wooden Xmas tree

[paul60]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yWmqbltB-c

[genek]

That is Very neat. That could be done on a indexer, as far as turning and you could hold the trunk on the indexer as well.

thanks for sharing.

[bcondon]

I think there is too much joy to want to automate the making of the tree trunks. This is pure art form at work... Thanks for bringing it to us.

I can only assume that they are using a wood like basswood. It is very light in color but grainless... Any other thoughts?

Have a great day!

Bob

[genek]

Bob the only part that you could automate is the tapering of the trunk. the indexer is a lathe that is turned by motor controlled by the computer. the actual turning even on a lathe is simple, so using the indexer does not take away from the project. It is the hand slicing the thin slits of wood to get them to curl is the only had part of the project that requires any talent. The indexer would hold the taper while you sliced the thin slits of wood.
This way you do not need to have a separate lathe

[chiloquinruss]

My dad was a woodcarver and his tools were always that sharp! I should'a paid more attention when he tried to teach me how to sharpen them! :eek: Thanks for sharing the video, very nice work. Russ

[scottp55]

Excellent post-Again what wood? I wonder how many fire starters were made before he got it down pat. Where's my strop?:)

[Burkhardt]

It is "Linde" in German so I guess that is Basswood here.

I admire the steady hand. One slip and the piece is ruined.

[myxpykalix]

It's amazing what you can do with a sharp chisel and soft wood:D:eek:

[scottp55]

I remember my Gramp making "Fuzzsticks" with his razor sharp jacknife. First thing in the morning You'd toss one on the woodstove coals before your kindling, looked like these. Asked him to sharpen my boy scout knife once on a camping trip so I could try it. He went down to the lake shore and poked around for a bit, picked up a dark flat rock and in five minutes handed it back and said"There you go-sharp enough to skin a fish with".
A man of few words. Wish I'd paid more attention- OR- kept the rock:)

[bcondon]

I have a full metal working machine shop that was my Dad's. He was as good as they got. I failed to spend more time with him in the shop. Sad thing today is that may be 2 places that an ADULT can get trained in 100 miles,

In Springfield Mass, there is a program to teach metal working and some cad. Th program is given by the state and it is 3 days a week, 6 hours each session. Almost all graduates have jobs at Smith and Wesson. (That is 2 hours from me).

I know the teacher and he said that 1/2 the class randomly shows up and the few that are "serious" do very well. He feels that a lot of his time is a waste,
but he does get a stipend for teaching,

I got the basics down but need some machine time on setup and bolting down fixturing... sharpening tools on the grinder and understanding the geometry of the grind...

-----

Adam
I use a flat clipboard with two of the clamps onto on clipboard. This holds the sand paper uniformly. I then use a holder for a chisel to get the right angle. I start with 320 paper (garnet) then go through the grits up to 2000 emery cloth. It is an inexpensive solution and the chisels are so much safer when they are sharp!

I can send pictures if interested.

Merry Christmas

Bob Condon

[mikeacg]

I'd love to see those pictures Bob! I too wish I had paid better attention to my late Father...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Mike

[chiloquinruss]

Isn't it just amazing how smart and clever our folks were now that we are older! :D My dad was a master woodcarver and I learned a lot from him. I hated the paint / finish part so I never paid attention to that part. BAD MISTAKE! :eek: I learned about hand tools from him but should have paid more attention to their care and feeding! I miss him a lot. He would have loved where technology is taking the shop arts and crafts with cnc, 3d printers, laser cutters, 3d scanners, and . . . .

Merry Christmas to all here and hope you never break another bit! Russ