Extracting a spoon blank from a chunk of wood

Mike Schwing · #1 08-31-2005, 07:38 AM

One of the most difficult parts of spoon carving, for me anyway, is stock removal. I use a bandsaw to get rid of the waste quickly and efficiently so I can get right down to the meat and bones of carving.

To help any aspiring spoon carvers out there, I took a few quick pictures of the process I use last evening and put them on the web.

Descriptions/instructions accompany each photo. This is just a quick and dirty example, but it might set off a light bulb or two. The same process is applicable to all sorts of things in the realm of woodworking.

Quickly extracting your spoon blank.

Ashbys · #2 08-31-2005, 07:52 AM

Mike ,

Excellent step by step! Combined with your carving of the spoon, you have made an excellent tutorial for all of us !

.

Also I noticed you have carved a lot of exotic woods, are there any materials you would suggest that we do not use?

Ash

Irish · #3 08-31-2005, 10:28 AM

Mike, Thank you! That is so clear and so applicable to other 3-D ideas. You did great.

Susan

Hi_Ho_Sliver · #4 08-31-2005, 10:34 AM

Good pictures! a couple of the left over pieces would make good stylized fish!

Bandaid · #5 08-31-2005, 11:03 AM

Great tutorial Mike. Thanks for sharing.

mdallensr · #6 08-31-2005, 08:33 PM

Ditto kudos. We're very close to the same approach. I keep the bottom waste part of the handle attached with a small section left uncut near the bottom of the bowl. This supports the handle while I carve it. Some spoons are pretty easy to break. When I'm done, the last thing I carve is the bottom of the bowl, and the waste piece comes off as I cut into the waste.

Ron Davidson · #7 08-31-2005, 08:45 PM

I haven't done a spoon yet but I have to use a different approach. In my current capacity I am not able to use power tools so most of my stock removal is done with hand tools. It all depends on what I am making I wlll use draw Knives,coping or fret saws. It takes more time but to me that is part of the fun. I feel I am not in a race anyway. Ron

Dennis Taylor · #8 08-31-2005, 11:13 PM

thanks for the great pictorial(sp) of making the blank...cleared up ??? in my head...Dennis

Dennis Taylor · #9 09-01-2005, 07:38 PM

Mike, for a beginner, what is a good size diameter x length blank to start with...I searched the local HOme Depot & Lowes today, and they have Typhoon burrs, but nothing in a sphere shape, I am going to local Woodcraft on Saturday, I have some basswood, that I am going to use for my 1st spoon, but can you recommend a size?....I have a spoon book, but some are pretty elaborate for a beginner....

Also besides the Sphere shaped burr what other hand tools do you use?...

thanks in advance...Dennis

Mike Schwing · #10 09-01-2005, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennis Taylor

Mike, for a beginner, what is a good size diameter x length blank to start with...I searched the local HOme Depot & Lowes today, and they have Typhoon burrs, but nothing in a sphere shape, I am going to local Woodcraft on Saturday, I have some basswood, that I am going to use for my 1st spoon, but can you recommend a size?....I have a spoon book, but some are pretty elaborate for a beginner....

Also besides the Sphere shaped burr what other hand tools do you use?...

thanks in advance...Dennis

Hi Dennis. I don't think I would recommend basswood for your spoon project. It is very light and not so durable, and the long handle could snap as it is not nearly as strong as other woods. Spoons tend to get handled a good bit, even if they're only for display. Also, basswood is bland and is rarely used unless painted. I'm pretty familiar with what Woodcraft (at least here) has in stock and I think I'd choose a nice billet of mahogany, maple or cherry to suit. Probably maple would be least costly but mahogany will carve most pleasingly. Still, I believe maple is a good choice. The other thing is - people expect a utility object like a spoon to have a certain weight about it, and when they pick up one that is lighter than they expect, they are suspicious of it.

Burrs? Depends on what your carving tool can handle. But by far my favorite for this is the round ball. I prefer the 1" Kutzall rough burr, the silver one (I don't like the extremely coarse red one at all). I also like the 1" flame shaped typhoon burr quite a bit. At least one 1" burr in coarse and another in fine grits. But if your motor can't spin the 1", go down in size till you find one that works for you. I do not like the sleeve type or cylinder burrs. The balls provide me much more flexibility in design shape. I could carve an entire spoon with one ball shaped 1" silver Kutzall and be pretty happy about it. The fine grit flame is nice for refining the shape before sanding.

Initial sanding for me is done on either a 2 or a 3" inflatable drum, mounted in my lathe. I use an 80 grit sleeve and a low speed. It really speeds up the process. After that I sand by hand.

A good size blank would be 4"x3"x13". You'd wind with a nice sized spoon.

I've tried to use some hand tools and occasionally use those micro carvers, the ones that look like a cheese grater? I've also used a drawknife and a spokeshave. They work well sometimes but I'm much faster with rotary tools, and while I'm not in a race, my spoons take a long time as it is, no need to slow it down even further. I'm not a handtool purist.

These are just my preferences and I'm by no means an expert. Hope it helps some.