#17
It's official. I'm addicted to carving spoons.


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I have a number of co workers I've known and worked with for years who saw some of my spoons and really want one. I don't have any more green wood the right size to make a kitchen sized spoon. Everyone seems to like the kitchen sized much better. I suppose they envision actually using them. Eating with wooden spoons doesn't sound appealing to most folks. Anyway, I bought some rough sawn cherry this week and started making some spoons for these folks. I plan on surprising them with a gift when I go back to work next Thursday.

The cherry is really nice wood, but the dry wood is a real pain in the butt to work with compared to green stuff. Haven't really felt like making a spoon mule yet, but found that I could take a 2x4, and bandsaw a couple profiles in it. Cinch it up in the bench vise and then clamp the spoon to the appropriate profile and it holds things well, with a minimum of fiddling. It's working for me, and doesn't take up much real estate.

Loving the new LV spokeshave.
"Mongo only pawn in game of life."        Mongo
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#18
(02-05-2021, 04:53 PM)clovishound Wrote: It's official. I'm addicted to carving spoons.





I have a number of co workers I've known and worked with for years who saw some of my spoons and really want one. I don't have any more green wood the right size to make a kitchen sized spoon. Everyone seems to like the kitchen sized much better. I suppose they envision actually using them. Eating with wooden spoons doesn't sound appealing to most folks. Anyway, I bought some rough sawn cherry this week and started making some spoons for these folks. I plan on surprising them with a gift when I go back to work next Thursday.

The cherry is really nice wood, but the dry wood is a real pain in the butt to work with compared to green stuff. Haven't really felt like making a spoon mule yet, but found that I could take a 2x4, and bandsaw a couple profiles in it. Cinch it up in the bench vise and then clamp the spoon to the appropriate profile and it holds things well, with a minimum of fiddling. It's working for me, and doesn't take up much real estate.

Loving the new LV spokeshave.

......................
Nice work....They look great!
Often Tested.    Always Faithful.      Brothers Forever

Jack Edgar, Sgt. U.S. Marines, Korea, America's Forgotten War
Get off my lawn !
Upset





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#19
That's a nice assortment of shapes and sizes.  

There's a few in there my mom could have used for correcting my behavior when I was younger too.  
Laugh
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#20
Clovispup and I went on a short road trip to the zoo about a 100 miles down the road. On the way home we stopped by the woodworking store there and I saw a Morakniv hook knife on the shelf at a decent price. I've not been that happy with the Beavercraft that came with the set I got for Christmas, so the Morakniv went home with me.

Tried it out on an eating spoon blank tonight in the dry cherry. I'm really happy with it. It cuts very well, has a couple different curves you can take advantage of depending on where on the bend you cut. I worked an entire bowl without even thinking about reaching for the strop. 

As a plus, these little gems are made in Sweden.

[Image: 71Uv3hekLQL._AC_SL1500_.jpg]


Amazon
"Mongo only pawn in game of life."        Mongo
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#21
Every time I go to purchase a hook knife, the question of how to sharpen them makes me hesitate.  How are you doing that?
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#22
(02-10-2021, 09:05 AM)WxMan Wrote: Every time I go to purchase a hook knife, the question of how to sharpen them makes me hesitate.  How are you doing that?

Mostly, I keep it sharp by stropping often. I use a standard handheld strop on the bevel that is on the outside of the curve. I keep it at the angle of the bevel and run it along the bevel while moving it along the radius of the curve in a smooth motion. I work my way around the curve stropping as much of the curve as I can at a time. I turned a dowel somewhat smaller than the inside diameter and glued some leather to it to use as a strop on the inside of the curve. You can put the CrO2 directly on the wood, if you don't want to mess with the leather. I like the leather better, but just the wood and stropping compound works fine. A commercially available dowel is fine, as you don't have to match the inner diameter. You just want something with enough room to tilt the dowel slightly, and big enough to engage a fair amount of the curve at all times. You will work your way around the curve, just like the outside bevel, but with a round against a curve, you can work more of the curve at a time.

When the edge needs more than stropping will handle, I use my extra fine diamond hone on the outside bevel, and sandpaper wrapped around a dowel on the inside. You could use sandpaper on a small piece of flat wood for the outside. Following up with a strop and Bob's your uncle.

It's really no more difficult than sharpening a carving gouge once you get the hang of it. There are lots of Youtube videos that show the process if the procedure I explained doesn't make sense.
"Mongo only pawn in game of life."        Mongo
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#23
Good looking spoons!

I know these things ebb and flow but it seems like spoon making is really surging right now. 

Try not to let the dry wood stop you from carving. I do not make spoons but do carve a bit and it's always dry stuff for me. It's just slower.
Lumber Logs, domestic hardwoods at wholesale prices: http://www.woodfinder.com/listings/012869.php

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#24
How are you carving the bowls? A spoon knife, gouge, or gouge/mallet? For harder, dry woods, I use a mallet and gouge then fine tune with a spoon gouge or conventional gouge
Still Learning,

Allan Hill
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#25
I start out with a straight gouge to rough out the bowl. I Sometimes use a bent gouge once I have a depression well started. I normally finish up with a hook knife, and then move on to a small card scraper I ground a round end onto. The scraper helps a lot to do some final smoothing, and fine tuning shape.

I'm getting the hang of working the dry wood, but still enjoy the green wood a lot more.
"Mongo only pawn in game of life."        Mongo
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#26
(02-10-2021, 07:34 PM)clovishound Wrote: I start out with a straight gouge to rough out the bowl. I Sometimes use a bent gouge once I have a depression well started. I normally finish up with a hook knife, and then move on to a small card scraper I ground a round end onto. The scraper helps a lot to do some final smoothing, and fine tuning shape.

Try using the curved scorp as a scraper at a higher angle on dry wood. 

You know there's a broader sweep for longer bowls, right?  I prefer them to gooseneck scrapers.
Better to follow the leader than the pack. Less to step in.
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Spoons, Spoons, Spoons


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