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31K views 94 replies 27 participants last post by  DLK 
#1 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
 

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#2 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
A favorite for sure and a great pictorial, thanks Andy!
 

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#3 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Oops double post
 

Attachments

#4 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Woah. This looks like quite the undertaking. I would have any idea where to begin. How big is this?
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
I just measured it Todd and it is near enough 12".
 

Attachments

#6 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Looks very interesting Brit I wish you luck, I have just started a project which I am making for my wife of 55 years next month and that is two hearts that are intertwined, made from one piece and it has just taken me 2 hours to separate them although they still remain locked together if you know what I mean. I will post it when finished. Good luck with the spoon will follow it with interest.
 

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#7 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Congrats on 55 years Bill. I'm sure your wife will love the hearts. It can take quite a while to do some of this stuff, but the results are worth it I think. I'll be doing most of this in my hotel room during the week, so it isn't like I've got anything better to do with my time.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Well done Andy
 

Attachments

#9 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Pretty cool, I had seen these before but didn't understand the meaning. I look forward to following along!
 

Attachments

#10 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Wonderful design Andy, I'm looking forward to seeing the final product. Strangely enough we have the same tradition here about suitors carving something for their intended, and spoons were one of these, but there were often other items made too depending somewhat on the skills of the suitor. The Norwegian spoons could also be very complex and detailed designs. I can imagine these traditions were perhaps more common in different countries than one might think and it would be interesting to know how they spread from place to place. Traveling merchants or journeymen perhaps.
 

Attachments

#11 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
One of your many endearing qualities is how you set your sites so low…

This will be exciting to see your rendition come to light. Thanks for sharing with us Andy.
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Very very nice. Looking forward to seeing how it comes out.
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
OMG, Andy.
Looks like an advanced lesson in carving. (meaning: way past my skill level) I admire your courage, and wish you luck! :)
 

Attachments

#14 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Andy, this is going to be nice. I can't wait to see how it looks when done.

Question, if you make a mistake, do you start over?
 

Attachments

#15 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Andy, it's a great pattern and this is going to be very interesting.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
 

Attachments

#16 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
I ll be doing most of this in my hotel room during the week, so it isn t like I ve got anything better to do with my time.

- Brit
No pubs nearby? Seriously, what an interesting project to follow. You really like to challenge yourself, don't you?
 

Attachments

#17 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
Thanks for the encouragement chaps. I am stretching myself a bit with this, but nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.

Mike - I googled Norwegian spoons and a few came up. Pretty fancy. You'll have to make one. :eek:)

Terry - "OMG, Andy …. way past my skill level." I don't believe that for one minute Terry.

David - "If you make a mistake, do you start over?" Most mistakes can be rectified by modifying the design, but if the mistake was catastrophic, I probably would start this one again. However since I'll be doing most of this in my hotel room, it would have to wait until the following week.

Duck - Plenty of pubs and I've been to them all many times. :eek:)
 

Attachments

#18 ·
Designing the Spoon

On my woodworking bucket list, I've always wanted to have a go at carving a ball in a cage and a chain. With this in mind, I decided to incorporate these elements into my next spoon project (This will be my 4th spoon). So I grabbed a suitable piece of Lindenwood and sketched out my design. I went through a number of iterations before ending up with this.

Wood Font Rectangle Automotive exterior Hardwood


However, while I was ripping down the two sides of the spoon with my saw, it occurred to me that a caged ball and a chain were two elements often found in traditional Welsh Love Spoons, so I decided to tweak my design a bit more and try my hand at carving one of those. After far too much pontificating, I ended up with this.

Wood Rectangle Font Handwriting Art


For those of you who haven't heard of Welsh Love Spoons before, the tradition started in the 16th century when shy, bashful young men would hand carve a spoon as a token of their affection for one of the local hotties. They would expend a great deal of time and effort in designing and carving the spoon and many a candle lit evening would be given over to this pursuit. If the girl accepted the spoon, it signified that she was interested in 'stepping out' with the boy and a relationship would ensue. The community would then recognize them as a 'couple'. It must be remembered too that engagement and marriage were not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century. Most young people would just live together in a simple house where the spoon would hang on the wall much like a wedding photograph does today.

Although the carving of 'love spoons' is not unique to Wales, I don't think any other country went so far in terms of decorating their spoons. There is really only one hard and fast rule when carving the spoon which is that it must be carved from a single piece of wood. Typically, the bowl of the spoon would remain quite simple and understated, whilst the handle of the spoon would be more elaborately decorated with symbols of the young man's affection. These design elements remained pretty constant right across Wales, but the exact meaning of them seemed to vary from region to region. Here are some of the elements that you might find on a Welsh Love Spoon together with what they signify:

Chain = together forever

Diamond = wealth or good fortune

Flower = affection

Cross = faith

Ball in a cage = love held safe or the number of children desired

Heart = love

Horseshoe = good luck

Key or keyhole = security

Celtic knotwork = eternal love

Lock = security or I shall look after you

Twisted stem = two lives become one

Dragon = symbol of Wales or protection

The bowl of the spoon also symbolized that the young man would provide for the girl and the intricacy of the design and the skill with which it was executed, let the girl know that the young man was good with his hands and practical.

So if we look again at the design I'm going for, you can see that it incorporates some of the above elements.

Font Slope Parallel Event Rectangle


Since the caged ball and the spoon bowl involve the most aggressive knife work, I think I'll tackle those elements first and keep the existing strength in the middle section until the heavy work is complete. So in the next episode, I'll show you how I go about carving the caged ball. I'm kind of making it up as I go along here folks, but I hope you'll find it interesting and informative and perhaps even have a go yourself.

Ok cover me, I'm going in.
;-) big smile here.
Best thoughts,
Mads
 

Attachments

#19 ·
The Caged Ball

In this episode, I show you how I tackled the caged ball section of the Welsh Love Spoon. I started by squaring the outside of the cage and transferring the aperture opening to the other three sides. I then marked the diameter of the ball on the other three sides, but whilst doing that I found myself wondering whether or not the ball I'd drawn was the right diameter. After all I just drew a ball freehand along with the rest of the spoon. Should it be a certain diameter and if so, how big?

Shipping box Rectangle Wood Flooring Road surface


I reasoned that the ball needed to move up and down freely in the cage, but that there shouldn't be a lot of side to side play. So I measured the width of one of the apertures (A) and drew a quick sectional view of the cage (as if I'd sawn through it and was looking down on it). It was then obvious that the diameter was the distance between the internal corners of two diagonally opposite posts (B). Needless to say the ball I had originally drawn was too small. As luck would have it though, a 50 cent coin (Euros) from my holiday change jar was exactly the right size.

Font Parallel Circle Slope Symmetry


Having reassured myself that the ball was now the right diameter, I got to wondering how I'd know when I was at the right diameter once I started to chip away at the surrounding wood. So I decided to make a couple of crude templates out of an old hotel card key. The depth gauge 'D' will let me know when I'm at the right depth from each face and the arc 'C' will help me keep the ball spherical.

Wood Font Toy Coin Circle


I decided to excavate the waste either side of the ball first and leave the ball intact for the time being. This would give me more space to maneuver my knife to shape the ball. First I made two stop cuts to sever the end grain, followed by two along the grain on each face to define each aperture.

Wood Knife Cutlery Pen Blade


Then I cut a knife wall so I had shoulder to slice into without cutting into any wood that should remain.

Table Wood Tool Knife Utility knife


I kept deepening the stop cut as I removed more and more chips. Once the inside walls of each corner post were as deep as the width of the posts on the surface, I stopped. Notice that at the moment I am effectively treating the ball as a cylinder when viewed from any of the faces.

Wood Knife Natural material Utility knife Tool


Repeat for the other three sides.

Wood Kitchen utensil Rectangle Tool Hardwood


I was then able to get more movement on my knife and use my thumb as a fulcrum to slice through the end grain until the center piece popped out.

Finger Fluid Material property Electronic component Gas


Finally I could see daylight. Yippee!!!

Wood Beige Hardwood Font Plywood


I then repeated the whole procedure for the other end.

Wood Office supplies Writing implement Gas Hardwood


I must give a 'shout out' to the Mora 106 woodcarving knife. When I was in the market for a good carving knife, I looked at comparable knives made by Hans Karlsson (ÂŁ53), Svante Djarv (ÂŁ43) and Ben Orford (ÂŁ60). All good knives I'm sure. However, I read an article by Robin Wood where he extolled the virtues of the Mora 106 (ÂŁ16.95). Robin makes his living from green woodworking and knows a thing or two about knives. I respect his opinion, so I thought I'd give it a try and I'm glad I did. It takes and holds a great edge, is comfortable to hold and will tackle anything from aggressive slicing cuts to paring end grain or adding fine details. Let's face it, there aren't many cheap tools these days that surprise you with their performance, but this one puts a smile on my face each time I pick it up.

Office supplies Liquid Fluid Writing implement Wood


I'm afraid I forgot to take any photos of my progress as I carved the ball. Basically though, I just kept chipping away at it from each side and testing my progress with my templates until the ball became separated from the cage. I have to confess that I found this harder than I thought it would be, although I'm sure I could do a better job next time. The reason I found it hard is that although I was trying to carve a perfect sphere, I couldn't actually see the whole sphere through any of the windows, so it was difficult to see where wood needed to be removed. Consequently, once the ball finally became separated from the cage, it was more like the shape below.

Drawing Creative arts Circle Pattern Parallel


The other issue I found was that once the ball was no longer joined to the cage, it was difficult to hold on to it while I further refined the shape. Still, better to take off too little than too much eh? I basically just kept sneaking up on a perfect sphere until I could rotate the ball in any direction without it binding. I still have a little bit of refining left to do before I'll be happy with it. I'm so glad I decided not to carve three balls in the cage! Anyhow here is where I'm leaving it for now. I've included two photos showing the ball in different positions to prove it does actually move.

Wood Soil Gas Concrete Natural material


Tool Wood Ruler Office ruler Office supplies


Next I'll tackle the bowl of the spoon.

Thanks for watching!
 

Attachments

#20 ·
The Caged Ball

In this episode, I show you how I tackled the caged ball section of the Welsh Love Spoon. I started by squaring the outside of the cage and transferring the aperture opening to the other three sides. I then marked the diameter of the ball on the other three sides, but whilst doing that I found myself wondering whether or not the ball I'd drawn was the right diameter. After all I just drew a ball freehand along with the rest of the spoon. Should it be a certain diameter and if so, how big?

Shipping box Rectangle Wood Flooring Road surface


I reasoned that the ball needed to move up and down freely in the cage, but that there shouldn't be a lot of side to side play. So I measured the width of one of the apertures (A) and drew a quick sectional view of the cage (as if I'd sawn through it and was looking down on it). It was then obvious that the diameter was the distance between the internal corners of two diagonally opposite posts (B). Needless to say the ball I had originally drawn was too small. As luck would have it though, a 50 cent coin (Euros) from my holiday change jar was exactly the right size.

Font Parallel Circle Slope Symmetry


Having reassured myself that the ball was now the right diameter, I got to wondering how I'd know when I was at the right diameter once I started to chip away at the surrounding wood. So I decided to make a couple of crude templates out of an old hotel card key. The depth gauge 'D' will let me know when I'm at the right depth from each face and the arc 'C' will help me keep the ball spherical.

Wood Font Toy Coin Circle


I decided to excavate the waste either side of the ball first and leave the ball intact for the time being. This would give me more space to maneuver my knife to shape the ball. First I made two stop cuts to sever the end grain, followed by two along the grain on each face to define each aperture.

Wood Knife Cutlery Pen Blade


Then I cut a knife wall so I had shoulder to slice into without cutting into any wood that should remain.

Table Wood Tool Knife Utility knife


I kept deepening the stop cut as I removed more and more chips. Once the inside walls of each corner post were as deep as the width of the posts on the surface, I stopped. Notice that at the moment I am effectively treating the ball as a cylinder when viewed from any of the faces.

Wood Knife Natural material Utility knife Tool


Repeat for the other three sides.

Wood Kitchen utensil Rectangle Tool Hardwood


I was then able to get more movement on my knife and use my thumb as a fulcrum to slice through the end grain until the center piece popped out.

Finger Fluid Material property Electronic component Gas


Finally I could see daylight. Yippee!!!

Wood Beige Hardwood Font Plywood


I then repeated the whole procedure for the other end.

Wood Office supplies Writing implement Gas Hardwood


I must give a 'shout out' to the Mora 106 woodcarving knife. When I was in the market for a good carving knife, I looked at comparable knives made by Hans Karlsson (ÂŁ53), Svante Djarv (ÂŁ43) and Ben Orford (ÂŁ60). All good knives I'm sure. However, I read an article by Robin Wood where he extolled the virtues of the Mora 106 (ÂŁ16.95). Robin makes his living from green woodworking and knows a thing or two about knives. I respect his opinion, so I thought I'd give it a try and I'm glad I did. It takes and holds a great edge, is comfortable to hold and will tackle anything from aggressive slicing cuts to paring end grain or adding fine details. Let's face it, there aren't many cheap tools these days that surprise you with their performance, but this one puts a smile on my face each time I pick it up.

Office supplies Liquid Fluid Writing implement Wood


I'm afraid I forgot to take any photos of my progress as I carved the ball. Basically though, I just kept chipping away at it from each side and testing my progress with my templates until the ball became separated from the cage. I have to confess that I found this harder than I thought it would be, although I'm sure I could do a better job next time. The reason I found it hard is that although I was trying to carve a perfect sphere, I couldn't actually see the whole sphere through any of the windows, so it was difficult to see where wood needed to be removed. Consequently, once the ball finally became separated from the cage, it was more like the shape below.

Drawing Creative arts Circle Pattern Parallel


The other issue I found was that once the ball was no longer joined to the cage, it was difficult to hold on to it while I further refined the shape. Still, better to take off too little than too much eh? I basically just kept sneaking up on a perfect sphere until I could rotate the ball in any direction without it binding. I still have a little bit of refining left to do before I'll be happy with it. I'm so glad I decided not to carve three balls in the cage! Anyhow here is where I'm leaving it for now. I've included two photos showing the ball in different positions to prove it does actually move.

Wood Soil Gas Concrete Natural material


Tool Wood Ruler Office ruler Office supplies


Next I'll tackle the bowl of the spoon.

Thanks for watching!
Sorry I got some of the photos in the wrong order. Now corrected.
 

Attachments

#38 ·
The Heart-Shaped Bowl

Now it is time to carve the bowl of the spoon. Since the top surface of the spoon bowl needs to be lowered somewhat and I will lose my drawing of the heart, I started by roughly shaping the perimeter of the bowl so I didn't lose the shape.

Hand tool Wood Burin Tool Stonemason's hammer


I also transferred my layout lines to the side of the spoon because I didn't want to lose them either. I will need to remove wood from the top, bottom and sides of the twisted stem section also to gain better access when shaping the underside of the spoon bowl. While I had the pencil in my hand I marked the height of each section on the side of the spoon for the first time to help me visualize the spoon in three dimensions.

Hand tool Burin Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool


After roughing out the exterior of the heart shape, I pared the top surface down to its finished height and re-drew the heart on that surface.

Wood Natural material Event Cuisine Circle


The underside of the spoon will also need to be pared down, but I decided to do that after I had gouged out the bowl as it would allow me to exert more pressure and not have to worry about anything breaking. To carve the bowl I am using two Hans Karlsson palm gouges each with a different sweep. I also have a Hans Karlsson hook knife, but I felt the palm gouges would work better for a heart-shaped bowl like this. I started to remove wood trying to keep both sides of the heart even in depth and shape.

Wood Hand tool Kitchen utensil Tool Flooring


I took care to leave a ridge top center to cast a shadow and add some visual impact.

Wood Kitchen utensil Ingredient Ruler Natural material


Having roughly shaped the bowl, I now turned my attention to the underside and pared that down to its finished height.

Wood Flooring Tool Kitchen utensil Metal


Next I started to shape the underside of the bowl taking care to feel which way the grain was running and to work with it. It is so easy to tear out a great chunk of wood when using lindenwood (basswood in the US) if you're not careful and once it has gone you can't put it back. To gain better access I pared the back surface of the twisted stem section too.

Kitchen utensil Cutlery Knife Wood Tool


Then I pared the sides of the twisted stem…

Wood Ingredient Cuisine Dish Nuts & seeds


...and then the top surface. I then re-drew the twisted stem to give me a reference.

Wood Sand Metal Font Grass


All that was left to do was sand the bowl up through the grits starting at P120 grit and finishing at P800 grit. On the underside, I started at P80 grit.

Wood Ingredient Salt Writing implement Cutlery


Hand tool Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool Kitchen utensil


The underside of the bowl will be refined further once I've carved the twisted stem section of the spoon.

In the next episode I'll rough out the chain section and then work on the padlock. The twisted stem section is the most delicate area of the spoon, so I will tackle that last.

Thanks for watching.
 

Attachments

#39 ·
The Heart-Shaped Bowl

Now it is time to carve the bowl of the spoon. Since the top surface of the spoon bowl needs to be lowered somewhat and I will lose my drawing of the heart, I started by roughly shaping the perimeter of the bowl so I didn't lose the shape.

Hand tool Wood Burin Tool Stonemason's hammer


I also transferred my layout lines to the side of the spoon because I didn't want to lose them either. I will need to remove wood from the top, bottom and sides of the twisted stem section also to gain better access when shaping the underside of the spoon bowl. While I had the pencil in my hand I marked the height of each section on the side of the spoon for the first time to help me visualize the spoon in three dimensions.

Hand tool Burin Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool


After roughing out the exterior of the heart shape, I pared the top surface down to its finished height and re-drew the heart on that surface.

Wood Natural material Event Cuisine Circle


The underside of the spoon will also need to be pared down, but I decided to do that after I had gouged out the bowl as it would allow me to exert more pressure and not have to worry about anything breaking. To carve the bowl I am using two Hans Karlsson palm gouges each with a different sweep. I also have a Hans Karlsson hook knife, but I felt the palm gouges would work better for a heart-shaped bowl like this. I started to remove wood trying to keep both sides of the heart even in depth and shape.

Wood Hand tool Kitchen utensil Tool Flooring


I took care to leave a ridge top center to cast a shadow and add some visual impact.

Wood Kitchen utensil Ingredient Ruler Natural material


Having roughly shaped the bowl, I now turned my attention to the underside and pared that down to its finished height.

Wood Flooring Tool Kitchen utensil Metal


Next I started to shape the underside of the bowl taking care to feel which way the grain was running and to work with it. It is so easy to tear out a great chunk of wood when using lindenwood (basswood in the US) if you're not careful and once it has gone you can't put it back. To gain better access I pared the back surface of the twisted stem section too.

Kitchen utensil Cutlery Knife Wood Tool


Then I pared the sides of the twisted stem…

Wood Ingredient Cuisine Dish Nuts & seeds


...and then the top surface. I then re-drew the twisted stem to give me a reference.

Wood Sand Metal Font Grass


All that was left to do was sand the bowl up through the grits starting at P120 grit and finishing at P800 grit. On the underside, I started at P80 grit.

Wood Ingredient Salt Writing implement Cutlery


Hand tool Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool Kitchen utensil


The underside of the bowl will be refined further once I've carved the twisted stem section of the spoon.

In the next episode I'll rough out the chain section and then work on the padlock. The twisted stem section is the most delicate area of the spoon, so I will tackle that last.

Thanks for watching.
Wonderful work on this spoon so far Andy, I can't wait to see it finished.
 

Attachments

#48 ·
Carving the Chain Section

I was going to do the padlock next after roughing out the chain, but once I started on the chain I was enjoying myself so much that I just kept right on going. If you remember, this is how the spoon looked at the end of the last session.

Hand tool Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool Kitchen utensil


Work on the chain section began by paring down each of the four surfaces to the finished width of the links. Then I drew the edges of the links on each of the four faces.

Ruler Tool Wood Table Cutlery


Next I removed the four corners leaving me with a '+' cross-section and drew in the links on the newly exposed surfaces.

Kitchen utensil Tableware Tool Cutlery Knife


Then using a small gent's saw, I sawed either side of the waste between each link taking care not to go too deep. This step could be omitted, but it makes the next step go a lot faster…

Calipers Hand tool Tool Metalworking hand tool Material property


…which was shaping the ends of the links with my knife. Now for the first time it was starting to look like a chain, albeit a very rigid one.

Wood Kitchen utensil Tableware Tool Motor vehicle


After that it was just a case of carefully slicing away at the waste until the first link was free to move. The sharp point of the Mora 106 knife really came into its own here. I also used a 1/16" 60 degree V-tool which you can see in one of the photos below.

Cosmetics Tool Office supplies Writing implement Pen


As each link was released, I took the opportunity to sand any rough edges so they wouldn't catch and possibly break the chain.

Automotive exterior Gas Auto part Bumper Electrical supply


Below you can see the small Peter Benson V-tool I used to help excavate the waste in the direction of the grain. Again, it could all have been done with the knife alone, but the gouge made things go a little quicker. I took great care not to slice into (and therefore weaken) any of the links. Lindenwood is quite brittle and will easily split if you exert too much pressure. I was very conscious of this fact and only used light strokes, stropping my knife to keep it razor sharp as I went along.

Wood Hand tool Gas Tool Metalworking hand tool


By the time I'd released the third link I had established a process and I thought you might be interested to see what that method was. You have to bear in mind that all of the stages involved both hands, but in the photos below I can only show one hand at a time since the other one is holding the camera. Whatever tool I was using to do the cutting, my free hand was pinching the next link as shown below. This was to both steady the work and help prevent the brittle wood from splitting as I cut.

Fluid Finger Thumb Nail Wood


With my other hand I either used the V-Tool to remove the waste at the side of the links…

Wood Font Metal Auto part Art


...or used my knife to sever the grain between the links. For this step, I pushed the point in and just pulled it back slightly a few times then rotated the chain 90 degrees and repeated the action. I kept turning and cutting until the next link was free. Although I couldn't see what the knife was doing, I could feel the fibers being severed.

Snake Finger Wood Scaled reptile Reptile


Here's a better photo of how I held my knife for maximum control. As you can see I really choked up on the blade, but with the handle resting on the back of my hand it was actually a very safe grip because there was no way the sharp edge could cut me. So far on this project I haven't drawn blood, but having said that I'll probably cut my finger off next week. LOL.

Gesture Finger Thumb Nail Wrist


Eventually all the links were free and rough sanded. There is still some refining work to do on the links to shape them and equalize them, but the finish sanding will all be done in one session at the end of the project so I don't make it dirty again whilst handling it.

Tool Hand tool Font Cosmetics Office supplies


So there you have it, my first ever carved chain and I'm pretty relieved that I got through it without incident. Next week, I will DEFINITELY be doing the padlock and hopefully the twisted stems if I don't have to work late.

Wood Art Font Tableware Tints and shades


Thanks for following my hotel woodworking exploits. I hope you're finding it interesting.
 

Attachments

#49 ·
Carving the Chain Section

I was going to do the padlock next after roughing out the chain, but once I started on the chain I was enjoying myself so much that I just kept right on going. If you remember, this is how the spoon looked at the end of the last session.

Hand tool Wood Tool Metalworking hand tool Kitchen utensil


Work on the chain section began by paring down each of the four surfaces to the finished width of the links. Then I drew the edges of the links on each of the four faces.

Ruler Tool Wood Table Cutlery


Next I removed the four corners leaving me with a '+' cross-section and drew in the links on the newly exposed surfaces.

Kitchen utensil Tableware Tool Cutlery Knife


Then using a small gent's saw, I sawed either side of the waste between each link taking care not to go too deep. This step could be omitted, but it makes the next step go a lot faster…

Calipers Hand tool Tool Metalworking hand tool Material property


…which was shaping the ends of the links with my knife. Now for the first time it was starting to look like a chain, albeit a very rigid one.

Wood Kitchen utensil Tableware Tool Motor vehicle


After that it was just a case of carefully slicing away at the waste until the first link was free to move. The sharp point of the Mora 106 knife really came into its own here. I also used a 1/16" 60 degree V-tool which you can see in one of the photos below.

Cosmetics Tool Office supplies Writing implement Pen


As each link was released, I took the opportunity to sand any rough edges so they wouldn't catch and possibly break the chain.

Automotive exterior Gas Auto part Bumper Electrical supply


Below you can see the small Peter Benson V-tool I used to help excavate the waste in the direction of the grain. Again, it could all have been done with the knife alone, but the gouge made things go a little quicker. I took great care not to slice into (and therefore weaken) any of the links. Lindenwood is quite brittle and will easily split if you exert too much pressure. I was very conscious of this fact and only used light strokes, stropping my knife to keep it razor sharp as I went along.

Wood Hand tool Gas Tool Metalworking hand tool


By the time I'd released the third link I had established a process and I thought you might be interested to see what that method was. You have to bear in mind that all of the stages involved both hands, but in the photos below I can only show one hand at a time since the other one is holding the camera. Whatever tool I was using to do the cutting, my free hand was pinching the next link as shown below. This was to both steady the work and help prevent the brittle wood from splitting as I cut.

Fluid Finger Thumb Nail Wood


With my other hand I either used the V-Tool to remove the waste at the side of the links…

Wood Font Metal Auto part Art


...or used my knife to sever the grain between the links. For this step, I pushed the point in and just pulled it back slightly a few times then rotated the chain 90 degrees and repeated the action. I kept turning and cutting until the next link was free. Although I couldn't see what the knife was doing, I could feel the fibers being severed.

Snake Finger Wood Scaled reptile Reptile


Here's a better photo of how I held my knife for maximum control. As you can see I really choked up on the blade, but with the handle resting on the back of my hand it was actually a very safe grip because there was no way the sharp edge could cut me. So far on this project I haven't drawn blood, but having said that I'll probably cut my finger off next week. LOL.

Gesture Finger Thumb Nail Wrist


Eventually all the links were free and rough sanded. There is still some refining work to do on the links to shape them and equalize them, but the finish sanding will all be done in one session at the end of the project so I don't make it dirty again whilst handling it.

Tool Hand tool Font Cosmetics Office supplies


So there you have it, my first ever carved chain and I'm pretty relieved that I got through it without incident. Next week, I will DEFINITELY be doing the padlock and hopefully the twisted stems if I don't have to work late.

Wood Art Font Tableware Tints and shades


Thanks for following my hotel woodworking exploits. I hope you're finding it interesting.
Quite impressive Andy. By now I would have had a pile of splinters, a cut or two in my fingers and a sore throat from ;-) Can't wait for the next installment.
 

Attachments

#76 ·
The Twisted Stems and Padlock

I decided to tackle the twisted stem section in parallel with the padlock and I kind of jumped between the two as I progressed.

First off, I drilled a hole all the way through the padlock.



Then I pared down the thickness of the padlock to make it less of a cube and more of a rectangle when viewed from the side elevation. I probably removed about 3/16" from the front and back faces.



After defining the keyhole slot on the front and back faces of the padlock, I started to excavate the slot and also the three middle holes in the twisted stem.



I used various straight and bent gouges to work on the stem. Here you can see me using a ÂĽ" No.3 fishtail gouge.



Along with my Peter Benson chisels I also used a set of diamond needle files in places.



A 1/16th No 18 Curved Gouge (No.9 Sweep) was a good fit for the keyhole slot.



Once I was all the way through the stem and the keyhole, I turned my attention to the outside of the stems. First I made four saw cuts into the two sides as shown.



Then I sliced away the waste either side leaving me with the rough shape of the stems. The two red dots that you see in the following photo are the only points where wood won't be removed from the top surface.



I must be honest here and say that I sat there for ages staring at this before I plucked up the courage to start turning it into a spiral. In the last episode, Todd jokingly commented "Now - don't mess it up." and that phrase kept replaying in my head. BUT after two cups of coffee, an episode of NCIS and half a packet of Oreo cookies, I was ready for the challenge. I sketched the shape of the helix on the side elevations and started to remove the wood that had no place being there.







Check from all sides…



Once I felt I had gone deep enough everywhere, I started to knock off the corners around the spiral. I thought it would be easy to lose the shape at this point, so I drew some center lines around the stems to keep me on track.



I found out that remembering to pay attention to grain direction on a complex shape like this is a lesson quickly learned. Since it was difficult to see which direction I should be carving, I had to just feel my way as I went along and keep turning the work end to end with each twist of the stems. The last thing I needed now was to hear that terrifying splitting sound that every carver instantly recognizes when they've carved against the grain.



Finally I was happy with the shape of the twisted stems.



Just a bit of clean up needed to blend the transition between the spoon bowl and the stems.



Now back to the padlock. The more astute among you will remember that I drew three rivets on the front face of the padlock. Don't ask me why I drew 3 and not 4 because I don't have a clue. It just seemed like a good idea at the time I guess. Anyhow it's irrelevant because I decided the rivets didn't really add anything to the overall design, so I didn't bother with them. All I needed to do to the padlock was create the illusion that there was a top and bottom cover plate by recessing all the faces. This was relatively easy to do with my knife. I just had to be careful to arrest my knife before it sliced off something it shouldn't.





The spoon still needs to be finish sanded all over and I might add a bit more detail in one or two places before applying a finish and posting it as a project, but the carving is done now. Since this blog was all about how I went about the carving, I'm calling it a 'wrap' with this episode.

I've really enjoyed this one. There have been lots of firsts for me and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I hope you've enjoyed the journey too. Thanks for tagging along.

EDIT: Here's a link to the finished project:

 

Attachments

#77 ·
The Twisted Stems and Padlock

I decided to tackle the twisted stem section in parallel with the padlock and I kind of jumped between the two as I progressed.

First off, I drilled a hole all the way through the padlock.

Musical instrument Cable Auto part Metal Wind instrument


Then I pared down the thickness of the padlock to make it less of a cube and more of a rectangle when viewed from the side elevation. I probably removed about 3/16" from the front and back faces.

Automotive tire Wood Motor vehicle Road surface Asphalt


After defining the keyhole slot on the front and back faces of the padlock, I started to excavate the slot and also the three middle holes in the twisted stem.

Wood Font Metal Fashion accessory Plastic


I used various straight and bent gouges to work on the stem. Here you can see me using a ÂĽ" No.3 fishtail gouge.

Gas Auto part Cable Metal Wire


Along with my Peter Benson chisels I also used a set of diamond needle files in places.

Tableware Dishware Kitchen utensil Cutlery Wood


A 1/16th No 18 Curved Gouge (No.9 Sweep) was a good fit for the keyhole slot.

Wood Automotive tire Automotive wheel system Gas Auto part


Once I was all the way through the stem and the keyhole, I turned my attention to the outside of the stems. First I made four saw cuts into the two sides as shown.

Wood Asphalt Road surface Metal Fashion accessory


Then I sliced away the waste either side leaving me with the rough shape of the stems. The two red dots that you see in the following photo are the only points where wood won't be removed from the top surface.

Tableware Wood Kitchen utensil Dishware Cutlery


I must be honest here and say that I sat there for ages staring at this before I plucked up the courage to start turning it into a spiral. In the last episode, Todd jokingly commented "Now - don't mess it up." and that phrase kept replaying in my head. BUT after two cups of coffee, an episode of NCIS and half a packet of Oreo cookies, I was ready for the challenge. I sketched the shape of the helix on the side elevations and started to remove the wood that had no place being there.

Kitchen utensil Tableware Wood Dishware Cutlery


Wood Asphalt Beige Road surface Concrete


Wood Fashion accessory Metal Musical instrument Plastic


Check from all sides…

White Font Silver Rectangle Jewellery


Once I felt I had gone deep enough everywhere, I started to knock off the corners around the spiral. I thought it would be easy to lose the shape at this point, so I drew some center lines around the stems to keep me on track.

Wood Sand Concrete Soil Clam


I found out that remembering to pay attention to grain direction on a complex shape like this is a lesson quickly learned. Since it was difficult to see which direction I should be carving, I had to just feel my way as I went along and keep turning the work end to end with each twist of the stems. The last thing I needed now was to hear that terrifying splitting sound that every carver instantly recognizes when they've carved against the grain.

Tableware Kitchen utensil Cutlery Wood Tool


Finally I was happy with the shape of the twisted stems.

Tableware Dishware Wood Serveware Cutlery


Just a bit of clean up needed to blend the transition between the spoon bowl and the stems.

Hand Wood Finger Nail Thumb


Now back to the padlock. The more astute among you will remember that I drew three rivets on the front face of the padlock. Don't ask me why I drew 3 and not 4 because I don't have a clue. It just seemed like a good idea at the time I guess. Anyhow it's irrelevant because I decided the rivets didn't really add anything to the overall design, so I didn't bother with them. All I needed to do to the padlock was create the illusion that there was a top and bottom cover plate by recessing all the faces. This was relatively easy to do with my knife. I just had to be careful to arrest my knife before it sliced off something it shouldn't.

Office supplies Wood Writing implement Tool Font


Writing implement Pen Office supplies Wood Font


The spoon still needs to be finish sanded all over and I might add a bit more detail in one or two places before applying a finish and posting it as a project, but the carving is done now. Since this blog was all about how I went about the carving, I'm calling it a 'wrap' with this episode.

I've really enjoyed this one. There have been lots of firsts for me and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I hope you've enjoyed the journey too. Thanks for tagging along.

EDIT: Here's a link to the finished project:

This post got me checking in on this series Brit. Let me just say: superb work good sir. What little work shaping I've done (just a couple plane totes and saw handles) I really appreciate how difficult getting that 3D shape must be.
 

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