Hi Everyone,
Im having some technical difficulties with the coffee scoop at the moment so Im going to work on a different project today--wooden spoons.
Ive been asked by a buddy of mine to make her some wooden spoons for her kitchen. She and her husband cook a lot and shes asked me to make some tasting spoons. Ive never heard of this type of spoon (being the big peasant that I basically am, I just use what ever spoon happens to be laying around when Im cooking) so I looked on the Internet and found that these are spoons with a very long handle and a small bowl on the end. The ones that I saw appear to be flat and as most spoons are contoured somewhat (and rather elegant looking if done well) I suspect that these spoons are simply cut from a straight piece of lumber. I checked with my friend and this is what she wants so away we go...
My friend would like 3 spoons so Ive gathered up some of my usable scrap lumber and Ive sawed out three blanks: mahogany, maple, and cherry wood and Im going to put these on the lathe and turn out the handles and then cut the bowls by hand:
I drew a line down the center and sketched out a spoon on each of them and then placed the cherry blank on the lathe between centers:
And turned on the lathe. You can see a dark line towards the left. I drew that there to keep me from cutting into the bowl section:
Here is a photo after the handle has been turned down:
Ive shaped the handle even more and added a little detail:
Heres a closeup of the handle:
I finished this by sanding it with 100 and 150 grit sandpaper. As these are going to be used and washed, the grain will eventually raise and the spoons will have a rough surface so theres no point in sanding it to a high finish.
Ive done the same thing with the other two spoons:
The handles look a little too wide for the width of the bowl so esthetically speaking, theyre not going to be winning any awards. But they are very strong and will last a very long time. And I like the mahogany one.
The bowls have to be hand carved. The top will be scooped out and the bottom will be rounded. And Ill admit--I had to have a dental biopsy today and the novacaine is wearing off so it will be nice to go upstairs and get off my feet and carve for a while. So go sit down and Ill get a cup of coffee and go and get some ibuprofen and Ill be right back...
Ok, Im back.
There is a company called FlexCut and they make terrific carving knives. Im going to be using there large, roughing knife for the outside of the bowl:

Im having some technical difficulties with the coffee scoop at the moment so Im going to work on a different project today--wooden spoons.
Ive been asked by a buddy of mine to make her some wooden spoons for her kitchen. She and her husband cook a lot and shes asked me to make some tasting spoons. Ive never heard of this type of spoon (being the big peasant that I basically am, I just use what ever spoon happens to be laying around when Im cooking) so I looked on the Internet and found that these are spoons with a very long handle and a small bowl on the end. The ones that I saw appear to be flat and as most spoons are contoured somewhat (and rather elegant looking if done well) I suspect that these spoons are simply cut from a straight piece of lumber. I checked with my friend and this is what she wants so away we go...
My friend would like 3 spoons so Ive gathered up some of my usable scrap lumber and Ive sawed out three blanks: mahogany, maple, and cherry wood and Im going to put these on the lathe and turn out the handles and then cut the bowls by hand:






Ive done the same thing with the other two spoons:

The bowls have to be hand carved. The top will be scooped out and the bottom will be rounded. And Ill admit--I had to have a dental biopsy today and the novacaine is wearing off so it will be nice to go upstairs and get off my feet and carve for a while. So go sit down and Ill get a cup of coffee and go and get some ibuprofen and Ill be right back...
Ok, Im back.
There is a company called FlexCut and they make terrific carving knives. Im going to be using there large, roughing knife for the outside of the bowl:

Ill work on the mahogany one first. Mahogany is one of the softer hardwoods and a joy to work with in any capacity-carving, turning, or general wood working. Here is the back of the spoon:









