Introduction

Tool making is an art that goes hand in hand with creating things in wood. The many diverse carving and sculpture traditions of the world are reflected in the kinds of tools that are used to produce them.

NW Coast-style carving tools are adapted to the kinds of sculptural shapes that are characteristic of the woodwork from this area: Many objects are composed of rounded hollows and graceful curves, both convex and concave. The tools employed to create these forms, adzes and curved knives, need to be shaped so that they work with these sculptural forms, not against them.

We offer this as  a beginner's class. It is an easy way to acquire the carving tools you'll need to explore traditional NW style caving. Experienced carvers can take this course to learn more about the history of their tools and how to make and maintain their tools.

Class Description

In this class we will use the techniques of the blacksmith: Forging, grinding, bending, hardening, tempering, etc., to create comfortable hand tools that can be used to carve a large variety of sculptural forms, some typical of Northwest Coast woodwork, or others that range from free-form sculpture to boatbuilding. These tools are widely adaptable, and their ease of handling and effective cutting power can be applied to many different kinds of woodwork.

Carving adzes are the foundation of this kind of work, and we will begin by making blades for two sizes of ‘elbow’ adze, one for larger wood removal jobs and one for smaller more detailed shaping. These same tools are also used to produce the characteristic marks known as ‘finish adzing’, a traditional tool-made pattern of chip-marks arranged in rows on the surface of a carved form.

The handles of these adzes will be made from tree branches, or elbows, either of alder or maple, both of which are excellent woods for this application. The blades are fastened to the handles with strong seine twine, in a modern version of the simple but highly effective aboriginal technique.

The second project for the class will be making straight and/or curved carving knives, using material from commercial mill-type bandsaw blades made of Swedish steel. The blades will be ground, then heated and bent to shape, and then hardened and tempered to give them a hard cutting edge that is also not too difficult to sharpen.

These blades can be mounted in any variety of harder wood for a handle, including some of the more highly figured or beautifully colored species.

During this class we setup a small metalworking shop - complete with forge, anvils, grinders. Check out this blog entry to get a sense of the class

Tools / What to bring:

• Personal protection.
  Ear and eye proection. Shop apron/overalls. Heavy shoes or boots, not sneakers.  Plus work gloves if desired. 
• Knife Handle blank material (Optional): 
  Basic handle blanks will be provided. Bring your favorite small block plane for shaping and smoothing these out. Bring your own material for this if you have some appropriate pieces on hand! [Handle blanks should be about 1” x 1 ½” x 8” (or more) in length.] 
• Adze Handle Blanks (Optional but recommended): 
  Alder, maple, or (cherry, any fruitwood, yew, locust, etc.) tree branches with close to a 45 degree angle between a handle-sized arm (at least 15 inches long x 1 inch diameter) and the blade-side arm (at least 8 inches long x 1.5 inch diameter), if you can get them. Both arms need to be straight and ‘in line’ with one another. Usable examples will be provided for those without access to handle stock.

More about this class

• Class Notes
• Blog Entries

Prerequisites

Note: You do not need prior metalworking experience to take this course.

Class Information and Registration

Class starts at 6:00pm on the Friday with the Course Introduction over potluck snacks.

Please read our What to Expect page for general information about the School.

Please also read our Registration Policy.

Coming Classes:

When you click on the Register link you will be able to register for the class or, if the class is full, sign up for the wait list.