First project, things learned, things loved

[hoovie26]

As promised in another thread, here is my WIP of my spoon. I originally posted this on another forum, but am reposting it here to get all of your thoughts. My apologies for being a bit lengthy, but I had a lot to say

Also, for those that don't want to read everything, pics are at the bottom.


So about a week or so ago, I decided I wanted to start carving. I've seen beautiful pieces of relief carving in photos many times, and was somewhat inspired by a wooden spoon I had bought for my wife.

I decided as a first project, that I'd make a wooden spoon, as in my mind, it should be relatively straightforward, especially as I've used spoons most of my life.

I had some junk pine(end pieces from studs a neighbor was using to make an outdoor walkway) that I planned to start on, so I went shopping for some tools. I started at a craft store, and found an knife by xacto that looked like it might work out OK. The blade is Xacto #104 for those that are interested. I also picked up a razor saw while there. I knew the knife wouldn't work well for the bowl section of the spoon, so after a while of looking around at various stores, I drove about an hour and a half to get to the only store in my state that specializes in wood carving - Woodworking Plans & Tools | Fine Woodworking Project & Supplies at Woodcraft. I have to say that this store was a little overwhelming, but with some help from one of the staff, I picked up a #8 bent spoon gouge(swiss made, palm handle), a book and a chunk of basswood.

Once I got home, I started cutting the rough shape of my spoon out of the pine(which is somewhat knotty, by the way) with the razor saw. Ugh...that thing was a waste of money. Sure, it cuts, but it takes forever, and my hobby vise isn't the most rigid of devices(has a clamp to hold it to the bench, a ball that allows you to rotate it around, and a vice on top). My arm got tired fairly quickly, and I found that due to the construction of the blade, I couldn't make cuts deeper than about 1.5 inches, so had to make many cross cuts(I guess you might call them) and remove smaller chunks as I went along. Having been thoroughly disgusted with that (happily) small investment, I decided I would get my cordless drill out, and 'draw' a rough outline with holes, which I used the razor saw to cut out. I also cut the corners off the end where the bowl of the spoon was to be.

Being the impatient type, once I had the shape roughed out, I brought out my random orbital sander, and smoothed out all the areas where the holes were(which I had hoped would make whittling the handle shape out a bit easier). While smoothing out the handle area, I also ran the sander over the bowl area where I cut the corners off, and gave it a roughish shape.


Next, I brought out my xacto knife, with the #104 Blade I mentioned earlier, and started to whittle away at the handle. Now, being new to this, I'm not exactly sure if some of what I experienced was due to my lack of experience, the odd choice of carving knives, the wood, or a combination of all three. What I found, was that semi-frequently, while cutting along the grain, I would remove a large splinter of wood, which would break off at the end. I assume this is due to the lack of a scooping motion while removing stock, but I also attributed it to being a chunk of knotty white pine, and an xacto knife, rather than a proper carving knife. I did learn to go a little slower with my cuts, a little shallower, and if the wood started to splinter off like that, I would reverse direction, and shave off wood from the end still attached, thus avoiding making the 'tear' worse.


After the weekend was over, sadly, I had to return to work. Of course while I was there, all I could think about was the spoon, and what I could do to make myself a little more efficient and proficient. Well, as I've been finding out, proficiency comes with time, but efficiency comes with the local hardware store. My intentions for the handle was for it to have a bit of a curve, rather than a straight rod, and as such, I had been whittling away at it with that in mind – learned lesson #2: whittling takes a loooong time when removing a lot of material. Armed with this information, I went to the aforementioned store and purchased a coping saw(in case you hadn't figured it out yet, I don't have lots of cash to throw at this hobby, so I'm making do with hand tools until I can afford things like a drill press and a band saw). Once I returned home with said saw, I drew out the rough shape of the handle and bowl I wanted, and started cutting away. I guess I forgot from my boy scout and middle school days, but using a coping saw can be quite a bit of work, especially on a piece of wood that is a couple inches thick. I did eventually get the shape roughed out the way I wanted, which had the net effect of removing all the time I spent trying to whittle the shape. Learned lesson #3: Rough out your piece first, look it over, finish roughing it, THEN put the knife to the wood.


Well, once I had my basic shape finally roughed out, I sanded the bottom of the bowl area once again, and tried to figure out a way to hold my piece in place while trying to use my gouge. Let me first give you an idea of my bench, and general work area. The area is currently a section of my basement that is approximately 6 feet wide, by 8 feet deep. On one side, I've got my tool box, at the end of it, I've got a makeshift table/bench I had originally used for working on small greasy things I had pulled from various cars, opposite the toolbox I have a flimsy folding table, with two pieces of plywood clamped to the top as my wood working and general purpose bench. At the end of the bench, I've got the hobby vise attached, and I've got a make-shift stool(Once a kitchen table chair, with the back removed) between the bench and the tool box. Now, if you can picture this tragedy, you'll see that I don't have a lot of space to work with. Also note that I don't have a lot of tools suitable for this type of work(I found out the hard way that a reciprocating saw is too strong for a piece held in the hobby vise). Eventually, I placed a piece of junk pine on top of the handle of the spoon, and clamped both ends to the table(I will attempt to photo something similar once the batteries to my camera are charged). Happily, this arrangement was strong enough to hold the spoon in place while I happily gouged away. When I first purchased the spoon gouge, I was unsure that I would enjoy the hobby, so wanted to find a cheaper tool. Luckily, I let the salesperson talk me into the $25 swiss made gouge I walked out with, because all the tools I purchased for this project, that is by far my favorite. I enjoyed using that tool so much I had the entire bowl area carved out the same day.


An interesting thing to note(which will be pictured later, once I have fresh batteries) is that because this piece of wood is knotty, there is a knot in the bowl area. I wasn't able to remove the knot completely, so have decided that I kind of like the way it looks, so it will stay. I do have to find some food safe epoxy to fill in the cracks in the knot, so if it gets used, there wont be any bad things happening in there.


After a little break from this piece, I once again brought out my xacto knife and started carving the shape of the handle. You can safely assume that nothing exciting happened during this phase of my work. I am now at the stage where I need to sand the piece smooth, to prepare it for some food safe mineral oil(of which I do not currently have a source).


As has been mentioned a couple of times, I will take some photos of my work space, tools and piece as it currently stands, once the batteries for my camera have been charged. Also I will keep this thread updated as I make progress towards a finished piece

[Claude]

The spoon likes like it's coming along fine. As I mentioned in my other post, pine is not a particularly good wood for a cooking spoon, but, heck, it's your first spoon so go ahead and finish it. You can drill a hole through the handle, put a loop of leather or cord in it, and hang it from the wall in the kitchen, if you'd like.

As you discovered, during the roughing out process, it would be best to carve the inside bowl of the spoon while the handle area is still shaped properly for clamping to the workbench. Once the inside of the bowl is shaped, it's easy enough to shape the outside to match.

Regarding the knot in the bowl...most five-minute epoxies would be food safe once they are cured completely. The potential problem is that epoxies are thick, and won't necessarily seep down into the cracks of the knot. Another option is to use CA (superglue) and multiple applications to fill the knot. This will also stablize the wood at the knot and make it harder. The downside is that the CA glue dries with a bright shine, usually, and stains and most other finishes will not stick to it. I made a spatula from olive wood that had a knot in it, filled the knot with CA glue, and then finished with olive oil, since I was going to cook with it. The glued area was shiny long after the oil got washed off and dulled the finish. Didn't matter - I still to this day use this spatula every day (almost) when I cook, and I don't care that it has a knot on the back side. ...but I'd never give it away as a gift because it's UG-LY! Whatever...

In the for-what-its-worth area, you can buy a small bandsaw that will cut wood up to about 3.5 inches thick for around $90 at Lowe's, Home Depot, and others. I have an old Craftsman 9 inch that sits on one end of my workbench. I only have the workbench - no table to go along with it. One end of the bench has my drill press on it, the other has the bandsaw tucked in behind the vise bolted to the corner. I have to move the bandsaw out to the center of the bench to use it, but that's ok. The drill press was also around $90, and is so useful for many things while carving. Someday when I grow up and hit the lottery, I'll buy a 14 inch bandsaw, floor mounted drill press, table saw, 9 inch joiner/planer, etc.... but, in the meantime, I make do. Oh, and I have a coping saw hanging from a hook above my workbench...

The whole point of all this is that you should not be discouraged at a lack of expensive tools; you can carve a lot of neat stuff without them. Keep on carving and work hard to please you (and your family), 'cause the rest of us don't really matter that much in the big scheme of things. If you look at my web site in the "miscellaneous" area, you can see some of the spoons I've carved - most from "found wood" - meaning tree branches I've found, firewood, etc. You started with a 2 x 4 you had - great!! That's the whole idea: grab a piece of wood and start carving.

Gotta quit - my fingers are tired If I can help you with anything, don't hesitate to ask; my patterns are all available for free, or at least, the photos of them are, as I often just sketch the pattern on the wood and start carving.

Claude

[bigEd_H]

Hi Hoovie, I can tell you've been bit by the bug. Your life will never be the same. I enjoyed your entire post. It made me smile and nod as you experienced the same things we all have in the beginning. The spoon looks good. Hopefully it wasn't from a treated stud. When you get the mineral oil make sure it says that it is the food safe type and not the industrial. If you can find it in your area, look for Howard Butcher Block Conditioner. It contains bees wax, food safe mineral oil, carnuba wax and vitamin E.

Anyway, you're doing good. Keep it up and thanks for sharing.

[hoovie26]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys, I really, truly appreciate it. Eventually, I do plan to go to lowes or home depot to pick up their small band saw - I think I saw it at $115 in my area.

I really like the idea of using found wood to carve with, as the wood can have interesting shapes or patterns that show what the wood 'wants' to be.

I think I'll try using CA, since I don't have to mix anything, and this weekend I plan to make the trip to my local woodcraft store, and get some of their 100% tung oil, which as I understand, is food safe(I know it won't matter for this piece, but I'm making a spatula next, out of basswood, which should be ok for food use)

[Curtscarving]

Looks like you are getting into a great hobbie. I like your shop,only problem in the difference between your shop and mine? I dont see one beer can!
Curt

[dennymcc]

i love the bowl shape of the spoon. spoon carving is really adictive. im on my 3rd one since christmas.
a side note about epoxy being to thick. i used to fly rc planes. we used epoxy thinned with alcohol to fuel proof the engine bulkhead. dont know if it would work in this case, but might not hurt to try it

[capney]

Great thread Hoovie
Like you I am also on my first project and into the heavy learning curve.
What have I learnt so far?
No 1 is to listen to all the advise given here.
No 2 is always wear safety gloves (After slashing my finger)
No 3 is keep tools sharp
No 4 is take your time.
No 5 be comfy while carving. At this time of year I sit if front of my living room fire with a small table and all the kit around me. ( Far to cold to get into the garage)
robert

[hoovie26]

I can't wait to get my bench made up...I've got my drawing all made, and materials list - should only cost about $100 for the wood to make it. Once I've got that made up, and some suitable lighting, I'll have moved my work area to a seperate section of the basement. Luckily, there's heat down there, so it doesn't get too cold. Not to mention I don't have a small carving bench to set up in the main living area. I actually like working in the basement - its like my 'man cave'. A nice place to have some peace.

I definitly need to learn to sharpen and hone my tools. The knife I'm not worried about, since it's an xacto, but the gouge(and any future gouges and chisels I get) will need to be maintained. After I get my bench materials(hopefully this weekend) I'll be looking at some more carving tools(and finger guards and possibly gloves).

Even though I tend to be impatient with a lot of things, this hobby is teaching me to slow down - I'm finding I don't even mind

[brianrickman]

You can save a lot of money buying used power tools. I picked up a scroll saw on Craig's List for $25. It's probably 50 years old, but it works great for roughing out carvings from wood up to 2" thick. I also used it to make a bunch of holiday ornaments out of thin plywood.

[squbrigg]

Well done Hoovie. It is great to see a new carver getting started. The joy you shall recieve over the rest of your life will be immeasurable due to carving. It is a simple pleasure that has never failed to relax and reward me during my lifetime. Good luck.

Bob