Carving A Spiral

[rickm]

that 1 inch wood doesnt leave much room
3333333333333333

[Just Carving]

I understand your concerns with symmetry. But to be honest, it's not all that easy carving a perfectly symmetric piece. And I have carved a few of the twist sticks. I can follow the linework, but often times, the grain has a mind of its own. So, I ended up making adjustments as I went along.

Bob L

[BeaverDon]

You're right about that. I figure striving for the "perfect" once in a while makes me a better carver. But I like a little imperfection in a carving. A yes, the wood is usually "the boss", kinda like my wife. She lets me think I'm in charge - up to a point!

[tomrsey]

Very nice video! I enjoyed watching that one and others on the site. Thanks for posting it.

[rickm]

i do have a question, the video depicts carving a 4 sided spiral, I have seen two and three sided spirals. might you have any idea on how the dimensions might go for a two sided or three sided spiral/?? thanks. you can emial me if you want at
rick@meiresonne.net

[BeaverDon]

A two-sided spiral is easy, just leave out two opposite twists - carve them off. I think you'd need a rounded (conical) blank for three sides. I'd then take a strip of papar, wrap it aaround and mark it to exact size. Then cut it so, when wrapped, the two end meet exactly. Then divide the paper into thirds, either by measuring or or by folding. Then usit those paper as a template to transfer the marks to the cone and scribe the lines from those points down to the tip. The rest would be he same as the four-sided one.

[arbarnhart]

About 16 minute (you can drag the slider) into this episode:

Barley Twist Table, Pt.2 . Watch Episodes Online . Woodwright's Shop with Roy UnderHill | PBS

of The WoodWright's Shop, Roy explains and demonstrates how to lay out a barley twist (spiral) with a paper template. I took a one day class with him at the Woodwright's School and the barley twist was one of the projects (I took the "one piece workshop" where we made a few things, each from one piece of wood). I made mine into a (sadly still not complete) snake that you can roll a marble down:

[BeaverDon]

Thanks Andy. That is the best way to layout a round spiral. The saw kerf is a great idea too.

[BeaverDon]

A few more ideas in Part 3.