realise now you're going to have to show the mallet with the silky smooth handle in the next batch of pix.

 

[shaggystu]

...using a medium/course flat file on convex faces before using the sandpaper really shortens the work time......

this is a really good tip, all my old metal files get re-cycled as finishing tools for wood, probably wouldn't please the purists too much but it gives a lovely finish and saves a fortune on sandpaper.

 

[Stringmaker]

I'm back from the inconvenience of doing my proper job; did you miss me?

I've been busy with the 80 grit; where I left off last time I had the bowl inner roughed out and was beginning to round things off. I also worked out what I didn't like about the handle shape so have begun to round that off too:

Believe me; it took a lot of effort to get rid of all my tool marks!

Here's where I left things last night. As you can see there is now a bit of a curve to the whole profile which is much more pleasing to the eye. Eventually I want the whole shape to be a series of radii which flow into each other; we'll see how I get on..

TTFN

 

[TomBartlett]

So far so good I'd say. I really like the long handle with the lump at the end. Looking forward to see how it turns out.

 

[Rockmonkey]

Looking good there mate!
Bloody hard going ain't it!
I'm still in the early stages myself.
Keep up the good work!

 

[bikebum1975]

Lookin really nice

 

[Stringmaker]

Now that's a really clever idea. I always end up using the end of my finger with glass paper wrapped around that hoping to get a decent finish. To be honest in the course of my carpentry work having to make concave surfaces smooth is not listed high. But when it comes to making stuff for fun like that Kuska you're doing little tips like that rounded stone wrapped in glass paper are brilliant. Thanks for that. You've taught a carpenter of 34 years experience something new. I'm chuffed to bit about learning it as well.

You do realise now you're going to have to show the mallet with the silky smooth handle in the next batch of pix.

I missed this post when I last caught up with the thread; sorry for not responding sooner!

What is so great about this forum is that peeps are so generous with their advice and their praise; I feel quite honoured that you like my sandpaper/stone technique. I think I got the idea to use a stone for shaping the bowl from "Clan of The Cave Bear" so what goes around comes around.

I'll post a picture of my super smooth mallet later this week with the next batch!

 

[Stringmaker]

Looking good there mate!
Bloody hard going ain't it!
I'm still in the early stages myself.View attachment 9323View attachment 9324
Keep up the good work!

Thanks, yours is taking shape nicely too!

Yours is also much deeper than mine; I didn't have such a big limb to split. Mine is more of a teacup whilst yours is a pint mug!

 

[Stringmaker]

I gave the 80 grit some hammer last night and have now done with the coarse sanding. I'm finished with the shaping now as I like what I've got and I dare not mess about with it and ruin it. The tool marks have now gone:

And just for Biker, here is my mallet collection!

Guess which one has the obsessively sanded and oiled handle...

 

[Biker]

Hey nice looking mallets. I've never really got on using mallets in my day job, but hobby wise having a mallet might be a good thing. I like the idea of making it out of one solid chunk rather that forming a head with an handle inserted into it. Clever thinking that.

As for the generous praise that you're finding here. That's one of the things I like about being here on this forum too. People don't sneer or dimiss any decent peice of work that someone has sweated over. and good feedback motivates anyone to keep up that standard or even try harder. Plus the moderators are really on the ball and wouldn't allow someone to flame another.

Credit where it's due mate that's one lovely looking kuska, can't wait to see what it looks like all polished up. Oh and before you get to that stage of the finish have a gander at Wayland's work here at BCUK for a traditional Swedish finish. Here:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36720&highlight=

About using a stone with glass paper around it. I seem to recall Ayla used sand and stones to smooth her bowl out in Valley of the horses book. nice that you took it to the next logical level. Wouldn't have occured to me to try that techinique had I not been told.

Ok I've blathered on long enough, goona look at the lovely Kuska some more.

 

[Stringmaker]

Glad you like the mallets; the one back left was the first wooden object I ever made at a green woodworking introduction day at a local college. It struck me then what a great simple design it was because there are no weak points. Even when split, these things are very strong. I like just picking one up and weighing it in my hand; they are very tactile objects in their own right. The one in the front with the polished handle will be my "show mallet"!

Cheers for the interest in my efforts with the kuksa; I plan to make another one after this but leave it with the toolmarks on it. I'll post a pic of the charity shop example I bought which set me on this journey in the first place. I just saw Wayland's Kolrosing thread and funnily enough I did something similar on a much smaller scale to decorate my bow drill; I didn't know what the technique was called but I do now. I don't think my fine knife control is up to his standard and it would kill me if I made a mess of the kuksa after all these hours (approx 13 so far) so I think I'll just polish and oil it.

It will also only ever be used for water as I want to keep the grain rather than stain it with coffee.

Not far now!

 

[Stringmaker]

I've now finished with all the sanding; just for info I went right through the stages from 80, 120, 240, 360, 400 and 500 dry grit papers. These are from the car painting industry so the grades aren't the same as wet/dry paper.

The first coat of tung oil is now on and here's how it looks. The original inspiration for me making one is the nice charity shop kuksa at the back; as you can see mine differs somewhat!

Once I've got two more coats of oil on I'll post the final shots but I want to use natural daylight so it'll probably be Monday for the grand unveiling.

 

[addo]

Looking real smooth dude. Good work. I used to get my abrasives from a motorfactors. They must have thought i was a old car nut the amount i bought!

Sent from my LG-P500 using Tapatalk

 

[John Fenna]

Great Kuksa - great mallets too!
I have one mallet like that - made on a bushy meet - but I have abused it to the point that it looks more like an hourglass shape than a cylinder .... still a great tool though!

 

[Stringmaker]

Well folks, my journey with the kuksa is over. It's been an education in many ways, but also confirmed the simple pleasure to be had by making something yourself from a lump of wood.

To recap, I started here:

Then went via here:

To end up here:

The total work time was around 15 hours, probably 6 hours of which was the final sanding and oiling. I know that a purely functional cup could have been produced in half the time but I am convinced that early people would do what I did and take pride in making something the best it can be.

Thanks for the supportive comments along the way, I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Now to see if it leaks!