squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 21hThanks! If I can ever get an online store set up maybe I'll make a few for sale if I can also get my metal working skills (and tools) up to the task of making a sellable version. 010
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I'm a pretty rubbish knife grinder and it always takes me about three tries to get a bevel that actually cuts. This one is about half way there. I had it sharp but there were serrations leaving an ugly surface so I ground those out but now I can't get it sharp again. Sigh. 020
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 06/10/2026A tiny scorp for tiny spoons. I want to make a bunch of pinch spoons for salt pigs but my regular hook knife is way too big. So I took some time today to make a scorp that actually fits into the bowls of these little spoons. #woodworking #carving #spooncarving #toolmaking #knifemaking 2112
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 04/10/2026This one's great. I agree he did an excellent job. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Roughly cylindrical. It's hollowed on the lathe like you would a regular lathe turned box. 010
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Got through the rough carving of four spoons and spatulas. On a scale of horrid to fabulous I give this alder a sold "meh" for carvability. It splits so easily that it's nearly impossible to get a clean surface, I'll have to sand the final shape in to these once they're dryer. #spooncarving 020
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Yeah, that's a sensible approach. 010
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Beech box with charred oak lid. This is the last one of this set for a while, much larger . This one will be a gift. The charring process changed the shape of the knob, it's no longer round. I can't decide if I like the fire damaged look or not. Should I remake it? #woodworking #woodturning 2100
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Spoon day! My stock is running low which means that I get to whittle forever to catch up. Alder blanks. #woodworking #whittling #spooncarving 190
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026My favorite glassblowing demo story is from a teacher I had. She was demoing and someone in the crowd bought the piece straight off the pipe. She agreed to ship it once it was cool and later got an angry letter complaining that what they had received wasn't the glowing orange vase they'd seen. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I really like that charred oak. There's a real risk of me just using it for everything for a while. 000
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026I normally prefer matte or satin finishes on my wood but these seem like they might benefit from something glossier. I could still put shellac on them. Maybe I'll try it on one. 100
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Elm boxes with charred oak lids. I was intrigued by the shape of the egg cups I made yesterday so I decide to try something more ambitious along similar lines. Pretty pleased with how they came out. #woodworking #woodturning #box 390
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I love demoing at markets. I often carve spoons or spin and sometimes people get super excited which is amazing fun. I bet something more spectacular like lampwork will get a lot of attention. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026It's not your typical fantasy book. I think there is a defensible reading of it where none of the fantastical elements are real. It's very ambiguous, which is what I like best. And his other books (that I've read so far) are even less fantasy, they're more just folk lore and occultism inspired. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026For Crowley, the easiest to find will probably be Little/Big, which is quite good. I liked Ægypt even better. And The Translator is also good, but a different tone. It's a cold war story with no fantastical elements. For Mervyn Peake you should start with Titus Groan. It is transcendent. 010
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I like Willis. The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog are by far my favorites of hers. To me she always feels a bit like "what if A. S. Byatt wrote science fiction?" Which isn't a bad thing. 120
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Yeah, he uses both western occultism and fairy lore very effectively in his stories. John Dee shows up in several books. If you go straight to him on (contemporary satire of) early modern occultism/alchemy/hermeticism he edited an edition of The Chemical Wedding which is quite good. 120
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Wow. Kind of unnerving. I've hit a few nails with the band saw, which is always sad, but at least it doesn't start a fire. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Oh, interesting. The only others I've read by here are some of the George Felse books. Which are good but not as charming as Cadfael. Terry Pratchett is always a joy. I never really connected with Bradbury for some reason. Recently I've been focused on John Crowley and Mervyn Peake, both excellent. 210
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Graham Greene ❤️. Though I haven't actually read that one. I had read all the Ellis Peters, tragically. I was very sad when I realized there were no more Cadfael books. 120
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026No, just a plain blown egg. I can't even remember why I had it. But it was useful for making sure egg cups were the right size. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Oh, I love Ellis Peters so much. Sorry, compulsively looking at the books not the mushrooms. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Yeah, calipers probably would help. I need to get a pair. I also need to replace my standard reference egg (a blown egg) because I broke the old one while turning all those egg cups. Turns out balancing a fragile thing that rolls on top of a tall machine that vibrates is a recipe for tears. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Huh, the ones we have here are mostly small trees. I'm not sure you could even get small bowls out of the trunks. I doubt any of them are as old as that. Though the arboretum has a very interesting sorbus collection and some of those might be older than the average street tree. 000
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I've seen people doing this. Never tried it because I don't have a microwave but I see them in thrift stores too sometimes, maybe worth picking one up to try out. 100
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Oh, interesting. I've never heard of that method. 000
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Yeah, his work is really interesting. 010
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Thanks. They're super easy. Or, rather, the turning is simple. And good skew practice if that's a thing he needs (like I do). Getting the shape to be perfectly egg like is really frustratingly hard. I bet they'd look cool with fancy color on them. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026This is nice. I like the shape, especially the way the rim tilts in slightly at the top. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026These are nice. How is rowan to turn with? I've always been curious about it but haven't managed to find any yet to try. 100
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026This one is fantastic. 010
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Thank you. I've been thinking a lot about this person's work which includes some of the nicest boxes I've ever seen: www.richardraffan.com.au/boxes/richardraffan.com.auBoxes - Richard Raffan 100
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026\Eggs vary, there isn't really a single perfect egg. So from a distance these look like fine eggs. But everyone knows _exactly_ what an egg looks like so when you get up close these are wrong. The proportions are slightly off. Maybe they aren't chicken eggs but some other species. Maybe duck eggs. 120
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Ok, my solution to the problem of "how will anyone know this is an egg cup" is to make some eggs that are durable enough to take to the market. Is that a joke or a real attempt to solve the problem? Hard to say. But the eggs were fun. From some cherry branches. #woodturning #woodworking 2121
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Doing QA on a set of experimental egg cups. I like this design but I'm not sure anyone will recognize that it is an egg cup unless I tell them. #woodworking #woodturning #kitchenware #pocillovy 040
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I wanted a shadow line between the lid and the base but I think I over did it and it looks more like a weird gap. Make that tighter next time. 000
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 30/09/2026In my ongoing quest to understand why I like boxes with flamboyant, oversized lids I have made the most flamboyant and oversized box lid in my personal history. Could be more flamboyant. Could be more oversized. But I love it anyway. Elm, tung oil, beeswax. #woodworking #woodturning #box #biglids 290
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Oh, that's sort of sad. 100
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Yeah, Samian ware is really cool too. 110
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Oh, that's amazing. I did not know about it. I've always just dug around in various museum's online catalogues looking for pictures of things. This book looks like an incredible resource. Thank you. 010
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 29/09/2026These are cool. Now I kind of want to recreate some beakers in wood as well, that would be a neat project. 200
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 29/09/2026I can confirm that, regardless of tip shape, these spurtles do stir porridge. My morning porridge is stirred. I'm not sure it's more well stirred than it would have been if I'd used the spoon I was going to eat it with like I normally do but I felt fancier while doing the stirring. And that matters. 010
squirreltreestudio.bsky.social @squirreltreestudio.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Interesting. I've always been curious about red oak. Here in the Pacific North West I've never seen red oak lumber anywhere. Maybe it's available but not in the yards I go to. All you see is white oak. 100
