Holding stuff down...

[Teal]

So, how do people hold bowls, kuksa's etc in place whilst adzing? I have had a look at the Robin Wood bowl mate idea, but I also quite like the look of the 'table with holes in and bits of metal' used by the chap in the video below. (7 mins in) Does anyone here use this system? What mechanism keeps the metal in place, are the holes just tight, or does it rely on lateral force on the tops applying a twisting motion? Do the holes eventually wear out and become too loose? Where could one acquire said bits of metal?

Does anyone have a cheaper, simpler technique?

Thanks, Teal.

 

[knifeman]

I can't see the video but I thing you talking about a holdfast. I think the way they worry is the hole in the bench is angled away from the work piece and just smacking it in with a mallet holds it in. And you can buy them off a number of blacksmiths.
Sorry I couldn't really explain how it works


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[Robson Valley]

I've got several different ways to hold a bowl for carving.
Anything smaller isn't adze work, even the Baby Sitka from Kestrel Tool.

Big feast bowls can be held down with carver's screws. A 12" x 8" x 24" feast bowl takes two CS into waste wood beneath the end/handle locations.
A strap clamp works OK but I've cut more than a few straps by accident.
Make a sand bag, about 2" thick. The carvings actually sit down in the sand better than I imagined.
A sheet of cheap foam mesh for cupboard liners is nice and sticky. Quick wash in hot soapy water clears off the dust.

Never carved a Kuksa. From what I have seen, you will wind up holding it in one hand and carving with some sort of crooked knife, held in the other hand.

My go-to method involved drilling out the guts of the dish void with a Forstner bit, say 3/4" diameter.
Next step is to bash out the webbing between the holes.
Maybe go deeper as needed, repeating the process.
All of the clean-up and finishing is done with PacNW native style crooked knife carving tools.
I have a bunch of different brands.

 

[Wild wandering woodsman]

6"x6" piece of 1/2" ply whack four 3/4" nails through the centre approx 1/2 inch apart. Turn the ply upside down so the points of the nails are facing up. Screw to your work bench and tap the bowl/kuksa onto the nails and it should hold fast enough to do your hollowing, works for me 😊


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[Teal]

Oops, you're right knifeman, I forgot to put the link in

https://youtu.be/-vf0hH9lBnk

A quick google reveals that it is indeed a holdfast I am after, thanks!

 

[Teal]

..........

 

[Gary Elson]

Hi Teal
I've just built a bowl mate mainly cos I couldn't get me hands on a big enough log for basic chopping !
I really like it especially the angled end notch bit only criticism I have is the fact it's four legged which means on uneven surfaces it can wobble a bit.
I'll post some photos later.
Gary

 

[Gary Elson]

Here's my version of the bowl mate rough and ready but works well