# SPOON CARVING



## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

*Spoon Carving FREE_FOR_ALL (aka collaboration, forum and even class)*










A while back I was asked if I would be willing to destruct… uh, I mean, INSTRUCT a class on Spoon carving. Since I have been told on numerous occasions that I 'have no class', I am going to, instead, call this a spoon carving *'collaboration'*. A forum of sorts, where anyone that wishes to participate can ask and answer any question, offer or receive any advice and most of all, be a part of the creative process.

Obviously, the goal will be to *CARVE A WOODEN SPOON*. Simple enough, right? But I really am hoping it will become more than that. One of the most valuable aspects to this LumberJocks site, for me, is the exchange of information, ideas, technique and materials. I have gained so much from YOUR work and from YOUR contributions. I get inspired ideas from seeing your posted projects.

Spoon carving can be as simple or as complicated a project as you wish… or have time for. *Basically, a spoon is a bowl with a handle attached*. Pretty dang simple, eh? For me, THAT is what makes spoon carving so compelling. It can be functional or non-functional, it can be large or small, simple or complex, rustic or polished, proportionate or disproportionate, one variety of wood or many, only wood or wood combined with other material …..and the decorative possibilities are completely limitless!

Another really great thing about spoon carving is that ANYONE can do it, and with only minimal tools. If you can hold the tool…. You can make a spoon. We will be discussing tools and technique later on, but I am here to tell you right now that the most important tools you can have in your arsenal are pen and paper. And you already know how to use those…. right?

Why the pen and paper? Well, for the obvious reason of sketching out your designs, but if you are willing, we are going to take it a bit farther than that. Think of it like this, if you are going to carve a spoon, why not spend some time exploring and developing the idea. Why not use this opportunity to stretch your imagination and carve a spoon that is uniquely 'you', one that is saturated with your personality and style?!

Some people lay no claim to creativity. This one guy I knew growing up in the orphanage had absolutely no encouragement to be creative and really no exposure to anything relating to arts and crafts… at all. When he entered the public high school he took an art class one semester thinking it would be easy credit. By the end of the semester it was painfully obvious that he would win the award for having the least artistic potential of all his classmates. While the other students were making these clever ceramic figurines and sculptures all he could manage was this sad, brown, lumpy ash tray looking thing that a 4 year old would be ashamed of. Some people are born creative and others are not. It could be said, "He didn't have a creative bone in his body".

I feel sorry for the guy, don't you? There was another time where each student had to draw the person across the table from them. No one else in the room could have possibly made that beautiful girl look as ugly as he did. The art teacher made her rounds, nodding approval to each student as she passed while slightly humming a maternal, happy sound (she was pregnant), but when she saw his drawing, she stopped short. I'm not sure what that sound she made really was, but it sounded somewhat like a horrid gasp. And to this very day….. I still can't draw worth a hoot!

I tell this story in case there is anyone (else) that feels like they were on shore leave when THE Maker was dishing out creative juices. The discovery I made in the years since that embarrassment, is that like anything else, creativity can be cultivated. The most awesome tool for this is…. you guessed it….. pen and paper. And I bet we could list 1,000 creative variations on a spoon without breaking a sweat. Ideas for you to draw from at will and build upon.

So if a perceived lack of creativity isn't to discourage anyone, what about a lack of ability? Hmmm. That's a pretty good one to hide behind, or at least it seems. What is true is that we have no idea what our ability is until we actually DO something. Look back at the results of Jordan's Shoe Carving Challenge. I watched (safely from the sidelines) as some of the participants claimed they had no particular carving talent and then they come off with these AMAZING carvings.

I am going to make this confession: I have NEVER had a spoon turned out the way I wanted…. or planned. Not one spoon, or for that matter, not one project ever. That used to frustrate me, discourage me and literally drive me nuts! Worse, it stopped me from making stuff for a long time.

Eventually, I got around to accepting, which led to this *discovery* of sorts that I was 'out of control', meaning that there was another force at work. Now, the approach is something like, "I wonder what this is going to look like?" And if something doesn't go the way I wish, it is not my fault because I am just a spectator of sorts. I'm just watching the spoon take shape.

The actual carving of a wood spoon can take very little time. It is fairly small and manageable, the basic shape is simple and you probably have the tools already lying around the shop. If not, Xacto makes a little carving kit that has a handle and a couple of gouges. Once the initial shape is decided on, the blank can be cut out of the wood… and at that point you are almost done. <grin>

So anyway, I double dog dare *YOU *to join this creative exercise in SPOON CARVING. Not only will you come away with a cool spoon, and it will be COOL, you will gain from the creative collaboration and that can effect everything you make in the future.

The first week or two will be devoted to the creative process (gathering and sharing ideas, planning and designing), selecting and acquiring materials, discussing the tools necessary and basically just setting the stage.

When everyone is ready to begin actually cutting and carving, step by step instructions will be given for those that might be new to carving… or to woodworking in general. The main thing I would like to emphasize is… do not hesitate to ask any question, regardless of how basic. If I don't know the answer… I'll ask Jordan. Ha!

I imagine the actual carving process to only take a couple of weeks, even with most of us only able to snatch an hour or two evenings and weekends. The LumberJock's decorum requires a "confirmed finish date" and I was told that that each participant that completes their project by that date (which shall be determined) will receive a special LJ Certificate. That being said, you are encouraged to take as long as you like on your project, and I will offer up any assistance I can beyond any 'official' date.

So for any of you that 'ain't chickin', put 'SPOON' in the back of your head and open yourself to the ideas that are getting ready to pour in. It doesn't matter whether it's functional or dysfunctional…. as long as it is fun.

CAVEAT: (….there will be homework)


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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Bravo! I've been a big fan of yours for some time. I haven't even read the text yet and I'm in.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


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I am in as well. I am currently exploring carving as an extention to my skills. I feel that I am in the lack of creative capability camp. All of these skills fell to my sister….


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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Wayne's probably going to build a spoon carving bench!


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## rrdesigns (Sep 4, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


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The excitement builds! Count me in.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


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Al, I'm hoping it is done in your lap… lol I have the materials for my releaf carving fixture waiting to be assembled. Daughter and I made it to Home Depot last night. I'll try to slap it together over the weekend. I also need to find a used workmate some where. None on Craigslist at the moment.

Spoontaneous, thanks for offering to teach this. This has been on my list of things to try for a while.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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As I'm I, Wayne. I've got my wooden return vents sitting, auger bits in the electro, an empty treadle, etc. This will be a FUN project to ruin, though


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


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Oh, good! Victims…

I meant to add in this link to get the creative juices a jump start… shows a few of the possibilities….

http://www.galleryofwoodart.org/images/Spoons/Spoon%20Catalog66web.pdf


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


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Spoon Carving is an ancient Welsh lovemaking symbol the groom has to carve a wonderful spoon for his intended bride and make it as elaborate as possible it is still practiced today in Wales but mostly nowadays for nostalgic reasons look up welsh spoons , and spooning, love spoons, etc. Alistair


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## Vintagetoni (Jan 10, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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Have enjoyed your postings & wanted to carve spoons but have never taken the plunge…although I've collected some books on the topic & probably have appropriate tools….somewhere in that shop. Count me in….thank you for doing this! Can't wait!

Toni


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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Thanks for the link! I know what my fiance' and I will be carving: a fish spoon! What type of wood should I be obtaining?


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## flintbone (Oct 4, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


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Sign me up. I love playing with sharp things and creativity. 
Add wood and I can't resist.


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## MrsN (Sep 29, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


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I am in!


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## Rustic (Jul 21, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


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I'm In for sure


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


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excellent.
what a great writer you are-I can see that the instructions are going to be easy to follow and entertaining as well 

As for the "due date", yah, we'll be pretty flexible on that 

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my first thought went to a spoon for my grandson (and thus my granddaughter as well)... perhaps their name? perhaps a family tree symbol? and if I was really, really determined a pyrography image of their baby pictures… 
I'm so much better with the ideas than the execution!


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## scottb (Jul 21, 2006)

Spoontaneous said:


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Sounds good. We NEVER have enough spoons in the house….


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


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Good morning folks ~ Yesterday was our anniversary and I figured since my wife has had to deal with me for 7 years I had better give her a bit of attention. I rubbed and grilled some nice fat filets topped with a sweet balsamic and red wine glaze, some grilled asparagus and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir. Shsssh. I cooked at home because it's cheaper, but she thinks I did it to be special. I call that a win/win.

Anyway, I am driving north in a little bit to visit a friend and so most of the day I will be out but I just wanted to thank y'all for jumping on the spoon bandwagon.

Al ~ what kind of fish are you thinking of? Are you and your fiance fishers? Are you looking to carve it stylistic or realistic? Is this guy gonna be fleshed out or is he a fish skeleton? If you are going for realism that might affect the wood choice more than if it is going to be stylistic. You can carve it out of almost any wood but some woods give finer detail if that is what you are looking for. Is the handle going to contain a fish or is it going to BE a fish? Or is the spoon bowl going to be a fish head? Or is the tail fins going to be attached to the bowl holding it cantilevered? Do you already have the idea of the design? I have this one photo of a fish spoon on my computer that is absolutely beautiful… I don't know if I am allowed to post it since I don't own the rights, but if you want I can email it to you.

Hi Debbie ~ I am glad to see that you are going in. You are definitely on the right track by tossing a bunch of different ideas into the pot. Keep tossing them in, stirring them around and something will float to the top. Then it is just a matter of working that into a unique spoon design. I've never tried the pyrography (except last week's failure) but that can have a really great effect. Me being the wimp I am, I'd have to do silhouettes. Ha!

Can't wait to see what the rest of you guys are thinking about. For me, the design and planning stage is half the fun. As you get ideas and inspirations please share them. But just know that when you come up with some really great ideas I will secretly be stealing them for later on. <grin>

Gotta go…....


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## Tag84 (Feb 16, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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Spoon Is it ok if i make a spoon with a metal 'look'?


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


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I should be able to ignore a double dog dare by now, but I never said I was smart. Count me in, it will 
give me an excuse to make some carving tools, I am too cheap to buy something I can spend way too
much time and money making. Thank you for the invitation to step into your collaboration, and why do
I have this sudden urge to keep looking over my shoulder?


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## murch (Mar 20, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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Yeah, I'll give it a shot. Why not. What's this about homework though?


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## Billinmich (Mar 8, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


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Count me in,I'll give it a try.HOME WORK,never liked that in school,but I'll try and keep up


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Yeah Thomas ~ A metal finish would be ultra cool. I can't wait to see how you come about that. I know a little about the gold leafing, but I have also see wood where there was some sort of 'patina' applied. That's the cool thing about spoon carving and in particular this 'collaboration' is that there are no set rules or designs to follow. By following no rules (other than it be a spoon), you are guaranteed to create something very uniquely 'you'.

Gus ~ I thought that Double dog dare would snag at least one or two. I'm glad you are in… and I had to laugh… why buy something when you can spend so much more time and money making it?! ha!

Murch and Bill ~ THIS homeWORK is more like homePLAY, so I don't think you are going to mind it. It has to do more with the designing stage (remember the pen and paper) than anything else. There are just some really worthwhile exercises that are fun to do…. AND they will take in in directions you may never have thought of without them.

That's kind of what I am hoping for this…. is that you are tempted to step outside of what you normally might make and follow any creative urge that arises, whether it is in the design process or even after you have begun the project. You might be midstream in the process of making a spoon and wonder, "What would it look like if I torched it"? Or cut the bowl in half… or put it in the blender (maybe not that one)... or inlay pencil leads, or wrap it in wire… or dye it shocking orange….. just whatever creative thoughts come up, trust those and see where it leads.

But back to the HomeWork… I highly recommend the following exercises. I can honestly say that at least 80% of the ideas I 'get', come from doing these processes. The first is that EVERYTHING is a spoon. By keeping 'spoon' in the back of your mind you can filter everything you encounter as a possible design idea. You're stuck in traffic and you might think of the road as traveling around the spoon bowl with cars and trucks all jammed up. You are preparing dinner and before you cut the leaves off the carrot, you think… hmm… the carrot looks like a long spoon bowl with the leaves as a handle. Every animal you see belongs on a spoon. Even verbs, concepts and adjectives are game. Of course, anything that has an oval or round shape to it begs attention.

The important thing is to record everything with pen and paper no matter how stupid the idea might seem to you. What happens by doing this is the creative juices are allowed to flow. You might have 20 'stupid' ideas and one brilliant one. But the brilliant idea was birthed by the stupid ones. And even the seemingly stupid ones might evolve into something really great.

The second use of the pen and paper is to sit and make oval and round… and even amoeba shapes…. and when the impulse arises sketch a handle. What I do is just let the pen have it's way. I will be studying about something else totally unrelated and the pen doodles something that looks like…. a bandaid, or a spiraled seashell, or a big toe. But somewhere in there will be a couple of usable ideas that inspire me. If you think you are not creative, do this process for any length of time and I guarantee you that you will gain from it. I have hundreds of pages of these doodles and most are embarrassing… but every now and again, something shows up worth fleshing out.


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## bygeorge (Jun 24, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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New to the site and to spoon carving but willing to give it a go.

Chuck


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Hey Chuck ~ Welcome to the best woodworking community on the web… and welcome to this spoon carving group. Glad to have you join in.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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an idea … not that I'm going to do this but I thought it would be fun …. a dog's food & water dish (double bowl) with a leash as the handle…


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


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I'm thinking more along the lines of classic spoons. But we will see.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


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I'm with Wayne. I'm thinking more conventional, to be used. I think I'll do a somewhat shapely carved fish handle with the head opposite the 'spoon' part. I'll have my fiance' put together some sketches.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Wayne and Al ~ Classic/conventional spoon are great… and perfectly suitable for this process. All I am suggesting is to throw your personality into it. Find a way to express your design values into the spoon even if it is a 'classic' design. I'm anxious to see what you guys develop.

Debbie ~ Sounds like you have 'spoon' in the back of your mind. Even if you decide to go in a different direction the idea is a good one. And it really is what I am hoping to have happen… ideas occur that normally wouldn't occur. When I read you post the following photo came to mind. It is actually an ancient Egyptian spoon with a Jackel, but your idea did bring it to mind.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

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That Jackal is fantastic.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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and so the creative mind works-one idea springs forth another idea and so on and so on and so on..


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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For your spoon loving inspiration I am going to list a couple of my favorite spoon makers. Some incredible work if you have time to peruse.

*Norm Sartorius* ~ makes the most beautiful spoons on this planet

http://www.normsartorius.com

*Mike Davies* ~ Carving spoons that can't really be carved.

http://www.mikedavieswelshlovespoons.com/

*David Western* ~ Incredible craftsmanship with incredible detail and such an expansive design range.

http://www.davidwesternlovespoons.com/Gallery.htm

*William Chappelow* ~ Must keep his chisels sharp to pull off the textured bowls.

http://www.tryyn.sandiego411.net/

Well, those guys are my favorites… but there are many more out there….......


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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here's another extraordinary spoon-ologist: http://lumberjocks.com/Spoontaneous/projects


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

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I'm getting errors on the first link (Norm Sartorius). Anyone else having issues?


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Wayne ~ I am not sure what is going on with the link to Norm's site. I can't pull it up either and I have double checked that it is correct. I cleared my cache, even the 'hard' cookies and rebooted with no luck. Even the Blackberry won't pull it up. It might be that the site is being updated but I am dropping Norm a note and making him aware of it. But check back because his site is definitely worth visiting!!!!!!!!!


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

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Thanks, I will check back.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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I was able to see it when you first posted the links.


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## flintbone (Oct 4, 2009)

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Try this one.
http://normsartorius.com/gallery.htm


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Thank you Flintbone…. I had tried the 'gallery' yesterday as well as the 'available work' and had no success. This morning I still couldn't pull up the main page. The man makes pretty stuff, eh?


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Another good creative exercise is to use associated words (easily done on google). Al mentioned 'FISH' so I will list those as an example…. you can see some interesting ideas form when you read the list. Of course, this is not just for spoon carving… it can be used with a lot of projects.

angelfish ~ fish with a halo or wings
angelfishes
anglerfish
anglerfishes
archerfish ~ shooting from bow?
archerfishes
baitfish
baitfishes
batfish ~ vampire bat fish with fangs
batfishes
billfish
billfishes
blackfish
blackfishes
blindfish
blindfishes
blowfish
blowfishes
bluefish
bluefishes
boarfish
boarfishes
bonefish ~ fish skeleton with head for spoon bowl
bonefishes
bonefishing
bonefishings
boxfish
boxfishes ~ Where's Martyn when you need him?
buffalofish
buffalofishes
butterfish
butterfishes
candlefish
candlefishes
catfish ~ yeah, I'm sure this one had been over done.
catfishes
cavefish
cavefishes
clingfish
clingfishes
coalfish
coalfishes
codfish
codfishes
cowfish ~ fish with cow horns painted black and white
cowfishes
crampfish
crampfishes
crawfish
crawfished
crawfishes
crawfishing
crayfish
crayfishes
crossfish
crossfishes
cutlassfish
cutlassfishes
cuttlefish
cuttlefishes
damselfish
damselfishes
deafish
dealfish
dealfishes
devilfish ~ easy enough
devilfishes
dogfish
dogfishes
dollarfish
dollarfishes
dolphinfish
dolphinfishes
draffish
drumfish
drumfishes
dwarfish
dwarfishly
dwarfishness
dwarfishnesses
electrofishing
electrofishings
elfish
elfishly
elfishness
elfishnesses
fallfish
fallfishes
filefish
filefishes
finfish
finfishes
fish
fishabilities
fishability
fishable
fishball
fishballs
fishbolt
fishbolts
fishbone
fishbones
fishbowl ~ a turned bowl with a fish head and fish tail sticking out
fishbowls
fishburger
fishburgers
fishcake
fishcakes
fished
fisher
fisherfolk
fisheries
fisherman
fishermen
fishers
fisherwoman
fisherwomen
fishery
fishes
fisheye
fisheyes
fishful
fishgig
fishgigs
fishhook
fishhooks
fishier
fishiest
fishified
fishifies
fishify
fishifying
fishily
fishiness
fishinesses
fishing
fishings
fishkill
fishkills
fishless
fishlike
fishline
fishlines
fishmeal
fishmeals
fishmonger
fishmongers
fishnet ~ fish with stockings?
fishnets
fishplate
fishplates
fishpole
fishpoles
fishpond
fishponds
fishskin
fishskins
fishtail
fishtailed
fishtailing
fishtails
fishway
fishways
fishwife
fishwives
fishworm
fishworms
fishy
fishyback
fishybacks
flatfish
flatfishes
foolfish
foolfishes
foxfish
foxfishes
frogfish
frogfishes
frostfish
frostfishes
garfish
garfishes
gemfish
gemfishes
giraffish
glassfish
glassfishes
globefish
globefishes
goatfish
goatfishes
goldfish
goldfishes
goosefish
goosefishes
grayfish
grayfishes
groundfish
groundfishes
gruffish
guitarfish
guitarfishes
hagfish
hagfishes
headfish
headfishes
hogfish
hogfishes
huffish
huffishly
huffishness
huffishnesses
jackfish
jackfishes
jellyfish ~ with a name like Smuckers
jellyfishes
jewelfish
jewelfishes
jewfish
jewfishes
killifish
killifishes
kingfish
kingfisher ~ crowned
kingfishers
kingfishes
ladyfish
ladyfishes
lanternfish
lanternfishes
lemonfish
lemonfishes
lionfish
lionfishes
lizardfish
lizardfishes
lubfish
lubfishes
lumpfish
lumpfishes
lungfish
lungfishes
milkfish
milkfishes
monkfish
monkfishes
moonfish
moonfishes
mosquitofish
mosquitofishes
mudfish
mudfishes
muffish
muttonfish
muttonfishes
needlefish
needlefishes
numbfish
numbfishes
oafish
oafishly
oafishness
oafishnesses
oarfish
oarfishes
offish
offishly
offishness
offishnesses
outfish
outfished
outfishes
outfishing
overfish
overfished
overfishes
overfishing
paddlefish
paddlefishes
panfish
panfishes
parrotfish
parrotfishes ~ fish of a feather flock to school. huh?
pigfish
pigfishes
pilotfish
pilotfishes
pinfish
pinfishes
pipefish
pipefishes
platyfish
platyfishes
porcupinefish
porcupinefishes
pupfish
pupfishes
rabbitfish
rabbitfishes
raffish
raffishly
raffishness
raffishnesses
ragfish
ragfishes
ratfish
ratfishes
redfish
redfishes
ribbonfish
ribbonfishes
rockfish
rockfishes
rodfisher
rodfishers
rodfishing
rodfishings
rosefish
rosefishes
rudderfish
rudderfishes
sablefish
sablefishes
sailfish
sailfishes
saltfish
saltfishes
sandfish
sandfishes
sawfish
sawfishes
scaldfish
scaldfishes
scarfish
scarfishes
scomfish
scomfished
scomfishes
scomfishing
scorpionfish
scorpionfishes
scumfish
scumfished
scumfishes
scumfishing
selfish 
selfishly
selfishness
selfishnesses
serfish
sheatfish
sheatfishes
sheathfish
sheathfishes
shellfish
shellfisheries
shellfishery
shellfishes
shellfishing
shellfishings
silverfish
silverfishes
snakefish
snakefishes
sniffish
sniffishly
sniffishness
sniffishnesses
snipefish
snipefishes
spadefish
spadefishes
spearfish
spearfished
spearfishes
spearfishing
spikefish
spikefishes
spoffish
sportfisherman
sportfishermen
sportfishing
sportfishings
squawfish
squawfishes
squirrelfish
squirrelfishes
standoffish
standoffishly
standoffishness
standoffishnesses
starfish
starfishes
stiffish
stingfish
stingfishes
stockfish
stockfishes
stonefish
stonefishes
studfish
studfishes
suckerfish
suckerfishes
suckfish
suckfishes
sunfish
sunfishes
surffish
surffishes
surgeonfish
surgeonfishes
sweetfish
sweetfishes
swellfish
swellfishes
swordfish
swordfishes
tilefish
tilefishes
toadfish
toadfishes
toffish
toffishness
toffishnesses
triggerfish
triggerfishes
trunkfish
trunkfishes
tubfish
tubfishes
underfish
underfished
underfishes
underfishing
unfished
unselfish
unselfishly
unselfishness
unselfishnesses
wallfish
wallfishes
weakfish
weakfishes
werewolfish
werwolfish
whitefish
whitefishes
wolffish
wolffishes
wolfish
wolfishly
wolfishness
wolfishnesses
wreckfish
wreckfishes


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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there are a lot of spoons there waiting to be designed!


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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http://www.morewords.com/contains/spoon/


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

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You could mix in Al's love of hand tools with the fish

Planefish
hammerfish
drillfish
sawfish
screwdriverfish
chiselfish
vintagemonsterfish
treadlefish

lol


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Bummer… they don't even have 'spoontaneous' in there.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

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Vintagemonsterfish! Wayne's reading my mind again!


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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no, Spoontaneous but-if you google-search for spoon carving shoe - your blog comes up in the top 5


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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don't you think this looks like a spoon waiting to be?


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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A spoon for sure. There used to be these things called 'shoe horns' that always reminded me of a spoon. I guess the easiest wood spoon we could make would be one of those 'ice cream spoons' that used to come with the paper cup of ice cream.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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oh that's my style!
i might be able to handle that


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

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With your imagination and m y carving inability, I ought to be able to make a real fancy pile of expensive 
shavings for my next campfire. Thank you for all the suggestions, if everyone's imagination is not fired up
by the now , it is not your fault. I had forgotten all about those wooden spoons with the ice cream cup,
brings back a few fond memories, none quite as good as Chriscrafts "Finally something for myself!!, ice cream
filled maple bowl. What we need is the perfect spoon for that bowl.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Gus ~ I'm going to list a few of the spoons that I have in my notes to make some day. The way I think of ideas is that they should be freely shared… so if anyone wants to use or develop any idea (you ever see me post), you have my blessings.

Rune Spoon ~ various runes carved on the handle.. I was thinking .. ancient looking.
Peacock Spoon ~ The body of the peacock as the bowl…. head and feathers as handle.
Tears of a Clown Spoon ~ Tears 'falling' getting bigger as they 'drop' and the bottom tear is the bowl.
See-saw Spoon ~ Easy one to make
Peanut Spoon ~ I was going to wrap it in peanut shell squares but they are harder to work with than I thought.
Lamp Post spoon ~ The handle being a lamp post with a working grain of wheat lite. (minature wiring and batt.)
Jest in Time Spoon ~ Jester as the handle balancing on the bowl with a oval watch face.
Breast-Feeder ~ I did a version earlier but I want to move the lady's head towards the spoon bowl.
Strawberry spoon ~ Short spoon with a lot of 'seed' carving.
Fleur-de-lis Spoon ~ Center portion protruding to make bowl.
Vampire Spoon ~ Carved in Ebony with inlaid teeth at top of bowl and bat carved at top of handle.
Moon and Stars spoon ~ Ebony or blackwood (sapwood for moon) and inlaid silver stars.
I Think I Can spoon ~ Train chugging up the slope of the handle.
Bumper to Bumper spoon ~ Little bitty cars and truck stuck in traffic around spoon bowl.
Offering spoon ~ Woman holding out offering (spoon bowl)
Fish Skeleton spoon ~ (bonefish) with head being spoon bowl.
Figure Eight spoon ~ Double ended spoon with bowls snaking out of the circular 'eights'.
Face spoons ~ Bowls carved with faces on the back…. or profile on side of bowl.
Skull and Crossbones ~ Skull being the bowl
Charlie Brown Spoon ~ Cartoon character with ears protruding from head (bowl), striped shirt on body handle.
Feather Spoon ~ I have this one almost complete… just not happy with it yet.
Big Mouth Spoons ~ Wide open mouths as spoon bowl, handle is nose and eyes.
The Scream Spoon ~ From famous painting … head for bowl and hands for handles
Orlando Magic Spoon ~ Team's logo is perfect for a spoon
Super Scooper ~ Scoop with a cape for handle, with the famous 'S'.
Sunset Spoon ~ Landscape of sun setting over long mountain range, sun is bowl (intarsia effect)
Dandelion Spoon ~ Lion's head with flower petal mane.
Siamese ~ Double spoon bowl in cats head shapes with tail for handles.
Pencil thin mustache ~ pencil for handle and mustache bordering top of bowl.
... and the one I really want to try when I can get up north to find the wood, is to find an old rusty barbed wire fence that has been long ago stapled to a tree, the bark grown over it…. then carve a spoon bowl of the tree or fence post and use the twisted barb wire for the handle. That stuff is hard to find in So. Florida.

Any of these ideas can be developed by anyone. Of course, this doesn't even touch on the designs that are more organic, or twisted, themed… as in Art Deco and the such. Possibilities are endless. Did you see that one spoon by Norm Sartorius that had been carved around a natural split in the wood?


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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great list … and springboard to even more ideas.. hmmm


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

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I'm going to try to follow along in an informal way because one of the things that I want to make is a wall hanging chip carved spoon rack with some wooden spoons that I carved. I don't know how much time I can spare because I'm already going to follow along with Sheila's scroll sawing class and neither do I want to stop my chip carving. But I'll try to follow this informally anyways.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

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I made a few sketches last night and began the wood selection process. I'm getting in the zone.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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BluePine ~ I actually had not thought of the ice cream spoons in years myself. I'm not sure what brought that memory back. I looked it up on Google and sure enough they still have those. The Chinese import market will be glad to sell you a few million of them… enough to shingle your house.

Helluvawreck ~ Heck yeah, follow along as much as you like. I completely understand about having irons in the fire already. The chip carving process has interested me ever since I saw some carved panels that looked almost inverted (the recessed portions looked like the were 'peaks'). Really cool stuff.

Al ~ Can't wait to see what you are coming up with. I'm kind of in the wood selection process as well. The spoon I want to make I don't think I have the wood that's appropriate. I've been leaning towards doing a rainbow with a pot of gold sort of thing. I ordered some aniline dye that should be here in a couple of days. They are kind of proud of that stuff…. set me back almost a Benjamin.

To all ~ If anyone wants any input/suggestions just call out. We will be sliding towards the practical considerations of wood selection, tools and functionality in the next couple of days. I should get some time later and piece together some useful information. Most of it you will probably know already, but it will be worthwhile to review.

I was told yesterday that after this week coming up I will most likely be out of town for the following 2-3 weeks for work. This may slow me down on the making end (I still hope to have some time on weekends) but I will be available in the evenings for discussion and the sort. IN any case, I am ready for us to get rolling soon on the spoon carvings.


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## Tag84 (Feb 16, 2011)

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what about a birdhouse-spoon, spoon?


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Hey Thomas ~ Certainly that would be doable. I suspect it would trend towards the nonfunctional though. grin Of course, flipping it around, I 'spose you could make a birdhouse out of those little flat wooden ice cream spoons we were talking about earlier on here. They would make great 'shingles'.

I did make one spoon with a 'shack' on it, but that would be way too small for even the littlest bird. Yeah, I can imagine a handle with a birdhouse/houses and birds carved up and down the handle. It could be cool.

Are you leaning towards that theme?


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## Tag84 (Feb 16, 2011)

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Yes sadly a nonfunctional one i think so too, or really big but the spoon idea is gone then.
Do you have the spoon with shack on your projects?


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Yeah Thomas, it is buried in one of the other projects:

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/45088

The reason I ended up with a 'shack' is that when I did another spoon out of the witch hazel wood, the shack spoon was the leftover piece from cutting out the witch. If you pull up the witch spoon you can see the shape is exactly the same.

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/42825

Us po' folks have to use whatever wood we can get our grimy little hands on…. and then s-t-r-e-t-c-h it.


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## Tag84 (Feb 16, 2011)

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Thanks! what an amazing work  i think i'll try something with walnut? is that ok wood to hold things together?


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

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Spoon, I'll have some photos tonight. I'm going sifting through the woodpile. I may use walnut firewood, now that Thomas has mentioned the species. It's a sign!


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Thomas ~ I can only imagine that the walnut will make a really nice spoon. I've only used one piece of walnut myself, and that was a carved bowl from an old award plaque. I think walnut has some of the prettiest color to it. I know the grain is a little 'open' but so is mahogany and it carves beautifully. Not sure if you are going to be using rotary tools or chisels but it seems like with rotary you can get away with almost any wood.

Al ~ Can't wait to see your photos. Are you still doing the fish theme? That caught my attention and I did up a couple of sketches myself. I am going to go ahead and post that photo I told you about. I suspect Mike wouldn't mind since I'm showing off his work. It looks to be yew.

I was going to go with a rainbow/pot of gold theme, and I got my aniline dye but I haven't found the appropriate wood…. so I am considering doing a different theme. Just not set yet but I will lock it down once I get to the shop. Speaking of the shop, I haven't been there for over a month… visiting family, work and projects around here… but definitely this weekend if not before.

How about the rest of you folks??? I'm thinking this weekend would be a good target date to start cutting out the blanks and maybe start doing some of that carving stuff. Anyone need anything?


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

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I have to crawl out into the shop and see if I have any cherry left. I had some firewood I resawed. When are you going to go over tools… I'm debating getting a curved knife… I do have some good carving gouges and a number of carving knives.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

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How about a spoon gouge? I was going to carve rivergirl a spoon a while back so I bought a pretty good sized spoon gouge just to give ir a try but never got around to it. I tested every carving tool that I have this past weekend for sharpness and they all seemed to be in pretty good shape except for three of them and I sharpened them. I think my spoon gouge is at least 20 to 25mm. Will this work ok. To me it seems like cutting with a good strong spoon gouge would cut more efficiently than cutting side ways with a curved knife but I haven't ever carved a spoon so these are the things we will learn I guess.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

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I recon I'm going to give it a go. You sort have a way about talking to people in a way they can't refuse. I ain't going to work by any deadline, however, so when I get it done is when I get it done. I have an idea about what it will be thanks to you and I'll try to draw it out by the end of the week. I had an idea about carving a spoon about 3 or 4 months ago but by golly you've just about gotten me doing one. I sure do appreciate the way that you motivate people.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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A little bit about *wood selection*:

For NON-functional spoons the choice in wood is completely open, although there ARE considerations. If you plan to carve in great detail, then you will want to select a wood that is tight grained and somewhat easy to carve. Straight grained wood is generally easier to carve than wood from burls, crotches and the such.

The level of your carving ability/experience might also play a role in choosing a suitable wood. If you are just starting out with wood carving then I would suggest that you choose a reasonably easy wood to carve. Cherry, basswood, mahogany, sycamore, ash, beech, boxwood, horse chestnut (I find this carves easily and with good detail), witch hazel (very tight grained and finishes beautifully), black locust burl (believe it or not) carves like butter to me and the finish is pure silk.

Some of the fruit wood is nice to carve… others seem to be more cantankerous. As mentioned, cherry is good, plum finishes nice without too much effort and pear wood is a pleasure to work with. Then you get to the citrus woods and I find them to be very hard and somewhat troublesome. Grape is pretty tough as well.

If your carving skills are up to it, and you have a notion to try something new…. I highly recommend trying a wood that might not generally be thought of for wood projects due to size and availability. One of the really great things about spoon carving is that the size is small and lends itself to using those 'rare' and unusual woods. With the size being small, even the purchase of exotic wood is usually not prohibitive. The spoon size allows you to walk out back of the house and prune the lilac, or smoke tree, or redbud, or taxus, or viburnum, etc. Really almost any tree or shrub can be used. There have been spoons carved from Poison Ivy (non-functional). I just find it very rewarding to cut into an unfamiliar wood and discover a unique grain or color. Very worthwhile!

Of course, a thing to remember is how intricate your planned carving is going to be, but with a 'new' wood you might just be compelled by the wood to take a new direction midstream. And that is highly recommended.

For FUNctional spoons the choices are still quite numerous but are somewhat dependent on the intended function. A coffee scoop can obviously be more open grained and be less straight grained than what would be practical for a stirring spoon, a spoon that will be immersed in hot liquids. The stirring spoon will require a flatter spoon bowl, a longer handle and a stronger neck than the coffee scoop. For the purpose of simplicity, I am going to address in particular the considerations of selecting wood for a stirring or cooking spoon. If anyone is making a different sort of functional spoon, we can discuss the considerations unique to your design and intended use on an individual basis.

As mentioned before, a straight grained wood is more suitable for a cooking spoon. I am not saying that it has to be 'boring', as that is not the truth. In fact, using grain creatively in designing your spoon will really add to the uniqueness and beauty. If your spoon is going to be curved (such as a dipper), the wood can be selected with that in mind. By using a natural curve where a branch meets the trunk of a tree will strengthen the spoon since you will be avoiding a 'short' grain.

The hardness of the wood should be such that it can withstand some pressure, weight, impact and heat. The pressure of stirring a thick stew, the weight of dipping out a potato or hunk of beef, the impact of smacking your beautiful new spoon on the side of the pot to shake off the mashed potatoes and of course, this all happens under sometimes intense heat. I like making spoons but I wouldn't want to be one.

The grain direction should be considered. Looking at the end grain you will see which direction the growth rings curve. It will strengthen the spoon to use this curve to match the upwards direction of the spoon bowl.

Does size really matter? Certainly you will want to consider the planned use of the spoon to determine its size. For our stirring spoon example, 10"-12" long would be a reasonable size and maybe a couple of inches wide. There is obviously some flex here, depending on personal preference. I have big hands and those skinny little handles on the store bought spoons just want to spin, making them hard to grasp.

Well, that leads us to shape. We're talking about basically three parts to the spoon. The bowl, the neck and the handle. A stirring spoon bowl would be flatter than a dipping spoon, but a well designed spoon could be used for both. The neck of the spoon should not be spindly as this is where most of the pressure will be applied to the spoon. Making the neck thick and strong enough can be an integral part of a gracefully designed spoon. Balance is the key. As mentioned, a skinny round handle can be difficult to hold onto. I would suggest a flatter, more oval shape to the handle, regardless of how it is to be carved or decorated. The flatness could be on either plane and it doesn't have to be uniform…. Just comfortable to hold. One way to get the perfectly shaped handle is to shape modeling clay by squeezing it in your hand like you would a spoon handle. Then use this 'grip' shape when carving the wood.

Woods with strong smells like cedar and juniper might not be the best choices. And there are some woods that tend to irritate the skin so choose something NON-toxic. I am going 'out on a limb' here and suggest that a green wood can be used as effectively as the dried wood. I say this with reservations though. I have found that many of the green woods I carve are pretty much dried by the time I finish. This could just mean that I am a slow carver, but if the wood is not thick, and the grain is fairly straight, it always seems to work itself out. There is probably some 'movement' after I am finished with the spoon but I have only seen it on two occasions. One was oak burl and one was macadamia wood. I will say more about the green wood later when I address the tools needed. Point is, green wood can be easier to carve, especially with chisels (tends to clog the rotary tools).

Overall, when you add functionality to the project you are also adding considerations on wood selection. But rather than being an 'either/or' choice, it can be a 'both/and' creative project. Just be certain that the decorative aspects of the spoon don't interfere with or complicate the functionality. A case in point would be to have intricate carvings near the bowl making it difficult to keep clean.

I will be adding to this as we go along since some of the topics cross over when we are talking about tool selection (coming up!), but if anyone has any questions at all, either generic or specific, please don't hesitate.

New caveat: Although I have never carved a 'functional spoon in my life, I know it all…. I have Google. <grin>


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

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I have one question: you already have 64 comments on this blog. This looks like it might become a very good reference to spoon carving that will end up being used by lots of people. When you add another section like wood selection would the blog be more easily searchable and more convenient if this became a new part of the blog instead of buried in the middle of comments?

I'm just asking - I'm certainly no blog expert.

However, what you have had to say on this has been soooo very impressive to me. ;-)

Therefore it will probably become a valuable reference on spoon carving.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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question for you … have you ever "steam bent" a spoon into shape?


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

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Helluvawreck ~ Actually, that didn't even occur to me. I am about the most non-linear guy you will ever meet. In my head, 'B' doesn't follow 'A'. They sort of happen at the same time. I think your suggestion is a very good one… and I will take it. I think Admin are probably shaking their collective heads at me just now. I will add that into a Part 2 of this blog. Thanks.

Debbie ~ No…. I tried to bend matchsticks to make a rounded cane handle once and had absolutely no luck with that. I can imagine though, now that you mention it, that it could be a very strong spoon. At least, if it were in one piece… since the laminations might de-laiminate in moist conditions. Can relatively 'thick' pieces be bent…. I think so. I've seen some of the chairs and they make hairpin turns almost. Great idea….. steam coming from my ears now, does that count?


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

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In other words, *Spoontaneous is Spontaneous* to a certain extent?


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

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Actually, do you think that someone that calls himself *helluvawreck* is somebody that moves in a straight line? We might have lots of things in common.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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and what about someone named *MsD…* .. oh never mind


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

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*MsDebbie*, you're as busy as a bee and go around and around and all over the place and where she stops next almost nobody knows ;-) - if you don't mind my saying so, *MsDebbie*


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

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haha very creative use of my name  MsDebBEE


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## NaFianna (Feb 11, 2010)

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I have always struggled with commitment and obligation but I thonk I will give this a go and try to make something vaguely spoon shaped.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

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This may be jumping the gun and the advise on tools may or may not be good, but this guy has some spoon carving videos on youtube….

http://www.youtube.com/user/CarverFromNoWhere#p/u/4/LroC1lBCMkk


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

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You tube videos of some interesting spoon designs





http://www.youtube.com/user/craftsmanm#p/u/9/N_iilZ0kRLg


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## Wiggy (Jun 15, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Spoon Carving FREE_FOR_ALL (aka collaboration, forum and even class)*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Look at this! Just look at this! HA! Excellent work! Did you ever create the 'fish spoon'? I went through your projects an didn't see it. What I DID see was an incredible display of a talented imagination and talent!
Unbelievable!


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Spoon Carving FREE_FOR_ALL (aka collaboration, forum and even class)*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


NaFianna ~ That is great…. welcome aboard. No pressure at all but if you haven't carved a spoon before, I think you will have some fun. It is a pretty basic project where the time commitment is very low. And I gotta ask… what is the meaning/significance of your 'signature'?

Wayne ~ I checked out the youtube video and it is definitely worthwhile. Sure keeps his tools sharp! And I had seen Bertie's spoon videos before. He does some very unique and cool work. In the second video he is sporting a bandaid on his finger so let all spoon carvers beware.

So Wiggy ~ Are you joining in… or what? <grin> I haven't carved a fish spoon just yet… but one of these days.

MsD ~ Have you settled on a theme just yet? Sounds like you are still busy bouncing ideas around. Can't wait to see what evolves.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Spoon Carving FREE_FOR_ALL (aka collaboration, forum and even class)*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


oh yes, I know what I'm going to try to make … plan A, anyway


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Spoon Carving FREE_FOR_ALL (aka collaboration, forum and even class)*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


and… as I said, I am high on creativity-- follow through, not so much
I'm having fun with the idea part


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## Recut (Sep 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Spoon Carving FREE_FOR_ALL (aka collaboration, forum and even class)*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I really need lessons (or help). My first two "Spoons" turned out looking like spatulas.

PLEASE sign me up!


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Spoon Carving FREE_FOR_ALL (aka collaboration, forum and even class)*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Recut ~ Me, I would have told folks that I *meant* to make a spatula. Glad that you are going to give it another go…. spoons are fun projects and don't require much wood. I saw on your other post that you are considering Crepe Myrtle. I think that will make a really great spoon. I recently carved on a piece of wax myrtle (maybe related?) and it was very hard.. but it was salvaged from an old growth tree that had been cut quite some time before. Pretty wood though.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

*Regarding wood slection*

I had posted the following in the first part of the 'blog' (comment section) and someone was kind enough to suggest that it might be easier to find posted as a new segment/addition. Now that I have been educated, I will post the upcoming tools discussion as Part 3 and the step-by-step as future segments.










A little bit about wood selection:

For NON-functional spoons the choice in wood is completely open, although there ARE considerations. If you plan to carve in great detail, then you will want to select a wood that is tight grained and somewhat easy to carve. Straight grained wood is generally easier to carve than wood from burls, crotches and the such.

The level of your carving ability/experience might also play a role in choosing a suitable wood. If you are just starting out with wood carving then I would suggest that you choose a reasonably easy wood to carve. Cherry, basswood, mahogany, sycamore, ash, beech, boxwood, horse chestnut (I find this carves easily and with good detail), witch hazel (very tight grained and finishes beautifully), black locust burl (believe it or not) carves like butter to me and the finish is pure silk.

Some of the fruit wood is nice to carve… others seem to be more cantankerous. As mentioned, cherry is good, plum finishes nice without too much effort and pear wood is a pleasure to work with. Then you get to the citrus woods and I find them to be very hard and somewhat troublesome. Grape is pretty tough as well.

If your carving skills are up to it, and you have a notion to try something new…. I highly recommend trying a wood that might not generally be thought of for wood projects due to size and availability. One of the really great things about spoon carving is that the size is small and lends itself to using those 'rare' and unusual woods. With the size being small, even the purchase of exotic wood is usually not prohibitive. The spoon size allows you to walk out back of the house and prune the lilac, or smoke tree, or redbud, or taxus, or viburnum, etc. Really almost any tree or shrub can be used. There have been spoons carved from Poison Ivy (non-functional). I just find it very rewarding to cut into an unfamiliar wood and discover a unique grain or color. Very worthwhile!

Of course, a thing to remember is how intricate your planned carving is going to be, but with a 'new' wood you might just be compelled by the wood to take a new direction midstream. And that is highly recommended.

For FUNctional spoons the choices are still quite numerous but are somewhat dependent on the intended function. A coffee scoop can obviously be more open grained and be less straight grained than what would be practical for a stirring spoon, a spoon that will be immersed in hot liquids. The stirring spoon will require a flatter spoon bowl, a longer handle and a stronger neck than the coffee scoop. For the purpose of simplicity, I am going to address in particular the considerations of selecting wood for a stirring or cooking spoon. If anyone is making a different sort of functional spoon, we can discuss the considerations unique to your design and intended use on an individual basis.

As mentioned before, a straight grained wood is more suitable for a cooking spoon. I am not saying that it has to be 'boring', as that is not the truth. In fact, using grain creatively in designing your spoon will really add to the uniqueness and beauty. If your spoon is going to be curved (such as a dipper), the wood can be selected with that in mind. By using a natural curve where a branch meets the trunk of a tree will strengthen the spoon since you will be avoiding a 'short' grain.

The hardness of the wood should be such that it can withstand some pressure, weight, impact and heat. The pressure of stirring a thick stew, the weight of dipping out a potato or hunk of beef, the impact of smacking your beautiful new spoon on the side of the pot to shake off the mashed potatoes and of course, this all happens under sometimes intense heat. I like making spoons but I wouldn't want to be one.

The grain direction should be considered. Looking at the end grain you will see which direction the growth rings curve. It will strengthen the spoon to use this curve to match the upwards direction of the spoon bowl.

Does size really matter? Certainly you will want to consider the planned use of the spoon to determine its size. For our stirring spoon example, 10"-12" long would be a reasonable size and maybe a couple of inches wide. There is obviously some flex here, depending on personal preference. I have big hands and those skinny little handles on the store bought spoons just want to spin, making them hard to grasp.

Well, that leads us to shape. We're talking about basically three parts to the spoon. The bowl, the neck and the handle. A stirring spoon bowl would be flatter than a dipping spoon, but a well designed spoon could be used for both. The neck of the spoon should not be spindly as this is where most of the pressure will be applied to the spoon. Making the neck thick and strong enough can be an integral part of a gracefully designed spoon. Balance is the key. As mentioned, a skinny round handle can be difficult to hold onto. I would suggest a flatter, more oval shape to the handle, regardless of how it is to be carved or decorated. The flatness could be on either plane and it doesn't have to be uniform…. Just comfortable to hold. One way to get the perfectly shaped handle is to shape modeling clay by squeezing it in your hand like you would a spoon handle. Then use this 'grip' shape when carving the wood.

Woods with strong smells like cedar and juniper might not be the best choices. And there are some woods that tend to irritate the skin so choose something NON-toxic. I am going 'out on a limb' here and suggest that a green wood can be used as effectively as the dried wood. I say this with reservations though. I have found that many of the green woods I carve are pretty much dried by the time I finish. This could just mean that I am a slow carver, but if the wood is not thick, and the grain is fairly straight, it always seems to work itself out. There is probably some 'movement' after I am finished with the spoon but I have only seen it on two occasions. One was oak burl and one was macadamia wood. I will say more about the green wood later when I address the tools needed. Point is, green wood can be easier to carve, especially with chisels (tends to clog the rotary tools).

Overall, when you add functionality to the project you are also adding considerations on wood selection. But rather than being an 'either/or' choice, it can be a 'both/and' creative project. Just be certain that the decorative aspects of the spoon don't interfere with or complicate the functionality. A case in point would be to have intricate carvings near the bowl making it difficult to keep clean.

I will be adding to this as we go along since some of the topics cross over when we are talking about tool selection (coming up!), but if anyone has any questions at all, either generic or specific, please don't hesitate.

New caveat: Although I have never carved a 'functional spoon in my life, I know it all…. I have Google. <grin>


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Regarding wood slection*
> 
> I had posted the following in the first part of the 'blog' (comment section) and someone was kind enough to suggest that it might be easier to find posted as a new segment/addition. Now that I have been educated, I will post the upcoming tools discussion as Part 3 and the step-by-step as future segments.
> 
> ...


thanks for the re=posting
and for the diagram … somehow, this "plain old spoon" helps with the creativity.

I guess it is the same old wisdom: you have to know the rules before you can break the rules (and make it work).


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## rrdesigns (Sep 4, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Regarding wood slection*
> 
> I had posted the following in the first part of the 'blog' (comment section) and someone was kind enough to suggest that it might be easier to find posted as a new segment/addition. Now that I have been educated, I will post the upcoming tools discussion as Part 3 and the step-by-step as future segments.
> 
> ...


We're off and running! Part two was chock full of great information. Thank you for your wonderful attention to detail. I'll never look at a wooden spoon the same way again. Looking forward to part three.


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## Recut (Sep 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Regarding wood slection*
> 
> I had posted the following in the first part of the 'blog' (comment section) and someone was kind enough to suggest that it might be easier to find posted as a new segment/addition. Now that I have been educated, I will post the upcoming tools discussion as Part 3 and the step-by-step as future segments.
> 
> ...


I couldn't wait! I made a coffee scoop and got carried away making the bowl. I have a coffee scoop with a slight hole just under the handle that appeared during the sanding process.

Sounds like a lesson learned. I am going to try some crepe myrtle (a common flowering bush here in the southeast) that I think will make a neat little spoon.

I can hardly stand it waiting for your next lesson!


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Regarding wood slection*
> 
> I had posted the following in the first part of the 'blog' (comment section) and someone was kind enough to suggest that it might be easier to find posted as a new segment/addition. Now that I have been educated, I will post the upcoming tools discussion as Part 3 and the step-by-step as future segments.
> 
> ...


Actually Recut ~ I am scribbling something together and should have it up later today. I wanted to tell you though that your coffee scoop may be salvageable. At least, from the sound of it there may be a way to aesthetically 'fix' the hole…

Some time ago someone mentioned to me that he had sanded a hole in the bowl bottom of his ornate spoon. I suggested that he carve a miniature boat, mix some 2 part epoxy with some blue paint and after taping off the hole from the bottom, he could pour in some blue epoxy and while still wet, stick the little boat in. Call it the Blue Lagoon Spoon and raise the price. <grin>

Your case would be different, but if you have a lot of work into it already, I bet you there is a way to save it.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Regarding wood slection*
> 
> I had posted the following in the first part of the 'blog' (comment section) and someone was kind enough to suggest that it might be easier to find posted as a new segment/addition. Now that I have been educated, I will post the upcoming tools discussion as Part 3 and the step-by-step as future segments.
> 
> ...


You know more about spoons than I thought possible. I love hearing someone discuss a passion.


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## SteviePete (May 10, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Regarding wood slection*
> 
> I had posted the following in the first part of the 'blog' (comment section) and someone was kind enough to suggest that it might be easier to find posted as a new segment/addition. Now that I have been educated, I will post the upcoming tools discussion as Part 3 and the step-by-step as future segments.
> 
> ...


At the campsite on a canoe trip-green birch, beaver wood (usually dried and peeled aspen), yellow and white birch heartwood dry (tough as hell with all but sharpest knives/gouges but shines when burnished with a brown paper bag). If it goes in your mouth try walnut oil. If not, BLO+thinner+poly, enough to get a film layer then polish with beeswax in turps with 5% or less carnuba. No dishwasher-ever.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

*draw and saw, y'all*

For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.

Most of the time, I just end up drawing a design directly onto the wood. I do this out of poor planning and being what some folks might call lazy. The better way is definitely to draw your design (to scale) on a piece of paper. You can refine your drawing this way and it takes much less time to change a design on paper than it does with wood.

When you draw your design, draw it from at least two perspectives, the top view and the side view. This will allow two advantages. First, by having both a top and side view drawn, you can spot potential problems with the design. The top (bird's eye) view might look really great but when you draw the side profile you might realize that the proportions don't quite work so well. Maybe you see that the piece will look chunky, or maybe realize that the spoon will tend to roll to one side and a change of the pencil line steadies it up.

The second advantage comes when you set about cutting your spoon design out of your wood blank. By transferring both views to the top and side of your wood blank, you can cut out the spoon shape from both angles and this alone will save you a couple of hours of carving. Some shapes that are more 'blocky' can be cut from one angle and be rounded off. On the other hand, a more slender and/or curved piece cut from both angles will pretty much leave a minimum of carving. I mentioned early on that once you get the blank cut out, you're almost done!

One cheat for symmetry…. draw half the spoon and fold over lengthwise. Cut out the shape on the folded paper for perfect symmetry. (kind of like drawing a heart shape)

The real smart thing to do is to transfer your drawing to a piece of clear acetate or plastic film. You can simply lay it atop of your paper design and trace the lines. By doing this you get two more benefits. (yippee!) The first is that you will be able to see the wood grain through the plastic… and you can reposition the drawing over the wood and take advantage of any structural and aesthetic characters in the grain. You can make use of… (or avoid) knots, figure, color, etc.

The second benefit in using plastic is now you have a reusable template in case you want to reproduce the spoon. Simply store the template until you get ready to carve the next spoon and you have avoided having to redraw the design. Now the truth of it is, I usually don't remember to do this until after I am midway into carving the spoon. But it really IS a good practice to keep.

After you have settled on the positioning of the design, simply tape one end of the plastic to the wood, slide in a piece of carbon paper and by retracing your lines you sketch in any details. If the design is simply an outline, use a pencil or scribe to draw the outline onto the wood. If you are set on just using the paper template, use glue to attach it to the wood instead of just taping the edges. Since you will be sawing both top and side, the glue will hold the paper much more securely than the tape. And if you are using a band saw or scroll saw to cut out the blank, the tape has a tendency to 'drag' on the saw table.

So…. what tool are YOU going to use to cut out the spoon blank?? Depending on the size of the blank, the best tool is either a band saw or scroll saw. A scroll saw is great for the smaller pieces. It can also make internal cuts that can save a ton of time and effort. I want one! It is also more suited to making sharp curves and intricate shapes. But if the wood is more than a couple of inches thick…. Start up the band….saw.

A band saw is a great all around tool, no doubt about that. For most spoon designs it does an adequate (and quick) job… depending on the blade installed. The finer the blade, the tighter the curves. A wider blade can be used to lesser effect, but by making relief cuts you can coax a curve out of even the wider blades.

Up until this past January I used a pruning saw to 'block out' the wood and then I used a cheap fretsaw to rough out the shape. This process left a bit more carving to do, and at times felt a whole lot like work, but in the end it is a workable option if you don't have access to the fancier equipment. That's why I said earlier that once you get the blank cut out, you're almost done. Me, I'd rather be carving than sawing.

Regardless of which saw you use, use it with presence of mind and follow all of the safety 'rules' for your particular saw/equipment. You know, be familiar with the controls, capabilities, capacity and stay alert.

I recommend cutting out the top view of your design first…. Keeping the saw blade just outside your pattern line. The more consistent you can be with following the line, the more true to your idea the finished spoon will be. If you are looking for symmetry (as a lot of spoons tend to be) , it will be much easier taking your time on the cut instead of 'making up for it' during the carving process. Hopefully, you have started with a wood 'block' that is fairly squared up. This will help both with keeping the symmetry and also it is much safer. You want the block to sit flat on the saw table. (Fret sawing is a bit different, the block needs to be securely anchored while sawing).

Do NOT discard the off-cuts from the wood block as you cut out your spoon design. The reason for this is that when you flip your wood onto its side to cut out the side angle of your design, you will want to use these pieces to help give that 'flat bottom' back. It is basically a matter of reassembling the pieces (as if they were a puzzle) with masking tape. Here tape is better than the glue since you will be only wanting to hold those pieces in place while you make the second cut. But make sure the pieces are secured tightly together when you make the cut.

What can happen if you do not use these off-cuts to stabilize the wood block is that, depending on the design, after the first cut the bottom of the 'block' may not be flat and stable enough to keep the piece from rolling or tilting. Two DISadvantages here… first, you can ruin your spoon blank. Second….. you can ruin your fingers! When you make a cut on one end and having cut through the tape, a 'supporting' piece might fall away. Stop the saw, re-tape the piece securely onto the block and continue with the sawing. You have to keep in mind that when one piece of the block is cut away the other end is supporting the block….. but if you continue on and cut the other end, you have lost your support. Keep it in your mind that the 'block' has to be stable in order to achieve accuracy in sawing, and more importantly, safety in sawing.

This would be much easier to explain with photos, but I don't have access to the 'shop' just now. (My buddy got himself hospitalized) If any part is unclear or you have specific questions I will be happy to respond. Carving tools are next on the agenda……..

Confucius say: Never sleep while sawing logs. huh?!


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


Thanks, *Spoontaneous*, it was another good one. I'm really looking forward to the next one about carving tools.


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## Detoro (Jan 17, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


I like your comments. Very detailed and easy to follow.
I do differ in cutting out the blank. I like to do the side profile first when starting with a squarish block, followed by the top profile. I find greater stability this way as the top view is wider and I don't have to worry about the spoon curvature.
Otherwise I would have you in my classroom teaching, anytime!


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## murch (Mar 20, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


Spoons, your a mine of information as we say in this neck of the woods.


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## Jimthecarver (Jan 14, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


I have a design and cut it out… Jacaranda is the wood i think should work out well. although very hard.
This class should really get the creative juices flowing in our LJs
Good luck everyone.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


Wreck ~ I'm working on the 'tools' post…. making it up as I go. <grin>

Roman ~ Yeah, I see your point. I tend towards cutting the top first as that 'view' is more important to me for it to be symmetrical (most of the spoon bowls anyway) and the 'reassembled' block always seems to want to shift a little. Now if'n I were making shoes…...

Murch ~ I used to fly into this little town in Indiana called French Lick. They had a bulletin board and one of the things posted was this cartoon that read…. "I taught him everything I know and he's still stupid." Anyways, I grew up in KY and the mines were 'strip mines'.... can't get much shallower than that. ha!

I looked to see where your "neck of the woods" is and see you are in Ireland. A lady from Tipperary just bought the Zipper spoon last week. First sale in about 100 years.

Jim ~ I had seen photos of Jacaranda wood but never the tree, so I looked it up on Google images and what a beauty. I can't wait to see what you have come up with. My spoons are a little more 'out there' but there is no way I can match the detailing on those 'scrolls' that you master. (and I *have* tried) Remember, this is a collaboration and with your carving expertise I totally welcome any occasion where you can chime in. Folks will definitely gain from it (including me).


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


Since this is my first spoon, I think I will cut out two, one from pine to learn on, and one from sugar maple
that I might want to keep. Thank you for class.


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## Jimthecarver (Jan 14, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


This spoon design is by far the most difficult I have tried. I am looking forward to learning your technics and views of how you create your very inspiring pieces.


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## rrdesigns (Sep 4, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


Okay, I'm officially in now. I've had your "Spunes" design tumbling around in my head since the first time I saw it. My idea is a spin-off from that inspiration. I'm calling it "Just Spooning".


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## rrdesigns (Sep 4, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


Here is a crude sketchup image of what I had in mind. I've never made a spoon before. Is this idea possible?


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


Good morning folks ~ I apologize for 'disappearing' over the weekend. My buddy that lets me use his garage for my spoon carving was hospitalized and diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease… at only 56 years of age.

He is an ex-Navy Seal that has always been 'full speed ahead' but the last year or so he has been losing his balance and having difficulty with basic tasks. I had made him a cane a while back but he still falls now and again. Anyways, even with the Navy Seal background he has a very generous heart and has always offered assistance to anyone in need.

I spent some time this weekend helping to get his property in order. I also created a poster of spoons that I am going to offer on my ETSY page and any dollars from that will go to his benefit. He is unable to work or drive himself.

I don't want to distract the spoon carving conversation, but I did want to explain my absence.

Beth ~ Well… yeah. I think the idea is definitely possible. I have not experience with the sketch up software so that is throwing me off a little. Is the bench looking background going to be a stand for the spoon? And am I seeing it right as a 'double bowl? If so, you might consider having the bowls attached at the lip just to add support since the handle(s) are relatively slim. As for the handle… I like that look…. a sort of Asian effect.

I can't believe you haven't made a spoon yet… considering your other projects. I'd say it is high time.

Jim ~ If this is going to be the most difficult design you have tried… then I am wondering what to call those other ones you have done. For me, they look plenty difficult. I'm looking forward to seeing it come about… and I already love the title.

Heck Gus ~ I almost expected you to use both of the woods together and carve a laminated spoon… after looking at your projects. <grin>

Alright… I'll get to work here and finish up the post on TOOLS.


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## rrdesigns (Sep 4, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


I was thiinking of two spoons with the bench as a countertop stand, but it could work as a double ladle with the "arm" as a handle. What are your thoughts?


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


I can see it both ways! I really like the idea of a stand. Somehow that adds a certain 'quality' to the idea… sort of like putting something on a pedestal…. it lends something extra. I say go with your initial impulse and if that impulse changes mid-stream….. so be it. I can see that you have put some thought into it.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *draw and saw, y'all*
> 
> For any of you that have not settled on your design yet, don't worry. I am just going to address this part of the preparation stage since I have the time. This whole collaboration is set up to be flexible around everyone's schedule and timetable. The information will be here when you are ready for it.
> 
> ...


*Spoontaneous*, I'm really sorry about the diagnosis of your friend. I know a little bit about the disease since my father had it for about 15 years before he died and my mother in law also has it now. It can be a very trying ordeal and you are to be admired for looking after your friend.

BTW, I want you to know that you have inspired me to do my first spoon finally. I did it this weekend and even though it is a simple rustic spoon I am quite happy with it and enjoyed doing it very much. I've been putting off carving a spoon for 3 or 4 months. So thanks. I hope there will be many more.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

*TOOL much time on my hands.*

There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.

I am going to tell you about tools that I know nothing about. I am going to give you advice, some of which is based on practices I have yet to try. I am going to mention tools that I have never even held in my hands. And after I do, you are going to come to the realization that, "If this chump can carve a spoon, so can I".

Some years ago I taught flying lessons. Immediately after completing my training I secured a Flight Instructor position with an FBO at the local airport. The Chief Pilot (who was this really great air show stunt pilot) told me that I would learn more in the first two weeks of teaching than I had learned in the previous year or so of my training. He was right!

I am telling this because something similar is occurring as I gather up information for this spoon collaboration. In the process of researching wood, tools and techniques I am beginning to learn how to carve a spoon. Or at least how it is 'supposed' to be done. Now, admittedly, I've never had proper training, nor ANY training for that matter, in the use of woodworking tools…. carving or otherwise. I just kind of fumble along and have learned a few things NOT to do, things that make the adrenalin flow and the hair to stand out on the back of my neck.

When you add to this 'confession' the multitude of tools available, the differing approaches, the experience of the various participants AND… that each spoon is going to be uniquely designed and carved from different woods, you might get the idea that this is going to a broadly scattered topic. That being said, the best approach is ….do not hesitate to ask any questions unique to your project.

This reminds me of another 'flying' story. I was in 'ground school' with maybe 35-40 fellow students and the instructor spent quite some time explaining some topic regarding flight calculations. He emphasized that it was important concept to grasp before we moved on. I had no clue what he just talked about and my ears were burning because I seemed to be the only one that didn't 'get it'. So I sheepishly raised my hand and asked if he could explain it further (I got embarrassed back in those days). Anyway, he asked the class if there was anyone else that needed to review and every single student shot their hand up in the air. So…. ASK!

Spoon carving has been around for hundreds of years longer than power tools have. So that makes it apparent that a spoon can be carved without the use of power tools. Well, by some people anyway. I hold a lot of respect for those that can take a simple blade and carve a shape, those patient ones that can keep an edge on their knives and chisels. I am 99.973 percent a power carver… so I am going to speak to that first.

POWER TOOLS:

There are quite a few manufacturers of power tools these days. Some are of really great quality and reasonably priced. I personally use a Foredom brand rotary tool with a fairly modest collection of burrs and bits. I have owned this tool for maybe 15 years or so without any problems other than loaning it to a fellow that broke the internal flexible shaft, but $30 and I was back in business.

What I have found to be true for me is that the rotary tools are relatively easy to control, they can make (almost) any sort of cut from fine detail to just plain 'hogging' out the wood, and are very low maintenance. I seriously believe that if I had to use the regular hand-carving tools, I would not be willing or able to carve the spoons I make. Two reasons for this…. I have no interest in sharpening a tool when I could be carving with it and I think that the hand tools require more control and talent to use. I simply want to take the easiest path from start to finish, and for me, that means rotary tools.

Rotary Tools:

There are two basic types of rotary tools: Those where a bit or burr is connected directly to the motor via a collet or chuck… and those with a flexible shaft connecting the motor to a 'hand-piece' which in turn houses the collet. In both cases, the collet or chuck is the apparatus that holds the carving bit secure.

The bits and burrs themselves come in many sizes and shapes for making a variety of cuts, from aggressive to delicate. The more aggressive bits will have a thicker and sturdier shank as there is a tendency to 'bear down' with those. The bits that are designed for the finer cuts can be supported by a thinner shank. The shank has to be properly matched to the size of the collet for a secure fit.

It is useful to break down carving with rotary burs into 3 stages (not the 3 stooges). The *ROUGHING* stage is the place to start after you have cut your spoon blank out on the band saw (or other tool). Roughing requires the heavier bits with the thicker shanks. Some of these remove the wood remarkably fast on softwood… and fairly fast on really hard wood. They can also be used to good effect in removing the top layers of skin.

Although somewhat dependent on the spoon design, I usually begin my carving with one of the coarse carbide-tipped roughing bits, usually the rounded nose. I will either start on the handle or the inside of the bowl. When I first start carving, my pencil lines are still sharp and easy to see. It makes it much easier for me to do the roughing out of the spoon bowl early on and then make shape adjustments from the back of the bowl.

Once I get the basic internal bowl shape, I flip the piece over and start rounding and shaping the back of the bowl. This is not regimented at all. I might start on the back of the spoon bowl and find that the handle is 'calling' me so I just go with the flow. But the useful thing here, is to do the roughing before moving on to the smaller bits. And even within the roughing process, you can move from the really coarse bits to the ones that will give you a smoother platform to work from. Not only will it save you work in carving, it saves a lot of time changing out the bits. I also will use my fingers as a 'caliper' to determine the general thickness of the bowl before moving on. I have this tendency to think I am getting the bowl too thin, only to discover later that it is still a quarter inch thick. Of course, that is probably better than leaning in the direction of too thin.

Once you have the spoon rough carved, you can move to the second stage of carving. *SHAPING* the spoon is different than the roughing. You will want to use smaller sized and finer cutting bits in order to 'relieve' the shape you intend for your spoon. Let's say your spoon is going to have a flower carved on the end of the handle. After that shape was roughed out, you can begin to carve in the details such as the edges of the petals, the spaces in between and the center of the flower, all with the shaping bits. Depending on the detail desired and the bits used, you may be ready for sanding after this stage. But in most cases, there will be the finer *DETAILING* required to give the desired effect.

Choosing the proper bit shape becomes increasingly important the finer detail you are working with. There are so many shapes… and even sub-shapes. You can have cones, inverted cones, rounded cones, etc. I have discovered through countless hours of carving, a surefire way to find the exact right bit shape. All you have to do is try a shape and if that doesn't work, try a different one…. and if that doesn't work, try a different shape. This is the only 'surefire' way I know of to determine the right bit to work with. Honest! I still don't know which is the right bit until I find it (and sometimes I don't). The process goes something like this. Hmmm, that didn't work… I'll try this. Nope. Hmmm.. maybe this one, Ooops!, maybe not… ok, this one. Hey, it worked!

Once again, go as far as you can before shifting to the finer bits. But also know that it is quite likely there will be some 'going back'.

The DETAILING is that tedious part of the carving process that is designed to drive us nuts. I kind of like the idea of just carving a spoon and giving it a big texture! But some designs call for those little details that can really set off a carving. Back when I was watching Jordan's class on shoe carving, I couldn't help but wonder how they got all that detail…… even the stitches. So I carve spoons that don't require so much. Ha! But the smaller and finer bits are designed to make those little bitty shapes, and depending on your patience level, you can achieve that sort of detail using the finer rotary bits. At this point, many of the finer bits will be ruby or diamond covered. They can give an almost sanded look depending on the wood.

The main message though, is to follow the three stages in order. Roughing, shaping and finally detailing. Inside each stage, there are numerous ways to achieve the desired effect. And I encourage you to experiment within each stage.

I have found carving with rotary tools to be relatively safe. If you are careful, watchful and wary, chances are you won't cut off a finger. BUT, there is one danger in particular that using a rotary tool can present. If your machine cuts in a clockwise direction (some machines can be reversed), there is a strong tendency for the spinning bit to RUN around the edge. That is to say, that as the spinning bit is cutting near the edge in the direction of rotation, the bit wants to FLY around that edge or corner. Chances are, this is where you will be keeping your fingers or your leg. This is the adrenalin pumping, neck hair standing up experience I was referring to earlier. It can be quite disconcerting…. and painful.

The remedy of course, is to avoid carving close to that 'far edge' of rotation. The spoon carving can be spun around and that portion can be safely carved on the near side, the side opposite the direction of rotation. As with any other kind of carving, or wood working, it pays to stay 'present' and alert. The times I have been startled with this is usually the times when I got complacent. I don't mean to scare anyone away from rotary, because I believe it is relatively safe. But certainly I would be remiss if I did not stress out this inherent 'risk'.

Although I have never experimented with it, it seems that if you are left-handed the rotation 'problem' would be reversed. Meaning, that the 'clockwise' rotation of the bit held in the left hand would now present the same problem on the 'near' side of the piece.

And one more caution…. with rotary tools the wood bits and dust will fly up into the air. As you change the angle of your carving tool, the debris can be thrown directly towards your attentive face. And if you carve outside like I do, the wind can have the tendency to 'blind' side you with a sudden gust carrying all sorts of debris towards your eyes. Protective lens are GOOD.

Some of these machines turn at a variable speed while others are preset at a certain speed. Some are moderately fast, while others are extremely fast! I think one of the most useful features to consider, regardless of your choice in rotary machines, is a variable speed foot control…. like the ones you see on sewing machines (rheostat). With the motor plugged into one of these, you have FULL control over the speed (with your foot) while leaving both hands free to secure and manipulate the piece you are carving on. Even the variable speed tools benefit from this device. After a very short while, you find yourself controlling the speed exactly the way you want it…. and without even giving it thought. The beauty is that you can give 100% of your attention to the 'piece at hand' and not be distracted by having to manually make any speed adjustments. And of course, this adds to the safety of your machine.

I do not have access to the shop just now or I would show you my modest collection of burs and bits. You would probably think…. "Is that all he has?" But since I can't get over there just now, I am going to post a link leading to Jordan's previous post on this subject. I know that's cheating but it will be to your benefit. He has about 5 times more bits than me and does a great job of classifying their use.

http://lumberjocks.com/jordan/blog/20964

Also, if you are considering using rotary, you should check out the following article. Very comprehensive regarding bit availability and selection. The only problem I see with it is that it makes me envious to have some of those bits.

http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/tools-and-tips/choosing-power-carving-bits.html

Power carvers:

I want one. I have never seen one of these operate, other than a video, but I really think they would be a great tool to have in the arsenal. Although, fairly large for spoon carving, there are some cuts that I would imagine they excel at. Namely, those fine V-cuts that give a crisp edge to a carving. I usually try to achieve this effect with a file… and never succeed. Also, with a bent gouge, I can see this as being a great tool for hollowing the spoon bowl, especially if the spoon blank is secured to a bench via a vice or clamp.

If I were carving a lot of the larger functional spoons, I would definitely want to check this out for clearing the inside and rounding off the back of the spoon bowl. I can imagine with a little practice, these could be very fast to work with.

HAND TOOLS:

The ONLY thing I really know about hand tools is to make sure you keep them Sharp! They even taught us that back in the orphanage. The farm boss (everybody called him 'Horse') would scoff in that high-pitched voice of his, at any one of us that tried hacking through bailing twine or a stick with a dull pocket knife. He'd pull his knife out and deftly sliced through whatever it was and he say something like, "You boys are going to get yourselves hurt with that dull blade. Might as well be using a saw."

I wasn't good at sharpening tools back then… and I'm still not. But if you are going to go the hand tool route, keep it sharp. Now you officially know all I know about hand tools for spoon carving.

Change of direction here………..

My intent when I began researching this section on carving knives was to organize and group them into neat little categories that would simplify explanation. What I discovered after several hours of scouring the internet… is that there are innumerable types of blades, sizes, uses, handle types, differing metals, etc. etc.! While the rotary bits can be sub-divided easily enough, there seems to be as many blades and blade shapes as makers. And there are a LOT of them! And that is all good if you go looking for a usable tool. But in trying to categorizing them, I found it exasperating.

What did happen during the hours spent searching was that I discovered that exactly what I wanted to say…. was already said… and said well. So, in one way, this may seem like a cop-out, but I am attaching some OUTSTANDING links I encountered. I am doing this simply because I can not improve upon these articles. My intent was to gather together the information and make it user friendly, but if you click on the following links, you will gain much from it. I did.

The first two links are from knife makers, and although this is NOT an endorsement for their tools (although I have read many, many positive reviews on both sellers), I have to say I am very impressed not only with their knowledge of the blades, but also their ability to share it.

http://www.oldjimbo.com/Outdoors-Magazine/Spoon-carving-knives-by-Del-Stubbs.pdf

http://www.pinewoodforge.com/catalog.html

The following two tutorials will only add to what has already been said about carving a spoon. I set out to inspire you guys and ended up spending hours myself with my head buried in the computer. I'm chomping at the bit to get back in the shop.

http://www.oldjimbo.com/Outdoors-Magazine/Spoon-Carving-Tutorial.pdf

http://www.barrygordon.com/Spoonmaking.pdf


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I have to decide if I want to go the hand or power route. I'm not sure if I have the right tools to carve the inside of the bowl. I do like the carving hold downs in the barry gordon document.


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## murch (Mar 20, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


Great read Spoons. It's funny, but I always had you down as a hand-tool guy. Very interesting links and 
another fine blog.
I only use hand tools ( easier on the electric bill, man I'm cheap!!) and while they do take a bit of time
to keep sharp, I actually enjoy that part of it too. A good set of carving chisels,without going crazy money,
will hold their edges well. I use flexcuts and am very happy with them.

Rgds etc,
Murch.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


*Wayne*, based on my experience with the one that I carved over the weekend you can do it with a straight #8 or#9 gouge and finish it with a #3 or #4. The one that I did was a table size spoon and I used the #9×25mm that I had but if your spoon was a regular sized spoon you wouldn't need a gouge that large. It wouldn't have been as quick but I think that I might could have done it with a #9×15mm. I would have had to take a little more care in the shaping of it's bowl.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


I will have to try one in basswood and see how the tools work. I was thinking I need something curved. I was thinking about giving pine wood forge a call and ordering a curved knife. Rather not spend the money ATM though, just spent my tool budget on standard carving tools. If push comes to shove, I should have some power carving tools for the dremel. I took a power carving class a couple of years ago. Might be difficult finding them at the moment.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


*Spoons*, I'm going to do my spoon with hand tools but I would also like to get a power carver. I want to learn how to carve with power too and I also want a wood burner. Once again, I enjoyed reading this part as well. I also want to thank you for making me finally getting off my procrastinating butt and actually carving a spoon.

*murch* , I have a few flexcut knives and carving tools and I like them. I don't consider them to be the equivalent of my pfiel's or HT's but I don't think they are meant to be. They are a little smaller especially the little palm handled ones. They are perfect for a lot of things and they have good steel and hold an edge.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


*Wayne*, unless you really carve an extra deep spoon a straight gouge can do it. You will be carving from each side because of the grain. When I carve the one that I did over the weekend I didn't have any difficulty getting into the bottom with the straight gouge and I could have gotten by without the spoon gouge that I had.

I just happened to look at flexcut's site to see if they had any spoon gouges and I saw these scorps. Thay are not very big but might come in handy for something.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


I'll give it a try. Was reaching for an excuse to buy tools I probably do not need…lol I would not mind having all 3 profiles of the Pine Wood Forge knives.


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## Detoro (Jan 17, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


Excellent article on power carving. You have just described what I went through the past 20 years learning how to carve- hand or power. There is one thing that I learned through these years is that you LISTEN to the wood, FEEL the grain and SMELL the chips and sawdust. Keep your senses sharp and you will end up with a beautiful work of Art! 
And oh yes, I am left-handed living in a right-handed world. We had to learn to adapt early in life.

Once again Spoon, a simply terrific article!


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


You guys that use the blades might want to check out Chappelow's spoons. He uses one of those gouge looking things to leave a great texture on the inside of his bowls. Definitely something more suited to hand tools.

http://www.tryyn.sandiego411.net/ Pretty stuff.

Southpaw… uh, I mean Roman ~ I call that the 'zone'. I remember back when I had a lathe and I was cutting a bowl from a piece of green dogwood. The angle of the chisel was just perfect to throw this constant stream of shavings over my right shoulder. There was a sort of humming/singing sound and it was like time got froze. Every fiber of my being seem glued to where the blade and the wood met. But there was still enough 'presence' about me to observe myself being aware of it. Kind of like watching me watch myself but still totally paying attention to the cut.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


That is a real nice effect. I like the look of Chappelow's spoons a lot. I've seen greenwood turning in a video like that. I have a lathe, but have never turned green wood. I will have to add it to my to do list.


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


That is a wonderful website and his things are beautiful. Thanks, *Spoons*.


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## Bluepine38 (Dec 14, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


I am not sure if I am either to cheap to buy knives, or if I just enjoy making tools too much to cheat myself
out of the fun of making the knives. I have 4 knives rough shaped and tempered now, will anneal the blades
and then put handles on them. Found out it is hard to drill real good big sawmill bandsaw blades, even with
cobalt bits, carbide bits are expensive and tend to chip and break if you are not real careful. Am in the 
process of making a set up to punch holes in red hot metal. Do not know how the knives will work, but I 
am having fun, will have to take a break today, because my 6 year old great-grandson is coming out to make
a rocking chair, he said I can help.


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## Jimthecarver (Jan 14, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


The design I have drawn will require the use of rotary and hand tools. The gouges I use for the scoops are flexcut. The knives are all home made…. I also enjoy making the gouges and knives myself. 
I do not claim to be a knife maker but many people that have my knives seem to love them. That in its self is very rewarding.
Hopefully when life calms down a little bit I want to do a blog on how I make knives.
Spoons….your doing a fantastic job on this blog.
I cant wait to see everyones designs.


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## hairy (Sep 23, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


Wow! That's too much to read. I'll wait for the video.

Joking! Thanks for the inside scoop.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


I resawed my wood for the spoon. Been out of town for several days. I plan to rough it out tonight!


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


Bertha/AL ~ I'm looking forward to seeing your spoon. I am hoping to get over to the shop today and start on one…. haven't settled on which design.. I guess I will just make up on when I get over there. It has been over a month and I bet with the humidity, the band saw is wanting to rust.

Jim the Carver ~ I remember seeing your knives on your project page. Very beautiful knives and I bet they function very well. Hope you don't mind Jim but I am going to link it here:

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/44834

Wayne and Wreck ~ Yeah, Chappelow does make some pretty spoons. I would love to learn how to use a hand tool for that effect.

When I get back in, I am going to try and make a list to see where everyone is with their design/project. Its about that time to start cutting if you haven't already. Ha! I'm the one to talk.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


Hairy ~ You said, "Wow! That's too much to read. I'll wait for the video."

I forget which writer it was, but he apologized for a letter being too long and said "if I had more time I would have made it shorter." <grin>


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## BuckConner (Feb 28, 2021)

Spoontaneous said:


> *TOOL much time on my hands.*
> 
> There are some woodworkers that have a broad range of experience with all sorts of tools and can use them skillfully in keeping with their function. I am not one of those.
> 
> ...


I'm new to this website, know one member here but have not found him yet. If you folks know Cory Cannon from St. George Utah please let me know. The reason I came on board was a suggestion of my heart doctor, he felt if I started working with my hands that would help be get back to being at least 98%.

I look at what you folks have made makes one glad to be able to just look at what you have done and your skill levels WOW.

Thank you for the time, now have to make a list so I too can make a spoon. Thank you.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

*Back in the saddle again...*

After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.

I didn't take along my sketchpad but I remembered this inch long drawing (circled) that I thought would be easy and fun to make.










Looking through my wood box I found a piece of serviceberry wood that I thought might look alright. I don't have to worry about the grain direction so much since it is going to be a nonfunctional spoon. I drew a design directly onto the wood blank after squaring it up, but I didn't really remember exactly what the drawing had looked like. I missed it by quite a bit but I really just wanted to get back to carving so no big deal.

After cutting out the top of the design I used a drop or two of the gel superglue to temporary reattach the off cuts. A tap with a hammer knocks those pieces right off.










After cutting the side profile the blank ended up looking like this…










I started with a coarse round bit to clear out the bowl. The outside of the bowl was shaped with a different coarse bit that has straight sides and a rounded top. If my band saw blade had been sharp, I could have tilted the table and cut off some of the excess on the spoon bottom… saving myself a half hour or so.










Carving the bowl is when I 'remembered' that Serviceberry is a hard wood to carve. I should have picked a design with a smaller bowl…. or found a softer wood.

After a spell I got the bowl roughed out and changed bits to another rounded style. It has finer teeth and gives a smoother finish. As I was shaping both the inside and back of the bowl, the design seemed to look like a leaf shape so I am going with that… unless something else presents itself. This is mostly the way I work, letting the piece sort of dictate, or at least suggest, the direction of the spoon design.










After a couple hours, this is what the thing looks like. There is one crack showing up in the bottom of the bowl, so I am watching to see if I have to scrap it.










Just to give you an idea of my carving set-up, I am attaching a couple of pics. First off, I have my band saw on a furniture dolly so I can roll it in and out of the garage. I don't have a dust collection system so when I am done sawing and carving I just take the leaf blower and blast everything with it.

I keep my rotary tool (Foredom) attached to a folding ladder and just unfold the ladder in the alleyway when I get to carving. The nice thing is that the garage doors are the flip up kind, and as you can see from the photo, I position myself in the shade. Notice the foot pedal for speed control…. works great!!










As there are others that use the garage, I keep my bits in a small box and drag it out with the ladder and chair. You can see I don't have a lot of bits and burs… but most times it is enough to do the job. I also have an Xacto knife which comes in handy from time to time.










I am really interested in seeing the spoons you guys carve… and if you have the notion (and the time), I would love to see some of the process.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


the photos are great!!!
I'm still at the design phase - as I said I am high in creativity and a little lacking on the hands-on genes


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## Detoro (Jan 17, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the gel superglue tip. I'm going to use it. Nice job. Good instructions.
The sketches are very current! RH


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## BritBoxmaker (Feb 1, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Just goes to show. Its not what you've got its what you do with it that counts. Spoon's looking good too.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Well, I was thinking I might try and do something fancy around the edges (a sort of perforation)... but the Son of a Branch has this little tiny 'crack' in the grain and I decided just to sand it out and move on. I think what I am calling a crack, is really what I've heard called 'shake' in cherry wood. That minute separation between the grain (growth rings).

In any case, from the last photo of the spoon, all I have done is sand (most of) the scratches out. I am out of my Waterlox finish so I just wiped on, wiped off a poly.

Can't say I'm content with the spoon, but I can say that, although hard, Serviceberry wood is becoming one of my favorite woods to make spoons from. It has this reddish brown color that I find irresistible. 'Amerlanchier canadensis' is a small tree and if you come across it, send me some. ha!

Okay, I'm off to try again…. How are you guys coming???


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## Jimthecarver (Jan 14, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Spoons your designs are very cool.
This is what I have come up with…I found it to be a bit over whelming, challenging I believe was not the correct word for this spoon. But I have a different method of pattern transfer to the wood. I usually draw my design and after it looks acceptable I put a piece of transfer paper in the copier or printer and print the pattern on to the thin paper. Then I use a very thin layer of white glue to adhear the pattern to my selected piece of material. After completely dry I then simply cut it out on the desired saw and waaaa-laaa easy breezy.

Not sure why this is upside down but….. rotate your monitor to see it….lol

This is 3/4" Jacaranda wood.

Here you can see I have cut out the dream catcher and have drilled a depth hole in the middle so I wont go any farther than needed for this step.

In this pic you can see I am very far along in the brutle carving process. Notice the dream catcher still has the paper glued to the wood face.

Here you can see I am making the leather straps to hold the center leather pallet. I am seperating the upper and lower leather straps.


In this pic I have pierced the center where the straps pass through the center piece.

And it is beginning to look like I hoped it would.

The Tee-Pee seemed to be a bit to chunky so I decided to hollow it out and carve a fire in the center for 3d effects I suppose.
Ok so its a bit crazy I understand but hey a guy has to try RITE?
I look forward to seeing everyones spoons.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Here's the difference between you and me, Jim. I had this idea to carve an 'arrow' spoon with the shaft being the handle….. but you go and throw in the whole dang village, teepee and all !!! First off, AWESOME design… supporting the dream catcher with the teepee poles is brilliant. Can't wait to see those feathers carved in. And how you managed to carve the 'leather straps' without them breaking is beyond me. It really does look like the 'straps' are taut. Is the bear claw burned in?

Jim, this is way beyond cool. Can't wait to see it progress. Is that a 'peace pipe' lying next to the fire? I mean, you've gotta be smoking something! <grin> Outstanding !


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


oh my goodness …..... Spoon- love your leaf spoon 
and Jim-the tipi spoon is extraordinary, so well thought out, so meaningful, so intricate… NICE!


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## Jimthecarver (Jan 14, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Spoons I thought you may think Im in need of mental help after taking such an intricate design on. As you I have had no training in carving or even art. I can see it in a finished form as I draw the design…but as usual the carving takes a turn somewhere and really challenges me.
The bear claw at this piont is just marked with a sharpie as well as the design on the teepee. 
The straps are power carved after most of the waste is removed.
A pipe is a good idea….hmmmm getting the grey matter moving again….lol

Ms. Debbie- thank you your very sweet


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Hoooo-Doggy! I just came off of 4 days of bone wearying, mind numbing work… but now I'm done 'til Sunday evening. That's why you ain't heard from me. I did finish another spoon last weekend… and I have a couple of others started.

The one I completed is out of that servicebery wood, and the design is similar to the 'Vertebrate' spoon I did some time back. I'm just calling it Zig Zag' since I can't figure a good name for it.



















I am hoping to get over to the shop later today and some tomorrow and play around a bit.

Sometime this weekend …. I am going to post a bit about finishing. I'm not one to talk since I go for the easy, 'fool proof' products (which I usually manage to prove aren't really fool proof). But not knowing what I am talking about has never stopped me before. ha!

So where is everyone? I mean…. with their spoon projects???

Let's do a roll call:

Jim the Carver ~ Well, we know he is staked out over an ant hill. Really looking forward to seeing his spoon evolve.

MsDebbie ~ Keeps trying to make those subtle hints ….. but I am 'certain' that she will be getting to the shop right soon.

Recut ~ Have you started on the Crepe Myrtle yet? I think that is going to make an awesome spoon. If you have any left overs….... (hint, hint)

Bertha ~ Let's see. You re-sawed (resawn?) your wood… and did you get your blank cut out? What kind of wood were you going with?

BluePine ~ You were working on 2 spoons… pine and maple. Are you knee deep in one or both?

Rrdesigns ~ You've gotta be making a place on the bench for a spoon, amongst all your other projects. How are you coming?

WayneC ~ Have you started cutting on that Basswood yet? If so, what knives did you decide to go with??

Murch ~ Last I heard you were sharpening your Flexcuts. Have you attacked any wood with them?

Helluvawreck ~ Are you still off your "procrastinating butt" and still carving that spoon… or, are you done already?

Nafianna ~ Have you been working on something "vaguely spoon shaped"? That's the cool thing about making something… no matter how it comes out looking, you can claim it was designed that way.

Roman, Wiggy and Hairy…. you guys have chimed in but not sure if you are all making new spoons. If'n you ain't, you orta.

I apologize if I missed anyone. Like I said, my mind is numbed today. I really, really am looking forward to seeing everyone's (including MsDebbie) spoons. I hope you will post them here as well as the projects page because I don't always get a chance to catch up looking at the projects.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


haha yah, um… well.. ah….. I have LOTS of ideas!! and even "my design" picked out… and then, ah, well. uh… 
gee it has been really, really hot out for the past couple weeks. Yah, that's it. It's been way too hot to go into the shop


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## helluvawreck (Jul 21, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


*Spoons*, it is another good post. Maybe I'll have time to try another one this weekend.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Yeah Debbie ~ Approximately 5 months from now you are going to be dreaming of 'hot' days…. so you better go on and get your self out there to the shop… before you have to shovel a path. I wonder why 'Nike' comes to mind?

Helluvawreck ~ I know you stay busy with projects… hope you get around to another spoon.

I didn't make it to the shop yesterday after all, but am determined to get there today.


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## NaFianna (Feb 11, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Well not a lot of progress here. I had decided pick a piece of firewood from the pile. It is a piece of pohutukawa, a native here, which had been drying for about 3 years, and it had a bit of a bend in it which suitied my plan. The plan in my head - no proper plans or sketches - thats not me. Well bad choice, this wood is so hard that I do not think I have the skills or tools to see it through to spoonend. I am embarrassed posting this









Will have another go at this when I have time


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


I'm going slow…. been a busy couple of weeks….


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


NaFianna ~ I had to look up your wood choice and Wiki says one of the common names for your wood is 'Ironwood' so that gives an idea to the difficulty in carving. But I've gotta tell you… don't be embarrassed about it. I have a few of those 'blanks' over in the corner of the garage. I keep thinking one of these days…... Looks like it would have been a pretty wood though, I wish it grew down this way. The tree looks similar to what the call the bottle brush tree here. I plan to try that fairly soon, as my buddy has a tree in his yard with some dead wood. I like the proportions you have between the handle and the bowl. Don't toss the blank, it still has potential to make a great spoon.

Wayne ~ I hear you about being "busy". It was my intent to post on 'finishing' last weekend, but the weekend got caught short as I had to travel out of town for work… which was just the other side of brutal… but now I am settled back in and should have some time to post again. I plan to get back to the shop later today or tomorrow.

Jim the Carver ~ Are you in a straight jacket yet?


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


I made some progress this morning. It felt really good to fire up the bandsaw and cut some blanks (been out of the shop with a badly broken leg). I cut 3 blanks based on a simple wooden spoon from the kitchen.



Roughing out the inside of the bowl


Roughing the outside


As far as I got this morning


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## Jimthecarver (Jan 14, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


The carving has been put on hold for a while. I had a small accident and have been nursing a very sore Bird finger on the right hand.
It never fails as soon as you think "Hmmmm maybe I should move my hand" then yep…it happens.
I may fall behind, but I will do my best to stay out of sight of the ants and straight jackets. Although it maybe necessary soon.


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## Billinmich (Mar 8, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...





























I posted the spoon on my projects page.Had a lot of fun ,learned something also


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


WayneC ~ I saw your post a couple of days ago… but for some reason the photos did not show up. Sorry to hear about the leg… you and Jim are both 'injured'. I haven't tired a functional spoon yet, but I decided the other day that I am going to make one for myself. A basic one like you have going on… but maybe a fatter handle since I have big hands. Looking forward to seeing them complete.

Jim…. ! The bird finger?... you must have been having bad thoughts. Hurry up and get that thing healed so I can see the finished spoon.

Bill ~ Those snake spoon are a knock out. I like the way you did the scaling on them. They actually look like they would be comfortable to hold in the hand????


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## Kristoffer (Aug 5, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


I can't wait to start my first spoon carving!!! I thought that since my shop was all packed up (waiting for the move) that now would be a good time. But, I can't find the piece of cherry that I was going to use. My first spoon is going to be a "Love Spoon" that I am going to give to my fiance at the altar next October. I'm still trying to pick one of the three or four designs that I've been checking out. All of them, probably not a first time spoon carving design, but that's how I roll. I can't start out with a beginner's project, I have to test myself and drive myself to the brink of insanity along the way. Which REALLY sucks since my training has only come from one idiot, me. Well, along with the great folks here on LumberJocks.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Kristoffer ~ When you get the spoon made be sure and post it for us to have a look (maybe even during the process). As for 'Love Spoons', I haven't tried one of those, but take a look at Jim the Carver's projects as he has finished several of them. Me, I'm too scared.


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## Philzoel (Dec 26, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


just found this spooner area. WOW I started in spoons and still like them. Have 20 or thirty i like. I will take there pictures tomorrow and post some or all. From early trying to make the bowl, so they were shallow. To overall shape and symmetry. Excited to see you guys are interested too.


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## mtnwild (Sep 28, 2008)

Spoontaneous said:


> *Back in the saddle again...*
> 
> After a good 5-6 weeks, I finally made it back to the shop for a couple of hours yesterday, the shop being the alleyway behind my friend's garage. Pretty dang hot and humid.. and the mosquitoes and gnats didn't seem to mind.
> 
> ...


Getting in here way late, just wanted to say I'm such a fan of you and your work. For a long time, yea, way back.

Classic example of my favorite saying "It's not what you see but how you see it". You see from all angles and depths. Your creativity is astounding to me. You exemplify," limitless".

Thanks for the energy and inspiration projected….Jack…


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

*The Finish Line*

I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.

For those of you that might still be in this spoon carving process, I wanted to mention a couple of words regarding 'finishing'. Of course, that word carries two different connotations. The first being, "get ur done" and the second is applying a 'finish' to seal and/or protect the wood. While the first use of the word might be the most useful at this point, I am instead going to look at the second…. The application of some sort of finish.

Not being one to create something that is actually functional, I have the luxury of being able to experiment with a broad range of finishes…. and have over the years. But in discovering that I am inherently lazy and have an acute case of 'get-it-done-itis', I have come to appreciate those finishes that are easy to apply, dry quickly and give an elegant look to the wood without a gloppy buildup.

The tactile quality of the finish is as important to me as the visual. If it feels like plastic, I don't like it. If the wood feels 'dry', I don't like it. What I do like is… for the finish to showcase the grain of the wood, giving a 'saturated' appearance to the natural color of the wood and without distracting in any way from the wood… or the spoon. This is what I like, but have yet to fully and consistently achieve it.

There is this look that I have heard referred to as a 'gallery finish'. I'm sure that means different things to different folks, and for me it is more of something I recognize in other's work. So before leading into a brief and incomplete listing of possible finishes, the best recommendation that I can give for finding the right finish is that when you see a finish you like, ask the maker how he or she went about it. And then experiment.

Of course, in making *functional *spoons, there are many more considerations to choosing a finish other than look and feel. I mean, you might actually be putting that thing into your mouth (or at least your food)… so your choices are going to be limited to those finishes that are approved for such a use, aka NON-toxic. But you really don't have to sacrifice the aesthetic qualities in order to obtain a finish that will also extend the useful life of the spoon.

You gotta,I mean just gotta use a finish that is water repellent. There are two kinds of finishes…. penetrating and film-forming. The film-forming finish is going to chip, crack and, with use, in a very short time going to become a mess. Water has a way of messing with wood, causing the wood to expand… and then as the wood dries it shrinks… and then your really cool spoon splits down the middle.

The penetrating finishes are far better suited to protecting the wood spoon, not only from water, but from heat and even stains (spaghetti sauce and the such). Most of these are going to be some sort of oil, or oil combination (usually wax).

Some folks use vegetable oils but they go can rancid after a bit. I suppose you could wash and reapply regularly and that would help… but still, I think there are better alternatives. Coconut oil is reportedly resistant to rancidity. Walnut oil and Almond oil a bit less so. Although, it seems like there are a lot of makers that swear by the Walnut oil.

Mineral Oil seems to be quite poplar, in part because it is easy to come by, inexpensive, easy to reapply and doesn't go rancid. Sometimes it is combined with a wax (paraffin or beeswax) for more protection. Mineral oil is petroleum based and that is a little weird when you think of it.

Raw Linseed (flaxseed?) oil has been used. Is that stuff still around?

100% Pure Tung Oil can be used.. just make sure that it is not one of those tung oil 'finishes' with all sorts of additives. Pure tung oil dries really hard and makes for a durable finish. I think if I were to make a functional spoon, and I am sure I will one of these days, I will probably use Tung oil (I have it) or the mineral oil…. Or maybe the walnut oil. (That sounded ambivalent?).

Some of the prepackaged finishes could be used. "Good stuff", Behlan's Salad bowl finish and Meldo's, etc…. A lot of these have unnamed 'drying agents' and I'm not really sure what they are…. So I'd be tempted to shy away from them.

The Behlan's I've used before, but not on a functional spoon. One thing I liked about that product was that I could build up coats gradually and the finish came out looking almost like a lacquer. Even though I believe it is billed as penetrating, it does build up a 'skin' and I think under heavy kitchen use, this could chip and lead to all sorts of problems.

No matter which product you use to finish your spoon with, it is recommended to allow a curing time before use.. depending on which product this could be several days.

For the *NON-functional *spoon the choices are even more numerous. I'm not even going to look at stains and paints, although they can be categorized as 'finishes'. But outside of these we are looking at:

Oils ~ Easy to apply, penetrates the wood, rag on-wait-rag off.

Varnish and Polyurethane ~ Good protection but dry slow, allowing for dust contamination. Usually brushed or sprayed in coats with sanding in between. I have pretty good luck with thinning the stuff and wiping on with a lint free cloth. Takes a few more coats but gives a respectable finish, if not totally durable.

(There are oil/varnish combinations and a lot of these can be rubbed on as well.)

Shellac ~ Fast drying (alcohol based), limiting dust contamination… but you've gotta work fast.

Lacquer ~ Fast drying as well, beautiful finish for those that have the skill. I usually mess it up even with the fool proof sprays.

Water-based finishes ~ Basically latex paint without pigment. I never got interested enough to try them. Plus, I don't think they are that durable.

Personally, for non-functional spoons, I like the Waterlox satin. I really liked the finish on Norm Sartorius' spoons and this is what he uses. Call me a copy cat! But the dang stuff is expensive at almost $40 quart. And then, it wants to dry up in the can once it is exposed to air. Some folks drop marbles in or squeeze the can to keep the air out but that is too much trouble for me. I just use what I can until it goes bad and start saving up for another can. It is that easy wipe on, wipe off, buff out, repeat that I like. I haven't quite got the technique down yet, but I am improving a little bit.

No matter which finish though, it seems like the wood used makes a big difference. Sometimes it will look almost glossy with a couple of coats and some woods I can get 6 coats on and it still looks a bit dull. I suppose it has to do with the density of the wood, but it seems more inconsistent than that.

My ears are open to any interesting finishes that I haven't tried. I mean, only the easy, foolproof ones.

As for the spoon carving, I finished 2-3 new spoons that aren't worth the showing. I had posted at the end of the last blog segment, hoping to see how everyone is coming along. Since it is kind of buried there, feel free to give us and update on your progress, or in some of our cases, regress.

That reminds me of something I read the other day…. "If 'con' is the opposite of 'pro', what is the opposite of progress?"


----------



## Detoro (Jan 17, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Excellent lesson on finishing and I especially like the last line.

Will there be an article on 'Marketing'?


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I have not progressed much since my update in the previous blog post. I have been rehabbing some spokeshaves to use on the handles.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


I haven't had time to visit the shop for quite a spell to do any carving, but last weekend I did 'finish' up a couple previously started. Not one of these was I happy about. The feather spoon was looking pretty good for a while… and then I tried using the wood dye and that sort of detracted from it.

Then I tried my hand at the gold leafing and that was a several hour disaster. I wanted to use one sheet but with the concavity of the bowl the sheet would tear as I tried to tease it in with a soft brush. Of course, I didn't have the sizing… so I first tried polyurethane (no go) and then just white glue. In any case, I didn't like the final result. The wood is wild apple.










Some of you guys get to work with various exotic woods and I finally got my hands on a piece. Not sure of the spelling, but I understand that the natives pronounce the name of this wood 'em-dee-eff' and legend has it that only the tribal chiefs are permitted to harvest the wood. I went through the carving process without a hitch and as soon as I went to sand, the neck snapped in two. Superglue to the rescue but it left a dark line so I tried to camouflage it with the black marker lines. Interesting process but I doubt I'd go to the effort again.










The third spoon somehow reminds me of the old comic 'Lil Abner. This is from a weed tree here in FL and I pulled this piece from a brush pile. I can't think of the name of it right now but that probably doesn't matter… as I don't find much to like about the wood. The bark is a bit interesting. This one has a sort of footed bowl to it and if you look at the front, you can see light shining through the wall of the bowl… where I almost carved through.










This last photo was also a 'disaster'. I had the idea of gluing up a blank from color pencils and carving a spoon from that. I figured that all the colored dots would highlight the 'wood' in a cool way. I was out of the acrylic resin and tried pigmented epoxy instead. I've had good luck with it before so didn't anticipate a problem. The problem was that I didn't have any duct tape to use to seal up the joints in my temporary wood frame… so I tried the painter's tape right before I headed home. When I got back a few days later I found that the epoxy had drained out of the framing block and I was left with a pretty good mess.










It is a bit ironic that I would be posting about 'finishing' and then each spoon I try to finish goes awry. Such is life.


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## MsDebbieP (Jan 4, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


I do hope you are going to try this one again-super cool!! 
The feather is beautiful.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


I would think the gold leaf would be hard to apply in a situation like that. I would find it interesting with the same wood from the feather laminated into the bowl. Not sure if it could be done…

I roughed out another spoon this morning. Playing with the handle style some. I'm wanting to head to woodcraft today to hunt some tools…. Bent gouge with a flatter profile and a carver's drawknife….

The new spoon is in front


The "Shop dog" was supervising my work an defending the yard…


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Wayne ~ I really like the gentle curves on the 'new' handle. I think it is going to make all the difference. Is that a 'Corby'? I've heard they are smart dogs. In any case, he gives new meaning to the term 'bench dog'.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Yes he is a corgi… He is pretty sharp. He has his first level of herding certification on sheep. A bit too gung ho on the home defense.


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## CarvinTom (Aug 12, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Flaxseed oil is available at the drugstore. That is what is in flaxseed oil capsules.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Regarding your pencil glue-up. Not having done this myself(I'm talking out the side of my head here), I would suggest removing the paint from the outside of the pencils before gluing them up. From what I've seen, the paint on these does not stick to the wood very good. This could result in pieces of the finished easilly coming loose. The Epoxy would adhere to the paint, but the paint would still separate from the wood in the pencil. Just a thought.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Thanks Rance ~ That is probably good advice. I was kind of hoping though to have that thin color around the pencils to show up in the final piece. Of course, I bought the dollar store pencils and they are probably too cheaply made to work with.

If the idea had worked, I would have been glad to take full credit for it, but the truth is the idea is not original. I've had this pic in my 'design' file for a spell.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


I have an author friend in Minnesota that I am in the process of designing the 5th book cover for, and she sent me a couple of pieces of wood… two small pieces of a plum from her back yard and a piece of driftwood found along a lake shore. The driftwood was too far gone (decayed) and the two plum pieces were checked pretty badly on the ends. I cut into one anyways, and here is her first spoon. It actually looks more like a ladle… or as my buddy says, a pipe. But I'm calling it a spoon. It is about 10 1/2" long.

I am out of the Waterlox finish, so I used some professional grade polyurethane floor finish thinned about 25% with mineral spirits… just wiping on.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


I just finished two spoons and  it is a real challenge for me because I am not a carver and I like to use power tools as much as possible. I did find a 3/4" carbide ball cutter that I used in my die grinder to rough out the inside. It actually got me pretty close and then I used my Dremel with ball bits and sanding drums.
The finish I used on these and any bowls that have food in them is Behandla Salad Bowl Finish from IKEA. It is made in Slovenia and has a little packet of directions in the lid in about 30 languages. Essentially you flood the surface with the finish, let it set for 30-60 minutes. Then wipe off the excess and let it sit for 6 hours. Then you buff it with a soft cloth. If it is not up to the sheen you want, wait 24 hours and go through the process again. It does not get shiny like a lacquer or poly finish, but it is food safe.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Jim ~ If you are talking about those two maple spoons you just posted, they are awesome… and totally contradict your claim that "I am not a carver". Very well done and with great lines. I bet they look great with the bowl! Great job!


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## NaFianna (Feb 11, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...






























Well its not a spoon 'cos I chickened out at the last minute and made a spatula sort of thing. Pohutukawa is very hard and I just did not think I could do it justice. I tried to follow the grain with its shape and it has turned out a left handed thing. Not planned but it is as I discovered when I tried to use it. So will give it to my son for flippin crepes. Tried to leave a chipped effect on the handle but it turned out wrong just blotchy.
But I like it


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


It looks realy nice. I like the lines.


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## Spoontaneous (Apr 13, 2009)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


NaFianna ~ That turned out quite nicely actually. I remember you saying the wood was awfully hard… but it sure does have a pretty color and grain. I understand about the left-handed thing…. that happens to some of my spoons…. always unintentionally.But I bet with something like scrambled eggs, you could use it with either hand. Nice job!


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


I posted my 3 functional spoons as a project….

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/52901


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## wood2art (Aug 9, 2010)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


I found your blog on spoon carving a few days ago, while looking for info on finishes. I went back and have been enjoying the earlier parts. Nicely written. I have been carving spoons for a number of years, but always enjoy seeing what other carvers are up to. I too am a power carver, and they will have to pry my Foredom from my hand when I'm dead. Getting back to finishing, I am glad to see you mention Tung Oil. I have been using Walnut oil on my functional pieces, and haven't been real happy with the results. I am going to give Tung oil a try. Hope you're doing well on Etsy.

J. Anderson


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## GUR (Nov 15, 2011)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


Happens to me just the opposite to you. I do all the spoons are "functional" and finish all use is olive oil. I like the finish it leaves.
Ah, you have a collection worthy of a museum spoons, original and perfect finishes.


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## NorwoodOrigins (Sep 23, 2013)

Spoontaneous said:


> *The Finish Line*
> 
> I've had to strap myself in for the last couple of weeks riding this roller coaster called 'life', and have had all three hands busy at the wheel. Anyways… I am never too far removed from the spoon carving addiction.
> 
> ...


file:///home/grandma/.cache/.fr-UcmRV8/DSCN2057.JPG this is what i have been doing lately. nothing too intricate, but where i am, people arent realy interested in fancy spoons. i made some out of honey locust with more intricate designs, and it took a while to sell them. but making due until i can design a website.


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