Brian-- The heraldic "arms" of the European cooper's guilds usually included the three main tools of the trade: the short-handled broadax to hew staves, the croze to cut the groove for the head, and the set-up hoops. That is, a graduated set of hoops in all sizes, stout enough to pound on for years, is a main tool. When I worked in the cooper shop at the Ozark Folk Center, there was already a partial set there, made by the blacksmiths of mild steel bar stock, about 1/2 inch wide by 1/8 or 3/16 thick, arc welded solid and ground smooth. These were then rounded and splayed (tapered) by hammering down on a mandrel (a heavy steel cone) to stretch the lower edge. The thickness gave good purchase for the wooden hoop drivers we used. (My teacher was from Appalachia, and his were of laurel-- I made mine of persimmon, with a few of dogwood.) But the splay was never sufficient on many of them, and I had to hammer them out and re-round them.Brian Sayers wrote:Where can a person buy holding hoops for making wooden buckets that you use while making the bucket before replacing them with
The permanent hoops that you make
N.Y. Anzai wrote:I'm a complete novice. Never done any kind if woodcarving at all but I'd love to be able to. Where do you recommend I start learning? (Online only as i'm in Japan) and what tools will I need to carve a spoon? Thank you! :)
Whitney Dee wrote:
kevin stewart wrote:Hi
Where is your welsh love spoon?
My husband is Welsh and was taught spoon carving by his uncle.
Is there any way to keep the wood from drying so quickly? On my first ladle, I ended up having to scrap it because I didn’t finish it before it dried too much to carve.
Dave Burton wrote:I recently finished reading The One-Straw Revolution by Msanobu Fukuoka, and I also started and finished Holy Cows and Hog Heaven by Joel Salatin.
I am now reading The Road Back to Nature by Masanobu Fukuoka. Right now, I think it is just quite interesting from the prefaces how much Masanobu Fukuoka has grown and developed since he wrote The One-Straw Revolution.
denise ra wrote:Are you coopers making a living at this craft?