Whats the easiest way to remove a lot of wood?

[curtis rosche]

i have a burl thats either cherry or maple, i have half the burl and part of the branch that it was on. i was going to turn it, but i was told no, i guess the teacher thought it was to soft or because the face had cracks all over. it is end grain. its to nice of a peice of wood to just throw away. so i started to try to hollow it out. i drilled some holes in the center and around the center and chipped it out. this took long because the wood it still quite hard, i used a 1inch speed bit. the diameter of the peice is about the length pf a keyboard. and about 12 inches high. what is the quickest way to hollow this out? i asked about using a router but was told that it wouldnt work well. i had an idea of using a hammerdrill set up so that it just hammers not turns, and use a sharpened chisel, but i dont know if that would work. another idea i had is to take a torch and "charr" or burn it out and scap away the burnt, like how thay used to make canoes. any thoughts on the easiest what to hollow this out?

[Jamie Cowan]

Get a Lancelot from KA Tools. Chainsaw blade for an angle grinder. That'll remove wood wicked fast. Just make sure you have the right grinder, and don't kill yourself. They have lots of info on their web site, and customer service is really good.

[allen norris]

Curtis,

Removing lots of wood fast, safely, and easily - no can do. Relatively fast - a large gouge, a mallet, a really sturdy vise on a hefty bench, and a couple gallons of Gatorade. Faster- a really sharp chain on a smallish chainsaw. Or a power carver - Lee Valley offers a couple in their catalog, IIRC. Slow - a Foredom unit and Kutzall burrs. Slower - a small gouge and a mallet and a really sturdy vise on a hefty bench. More Gatorade.

Drilling holes to allow faster chip generation and removal, sure - just do be careful not to drill too deeply. Pull the bit out, and blow out the chips frequently, so you can kinda keep track of where you are and where you wanna go - no sense making a sieve if you really want a bowl. For larger holes - Brace and expansive bit. Or augers with tee handles. Make sure your tools are sharp - they should bite, not gnaw. Keep your honing set handy. and if you have access to one, a metal detector, just in case somebody buried a nail or three, or stapled on some wire, or cabled the tree, or something - maybe there was a treehouse, a ladder, or a clothesline.

If there's room to swing it, a bowl adze.

allen norris

[curtis rosche]

i have an adze head with no hanle, its dull as all get out, though. someone used it as a digging tool,

[randall rosenthal]

i like the large structured carbide blade on an angle grinder better than the chain saw blade. however i rough almost everything with a large gouge and a copper mallet............its just more satisfying

[mike holden]

" have an adze head with no hanle, its dull as all get out, though" - so sharpen it and make a handle! You a woodworker or not?
Not trying to be a smarta**, but you have the tool, and it just needs sharpening, which ALL edged tools need from time to time, and adding a handle is quite easy, so dont complain about the condition, fix it, use it, brag about the results.
Mike

[Jamie Cowan]

Yeah, I know what you mean about doing it by hand. I got a couple chainsaw blades for the grinder, then one of those cabide wheels, and they were fun for a while. Then I bought my first gouge, for what I thought was going to be a little cleanup work. Now, about 22 gouges later, I'm hooked on carving by hand. Haven't touched anything you have to plug in for carving in months. But if I had to hog out a large piece, I'd be tempted. Or at least I'd sharpen that adz.

[curtis rosche]

thats the thing though, with sharpening it, the endge is about an inch thick rounded over. the other thing is my step dad wont let me use the grinder to sharpen it. so i would have to do it by hand. i tried using a gouge but when i tryed it didnt work very well, the peice is end grain and hard cherry burl, i guess ill stick to the drill and breaking chips off.

[mike holden]

Curtis,
Do you have a dremel or other rotary tool? If so, then you have the best grinding/sharpening tool for curved blades possible. Clamp the adze head down, and use a brown stone on the dremel to slowly reshape the edge. Slowly because grinding creates heat, and slowly because you will find it easier to control the shape if you take many light passes. You can also find stones for lawnmower blades at Kmart and hardware stores for a couple bucks - find one with rounded edges and use some oil for lubrication (3in1, motor oil, etc) and sharpen away. Sounds like you cant hurt the adze, and your stepdad might be impressed enough to show you how to use other tools. You can do it, you just have to want it bad enough!
Go for it! and let us know how it turns out.
Mike

[William Bachtel]

Curtis , first thing you have to do, is listen, to what most of these guys on here say. You can ask questions, but if you don't take good advice, what good was the question. Carving is work, work, and fun too.

[curtis rosche]

cheap set of good chisels to get? to do this?

[randall rosenthal]

well thats true.....all the experience is still in front of you...id gladly trade you some experience for energy and time.....its amazing how much less of it you have and how fast it goes when you get older.

my experience has been that all you have to do is try....and then try harder.

[curtis rosche]

so is there a chisel that will work best for this? i assume i will only need one or 2 since im not doing anything fancy just hollowing it. something that wont cost a fortune?

[Dave McGeehan]

Curtis, the method I choose to hollow-out an area depends upon the type of wood, design, size and other factors. If I want to remove a large area in a hurry, especially in very hard wood, I use a 4+1/2" Makita angle grinder with a tungsten carbide grinding disc. If it's a tighter area than the Makita allows and I need more control I use an Arbortech mini-grinder with a two-tooth carbide blade and various carbide grinding discs. When these get me close to the shape I want I use a mallet and chisels. I sometimes use a mallet and chisels, start to finish, if the wood is soft and the area isn't too deep.

[randall rosenthal]

Curtis, the method I choose to hollow-out an area depends upon the type of wood, design, size and other factors. If I want to remove a large area in a hurry, especially in very hard wood, I use a 4+1/2" Makita angle grinder with a tungsten carbide grinding disc. If it's a tighter area than the Makita allows and I need more control I use an Arbortech mini-grinder with a two-tooth carbide blade and various carbide grinding discs. When these get me close to the shape I want I use a mallet and chisels. I sometimes use a mallet and chisels, start to finish, if the wood is soft and the area isn't too deep.

exactly!!! (had to add the exclamation points as there is a minimum character requirement ??)