The following post is sponsored by Australia-based Arbortech, makers of power carving, sanding and cutting tools. This will be the first in a series of three posts on building, carving and finishing a stacked lamination coffee table project.

I mentioned in my previous posts on carved bowl making, that wood carving is a very different kind of woodworking. Grinding away material is more akin to sculpture, versus building a dimensional piece of furniture. With any new technique or tool, a learning curve is usually required to become proficient. This coffee table is probably a more advanced project, so if you are … Read More »

In part one of this sponsored project series, I discussed how you can ramp-up your power carving skills with Arbortech’s angle grinder attachments. These tools can really ad a new dimension to your woodworking repertoire. All of my bowl projects in this series, including the one shown below all came from scrap end-cuts—pieces left over from larger boards that have sat around my workshop collecting dust—which have now found a second life. This post will focus on the major steps and a few tricks to make this bowl with the Arbortech Mini TURBO plane and the Contour Random Sander attachments.

Simple … Read More »

Earlier this year, I worked on a stool project that required a carved seat bottom with a simple concave surface. I purchased the Arbortech TURBOplane to help accomplish this task after seeing a video by Marc Spagnuolo (aka “The Wood Whisperer”).  Following the post I made about this project (recently re-blogged with more detail and photos), I was contacted by Australia-based Arbortech about doing a few additional contracted projects for them, using a wide range of their power carving attachments. This post covers the first of two parts of an ideal starter project: a series of carved bowls using their tools. In the … Read More »