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Woodcarving

Carving the Swedish Shrink Box (Krympburkar)

Course Overview

Traditional green woodworking aspires to utilize the unique nature of freshly harvested wood to create projects that would otherwise be impossible. The shrink box is a classic example. Starting with an elemental green birch log, participants utilize traditional hand boring augers and a carving knife to hollow out the log’s center. The exterior is then shaped using a shaving horse and a draw knife. A dry piece of birch is shaped and fitted into a groove at the bottom, allowing the hollowed out section to slowly shrink and lock, around its base. The roots of this craft stretch back over 1000 years old, possibly before the Viking age. The clever yet simple technique can, with minimal tools and practice, allow students to produce simple or highly detailed containers.

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