Birch burls waiting in the wings.

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
There are maybe 6-8 different kinds of totem poles here in the Pacific Northwest. Among the First Nations, true totems are family heritage, that house pole says who you are, your ancestors and where you're from. Interior house posts, mortuary poles, welcome figures and so on. I don't carve those as I am not entitled to use the totems.

Anybody can carve story poles. Maybe they are reminders, maybe like mine, they are illustrated lessons for little kids to learn.

I can buy beautiful split 5" x 5" x 64" western red cedar posts from a local mill.
Then I picked out 2 of them and used adzes and a draw knife to round them off.
I made birch bark templates of the different sized caterpillars and did the drawings.
I used a RotoZip (18,000rpm?) to outline the body forms.
>>> in the midst of all this, my health failed badly. I claim that I'll be 2 years old on August 21 after some dramatic internal repairs. I do have after-market parts now.
So the greatest possible news is that I'm happy to be back at it again. Slow, but I'm in the shop and that's what counts. Not just because it was 111F yesterday and 72 in the shop, either. Melt your eyebrows but dry heat.

This is the frog pole in a carving bench. I can raise and lower the carving that stands on a movable shelf: Top frog was yet to be finished.
 

Attachments

  • BENCHFs.jpg
    BENCHFs.jpg
    106.9 KB · Views: 11
  • Like
Reactions: quietone

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Hope that this isn't too scrambled. I have no common sense when it comes to filing pictures and I've been out of the game for a couple of years.
I think this will be the caterpillars started. I have not yet planned all the egg things for the bottom of the pole. Butterfly body is sort of roughed out. No process pictures for a very long time.
 

Attachments

  • STORY B.JPG
    STORY B.JPG
    113.6 KB · Views: 11
  • STORY H.jpg
    STORY H.jpg
    103.4 KB · Views: 11
  • Like
Reactions: quietone

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
Sorry to hear about your health. Glad you're on the mend. That's awesome RV. An interesting and useful carving for all to appreciate. Love the idea of an informative story of nature for children to grasp. The bench is inspiring for me. I keep telling myself that I need to fashion one. It would make carving a lot easier for me. Have been grasping the burl between leather protected knees in order to use both hands on the tool. Smoothed the outside earlier and rubbed on a little food grade walnut oil to see the grain pop out. Never fails to make me smile.
 

Attachments

  • 20210629_163531.jpg
    20210629_163531.jpg
    125.1 KB · Views: 8
  • 20210629_163552.jpg
    20210629_163552.jpg
    121.2 KB · Views: 8
  • 20210629_163604.jpg
    20210629_163604.jpg
    319.1 KB · Views: 8
  • Love
Reactions: Robson Valley

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Thanks. That kuksa is going to be gallery grade. AND, I can dismiss the notion of needing a stereotypical handle. Coffee in the big part, Gran Marnier in the little part and tip it over, so very carefully. The carving woods we have here are as dull as dirt.

I like story poles. There's no cultural misappropriation from here and the pole might describe an epic family adventure. There's a new (10 yrs) story pole in Jasper National Park just east of my place. The story of 2 brothers. Carved by the Edenshaw boys and some apprentices. I can never remember the whole story. It's in the JNP website, somewhere. I see a problem as the pole has to face north so all the carvings are in shade all the time. Kind of dull.

Anybody wants to do story poles and crib my ideas, go right ahead. Some parts are as much fun as watching paint dry. My poles are unlike others as I have carved in the round, all sides. Most other poles are carved to be seen from one side only.

I had to go out this afternoon. Fluck, anyway! 101F outside my front door. Went down only to 70F last night. The mountain ranges are only 3-5 miles from my house, we can watch the snow-pack melting from day to day. That makes for 40F water in my kitchen. Should taste pretty good from that kuksa.
 

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
Thanks. That kuksa is going to be gallery grade. AND, I can dismiss the notion of needing a stereotypical handle. Coffee in the big part, Gran Marnier in the little part and tip it over, so very carefully. The carving woods we have here are as dull as dirt.

I like story poles. There's no cultural misappropriation from here and the pole might describe an epic family adventure. There's a new (10 yrs) story pole in Jasper National Park just east of my place. The story of 2 brothers. Carved by the Edenshaw boys and some apprentices. I can never remember the whole story. It's in the JNP website, somewhere. I see a problem as the pole has to face north so all the carvings are in shade all the time. Kind of dull.

Anybody wants to do story poles and crib my ideas, go right ahead. Some parts are as much fun as watching paint dry. My poles are unlike others as I have carved in the round, all sides. Most other poles are carved to be seen from one side only.

I had to go out this afternoon. Fluck, anyway! 101F outside my front door. Went down only to 70F last night. The mountain ranges are only 3-5 miles from my house, we can watch the snow-pack melting from day to day. That makes for 40F water in my kitchen. Should taste pretty good from that kuksa.
I feel for you in that heat. I get grotty when the temps get like that. Must be hard for you guys over there not used to the heat. I think I'll extend the natural sipping edge around the cup, for convenience to the drinker. Also thinking about attaching a leather cord somwhere on it. Possible on the base. It will not sit level on a flat surface anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Robson Valley

bobnewboy

Native
Jul 2, 2014
1,292
847
West Somerset
I feel for you in that heat. I get grotty when the temps get like that. Must be hard for you guys over there not used to the heat. I think I'll extend the natural sipping edge around the cup, for convenience to the drinker. Also thinking about attaching a leather cord somwhere on it. Possible on the base. It will not sit level on a flat surface anyway.
If you can attach a leather cord or thong, you could make a belt toggle to go on the free end of the cord, like the Canadian Voyageurs did for their cups/noggins. It might be possible to make the toggle a suitable shape to set under your cup, so it sits up on a flat surface. For example, if the cup was spherical or evenly round, you could make a circular ring out of some similar equally lovely wood for the cup to sit in/upon. When the cup isn’t in use, the toggle is passed up between your belt and trousers and flopped over the belt. The belt tension keeps the cup hanging from the cord and the toggle keeps it there :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: quietone

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Bring your kuksa. Today is grocery shopping day so there should be a wide variety of drinks. Drink Canada Dry, as we say (that's a common drink brand).

Question: How thick is the kuksa? Any traditional number?

The Fraser River is flooding, people moving livestock to higher ground. Hot nights up top and the snow pack is melting 1m/24 hrs in some places. All rock of course so nothing soaks in, it's all run-off.

We might see daytime highs back down in the 20's in a week. It's the hot nights that I find uncomfortable. I'm hoping that this heat breaks with one hell of a wild thunderstorm. Rare thing, here.
 

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
If you can attach a leather cord or thong, you could make a belt toggle to go on the free end of the cord, like the Canadian Voyageurs did for their cups/noggins. It might be possible to make the toggle a suitable shape to set under your cup, so it sits up on a flat surface. For example, if the cup was spherical or evenly round, you could make a circular ring out of some similar equally lovely wood for the cup to sit in/upon. When the cup isn’t in use, the toggle is passed up between your belt and trousers and flopped over the belt. The belt tension keeps the cup hanging from the cord and the toggle keeps it there :)
That is an excellent suggestion. Thank you.
 

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
Bring your kuksa. Today is grocery shopping day so there should be a wide variety of drinks. Drink Canada Dry, as we say (that's a common drink brand).

Question: How thick is the kuksa? Any traditional number?

The Fraser River is flooding, people moving livestock to higher ground. Hot nights up top and the snow pack is melting 1m/24 hrs in some places. All rock of course so nothing soaks in, it's all run-off.

We might see daytime highs back down in the 20's in a week. It's the hot nights that I find uncomfortable. I'm hoping that this heat breaks with one hell of a wild thunderstorm. Rare thing, here.
The walls vary in thickness. Currently all areas under 8mm roughly. There is still thinning to do. But have to be careful not to take too much off in some areas. Think I'll have a crack at carving a birch leaf toggle and maybe shape it to allow the cup to sit level. A suggestion gratefully received.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Robson Valley

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
So it didn't didn't take long to realise that the chaotic shape of the burl will not sit safely, while using a birch leaf as a crutch. So I'm thinking maybe a curled leaf shape would maybe do the trick. Or am I just complicating things? Surely the user would like to be able to set it down, and not worry about the contents? I'll make one, and see what transpires. At the least, it can be a toggle.
 

bobnewboy

Native
Jul 2, 2014
1,292
847
West Somerset
So it didn't didn't take long to realise that the chaotic shape of the burl will not sit safely, while using a birch leaf as a crutch. So I'm thinking maybe a curled leaf shape would maybe do the trick. Or am I just complicating things? Surely the user would like to be able to set it down, and not worry about the contents? I'll make one, and see what transpires. At the least, it can be a toggle.
I didn’t say it would be easy :) :)

However, for a stable contact, the leaf and cup only need to touch at three points - perhaps three of the bumpy projections of the burl at reasonable spacing. Once you have decided upon those three points, any other point of contact becomes superfluous. In order to use the same three points over and over, without too much fuss, you need to make the leaf match up with a notable point (projection of the drinking edge?) on the cup, as an indicator for use. So, for example, the leaf base/toggle shape could mirror the overall shape of the cup, and then you’d know that when they are aligned, the cup should sit upon the leaf in a stable manner.
 
  • Like
Reactions: quietone

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
Hey chaps. Not been able to do any carving or related due to other commitments. So I've decided to leave the latest one 'as is' I'll not attempt to try and fashion a way to lay it safely with a beverage inside. It's usable as it is. So if anyone would like to have it, free of charge, just reply to this post. Its had a light coating of food grade wallnut oil to the exterior. So not suitable for nut allergists. I can post foc to mainland uk only, sorry.
 

Attachments

  • 20210925_110722.jpg
    20210925_110722.jpg
    204.9 KB · Views: 13

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
Hey chaps. Not been able to do any carving or related due to other commitments. So I've decided to leave the latest one 'as is' I'll not attempt to try and fashion a way to lay it safely with a beverage inside. It's usable as it is. So if anyone would like to have it, free of charge, just reply to this post. Its had a light coating of food grade wallnut oil to the exterior. So not suitable for nut allergists. I can post foc to mainland uk only, sorry.
No takers for the free cup then? Was hoping someone would want it, being free to a good home.
 

rich d2

Tenderfoot
Jan 10, 2019
90
52
51
Nottingham
No takers for the free cup then? Was hoping someone would want it, being free to a good home.
Hi, I'd love the cup, it's stunning, tried carving one last year and it was a disaster. Didn't feel as mainly a lurker that I should jump in, plus my stand solution probably won't be up to the quality of work on the cup. But if it's still up for grabs I'd love it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: quietone

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
He
Hi, I'd love the cup, it's stunning, tried carving one last year and it was a disaster. Didn't feel as mainly a lurker that I should jump in, plus my stand solution probably won't be up to the quality of work on the cup. But if it's still up for grabs I'd love it.
Hey. Yes pal, still available. Hope you get some good use out of it. Pm me your address and I'll send it out
 

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
Made another one. This time for my lad, as he's enjoying his hot chocolate these days. Nice rounded shape for his little hands.
 

Attachments

  • 20220221_101541.jpg
    20220221_101541.jpg
    94.1 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220221_101546.jpg
    20220221_101546.jpg
    100.6 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220221_101557.jpg
    20220221_101557.jpg
    97.9 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220221_101609.jpg
    20220221_101609.jpg
    112.2 KB · Views: 5
Last edited:

quietone

Full Member
May 29, 2011
820
93
Wales
Fashioned another one. Started during the last and finished, apart from sanding the inside, over the last couple days hiding from the news.
A change in shape dictated by the original cut diagonal accross the burl. It was a tough carve, very dry and the grain chaotic. Thoroughly enjoyed though and did a lot to lighten my mood.
 

Attachments

  • 20220227_154137.jpg
    20220227_154137.jpg
    236.1 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220227_154146.jpg
    20220227_154146.jpg
    224.6 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220207_121847.jpg
    20220207_121847.jpg
    159.5 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220227_154154.jpg
    20220227_154154.jpg
    270.2 KB · Views: 6
  • 20220227_150422.jpg
    20220227_150422.jpg
    148.3 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220227_150432.jpg
    20220227_150432.jpg
    138.8 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220227_150740.jpg
    20220227_150740.jpg
    258.5 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220206_133955.jpg
    20220206_133955.jpg
    190.2 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220206_151618.jpg
    20220206_151618.jpg
    126.4 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220206_150446.jpg
    20220206_150446.jpg
    155.2 KB · Views: 5
  • 20220206_142307.jpg
    20220206_142307.jpg
    151.3 KB · Views: 6
  • 20220221_160815.jpg
    20220221_160815.jpg
    152.4 KB · Views: 6
  • 20220224_151804.jpg
    20220224_151804.jpg
    135.1 KB · Views: 6
  • 20220202_160008.jpg
    20220202_160008.jpg
    190 KB · Views: 6
  • 20220227_152615.jpg
    20220227_152615.jpg
    357.2 KB · Views: 5

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE