SEPTEMBER 1,2007
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Carvers are
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
Although there is
something beautiful
about making carving
tools, and then get
ting down to work on
projects, the impetus
behind the latest effort
at the Tribal carving
class was much more
practical.
"I was running out
of tools to lend out,"
said carver Adam Mc
Isaac, who leads the
group and provides
materials, including
01 tool steel.
"A good high-carbon
steel," Mclsaac said.
Creating carving
tools involves super
heating the tool steel
with a propane torch.
Mclsaac started the
class with blocks of
wood on which he had stapled
different grits of sandpaper. At
the end of each block, he wrote
the grit number with a marker
220, 320, 400, 600 with the
lowest numbers used first and
the highest numbers doing the
finest job of sanding.
no) a u o
now making their own tools.
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Tribal member Travis Mercler, left, holds the propane torch as carving instructor Adam Mclsaac
bends a blade on the anvil.
Carving blades are held flat and
sanded across the width of the blade
until all grits are used and the bottom
of the blade has a shiny surface. Then,
the process is repeated for the edges.
The blade is then clamped to a table
with the top up, and using a file in the
cutting direction only, an angle is cre
Sophia Morningstar came
that had made a home for
playground. Even while the photos were being taken,
the birds packed up their belongings and headed
west And they haven't been seen again.
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out to watch quail babies
themselves in the preschool
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ated on the top edges. Then, the edges
are sanded sharp, again using a suc
cession of increasingly finer grits until
the edges are shiny like the bottom.
Then the blade is tempered with
the propane torch, and if the blade
is to be curved at the end, it is bent
while it is hot.
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out of the handle
to match the blade
that will fit there.
The blade is epoxied in place and
then wrapped with string, which
holds it well and allows for many
years of use.
And when blades dull, or when
they drop on the floor, point first,
carvers who have made their own
tools sharpen them again.
Signals 7
Tribal Elder Bob Watson, a rec
ognized artist and carver for many
years since his retirement, was
making handles out of purpleheart
wood, an exotic hardwood found in
Central and South America. His
neighbor had a pile and gave him
some small pieces that are perfect
for knife handles.
Many of Mclsaac's
tool handles are
made of maple.
The idea is to re
serve at least half of
the blade to be se
cured to the handle.
Cultural language
coordinator Tony
Johnson (Chinook),
who is also a sil
versmith, said that
he often wishes his
tools had a smaller
cutting surface with
more attached to
the handle because
the tools are easier
to control, with less
undesirable vibra
tion (chatter), when
they are shorter.
A chunk is cut