Category Archives: Woodwork +
Items I make from wood
Beautiful Australian timber bowls
Beautiful Australian timber bowls
Beautiful wooden bowls hand made from rescued timber. Because the wood is rescued from storm felled branches i is a sustainable source.
I personally hand carved them using an adze, and knives. No power tools have been used in their shaping.
Bowl 1
From an unknown timber, it has aged in the log and has nice spalting (a discolouration caused by fungus – prized as a finish) that creates an appealing pattern.
Measuring 340x180x50mm it is a useful size for many needs.
click to enlarge
Bowl 2
Hand carved from Hoop Pine, a timber that helped build the state of Queensland (found as floor boards, wall boards and some furniture in late 19th century homes) this bowl displays the amazing sheen found in this timber. Fashioned from rescued timber from a big fallen branch, it features the lighter sapwood and darker heartwood at its bottom
Measuring 330x95x25mm it is perfect for smaller bowl needs.
click to enlarge
If you want a wonderful timber item, this is for you! (or as a gift 😉 ).
Spoon carving workshop Gift Voucher
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Spoon carving workshops are increasing in popularity.
Many people who may not want to do a workshop themselves but maybe they know someone who would.
What better gift than a voucher for a traditional wood spoon carving workshop!
Now you can gift the gift of a workshop by purchasing a voucher. These cover the cost of a workshop in Toowoomba.
The recipient will be able to select one of the upcoming workshop dates (updated every month) and choose one to suit their timetable.
Note: Vouchers are applicable to Toowoomba based workshops only, or cover most cost of Brisbane workshop.
Purchase a voucher:
Please complete this form so we know your details and those of the recipient:
Shark wooden sculptures (For Sale)
Shark sculptures
All shark sculptures are hand carved. Custom orders taken
Hammerhead shark (sold)
Carved from Jacaranda timber, this hammerhead shark has been finished with raw linseed oil and natural beeswax.
Price is A$60 incl postage to Australia – overseas buyers please contact me.
Half a great white shark
This hand carved art sculpture of a Great White Shark is made from Australian Lilly Pilly timber.
The item is one-off has been made using only carving axe and specialist knives. No power tools.
The timber has a raw wood finish that features other tool marks and slight imperfections that liken the sculpture to a real shark with life scars!
The object can be wall mounted or affixed to a board. The item includes basic wall hanging fixtures.
The item can be finished in a natural plant oil finish at small extra cost.
Length 215mm (8.5″”)
Can be shipped world-wide
Price $85 incl domestic shipping
Click images for larger
Hammerhead shark (sold)
Several of these have been made. Custom orders accepted. Pricing A$50-70.
Baby shark (sold)
Turtles
In keeping with my leaning to marine creatures that breath air there is also the turtle. So I whittled some turtles from wood. This differs from carving wood in that I use a pocket knife, not chisels.
Turtles are a ubiquitous sea creature found in tropical and subtropical waters. Perhaps it is their journey from the sandy nests on beaches as small, cute creatures. So my first effort was to mimic one of these hatchlings.
Turtle hatchling from timber from local park. Approx 5cm long.
Below is a leatherback turtle – made from paperbark wood. Beeswax finish.
Galley of Items (SOLD)
This is a small selection of items sold. Many, many sell at markets and are never photographed
Hand crafted using just a small tomahawk and special spoon carving knives, these attractive serving spoons are unique one-of-a-kind items.
Finished with a light coat of food grade linseed oil or kunos oil.
Commissions accepted for yourself or as a totally unique Christmas gift, wedding or birthday gift idea.
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- Qld Blue gum spoon
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- Brisbane Golden Wattle ladle – sold
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- Pecan spoon with decorative handle – sold
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- Whale – Brazilian Pepper – sold
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- Baby sharl -sold
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- Hammerhead shark sold
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- Great White shark – sold
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- Plum wood 1 tsp measuring
A pod of whales
UPDATED JAN 2017
I suppose collectively the images here represent a pod of whales.
My whittling is done using a pocket knife, and sandpaper. I sometimes use a round file on tails where there is risk of the wood breaking. In desperate situations, such as the first whale on this page, I had to resort to using a tomahawk to remove some of the excess timber, such was the hardness of the wood, but these measures are a rarity.
I like the lines of the Sperm Whale, plus unlike many other whales, they do not have long flippers so this suits the smaller wood pieces to which I have easy access – including old branches from trees in parks.
click to enlarge
The whale above was made for my youngest daughter’s 16th birthday. Sperm Whale from hardwood. 30+ hours work. 17cm long. I like the grain pattern and the opportunistically placed knot for the eye. Made use of a natural borer hole and sandstone pebble from local park to mount it.
This was a quicky little sperm whale. Only 5cm long. Again a fortunate knot allows him to see. From a bit of stick from the park…
Sperm Whale from willow found in park. 13cm long. A much easier whittling task. Permanently mounted on the stone.
Two sperm whales, Cyprus pine and willow wood. About 13cm long.
My take on a baby blue whale carved from Willow wood. Pectoral fins are a bit small. Just resting on wood for photographic purposes.
A smiling blue whale – interpretive piece. Carved from Olive wood. Took 30 hours.
Platypus – whittling the egg-laying marsupial
The Platypus, Australia’s famous egg-laying marsupial had presented a wood whittling challenge for me.
I had tried once before to whittle a platypus and it ended up looking like a wooden blob. Much scouring of the internet for a more graceful pose has resulted in this rendition, made for my daughter’s 21st birthday gift.
The wood is willow, from a tree on the family property that had died before her birth, but the wood kept for special projects such as this.
The item measures 23.5cm long
School of fish
Fish are a recent topic for my whittling so here is a school of fish.
So far I have used smaller scraps of timber to whittle my small fish. Oddly, I have found them to be rather more involved than they seem, with access around the fins (acting as ‘legs’) requiring careful blade work with the pocketknife . The initial idea came from a rather off trout-like fish made of rubber, that was attached to a hair band that I found on the roadside one day.
Like with other whittling, I favour easy to work timber, though at times this can cause problems due to a lack of strength of the wood.
This little fish is only 8cm long. Whittled from Pinus Radiata, the most common type of pine used in building frames and just about every other softwood use including even in ‘country style’ furniture. Mounting on the stone provided a useful way to display this in a meaningful way.
Woolly Pine from southern Queensland transformed into a hungry fish.
The final in this style of fish…timber is willow