Spoon Carving - coffee scoops

[John K Jordan]

Spoons are fun! I've carved them with gouges and recip carver but usually use a rotary carver for much of the inside.

One thing might be interesting: I wanted some coffee scoops with a volume to match my plastic scoop. I pressed Silly Putty into the plastic scoop to get the volume, then carved out the bowl until that putty fit. The measure is perfect and the shape doesn't matter.

From Pink Flame and Cocobolo:



coffee_scoops_PB044022comp_s.jpg coffee_scoops_PB010307s.jpg coffee_scoops_PB034009comp_s.jpg

The curl on the handle is comfortable in the hand and makes it easier to grip. We have been using one daily for almost 10 years.

JKJ

[Eric Schatz]

Can you provide a tutorial to make these? I would love to start carving. Also, what's a recip. carver? Is a rotary carver a dremel?

Did you figure in grain contour to make the end of the handle stronger?

[Jon Nuckles]

Very pretty! I just eyeball the amount of coffee I use each morning in my pour-over filter, but having a scoop like these would give an incentive to measure.

[John K Jordan]

Hi Eric,

A "recip" carver is a reciprocal carver that uses blades that look and work just like hand held carving tools. I use the Automach:
https://whiteeaglestudios.wordpress....carving-tools/

The reciprocal carver is beautiful to use on good, dense wood like cocobolo - cuts like a dream and leaves a glass-smooth surface, especially handles. Just like using hand tools, care is needed with softer woods or those with pronounced grain to keep the gouge from following the grain. The rotary carver with a burr bit is probably better for shaping the curves on the outside and hollowing out the inside.

I also have a couple of Foredom rotary carvers that are a dream to use - far better than using a Dremel because the handle feels more like a pencil than a potato. I understand a reciprocating head is available for the Foredom. Don't get me wrong, you can do almost everything with a Dremel (and hand tools) - it's just that the better tools just might make things more pleasant. A carver like the Foredom is a lot heavier-duty than the Dremel and can take larger-diameter bit shafts and can handle larger bits.

For the little coffee scoops I didn't pay much attention to the grain since the woods I used, cocobolo and pink flame, are fine-grained, hard and very strong, about as dense as ebony. Carving in any direction doesn't make much difference. Almost like carving (hard) plastic! The scoops are also pretty small and won't get rough use so I didn't worry too much about strength.

I never thought about a tutorial. As you can see from one of the pictures, I sketch out the design and use a bandsaw to cut out the profile (from the top, I think). Then tape the offcuts back onto the blank to support it while cutting out the side profile. This is the same as you would do for almost any kind of small carvings. Then start carving! As mentioned, I did most of the bowl hollowing with rotary tools, usually a coarse oval or ball burr.

I hollowed the bowl as one of the first steps since in this case I wanted to end up with a known volume. Normally I would shape the outside profile of things first since that's what you see first.

If you like carving, you might be interested in seeing this. (I posted this before) This is a piece of bradford pear turned on the lathe then carved. The handles and feet were done with rotary carvers, hand gouges, files, knives, and tiny strips of sandpaper glued to sticks. I did the stippling around the band with a small carbide bit in a Dremel.

carved_bowl_IMG_4195.jpg

Good fun! I want to do some more carving on turnings when I get time.

I also recently took up chip carving. This is so easy and quick compared to other types of carving and it only needs one tool! Most people carve chips on flat things but my goal is to make turned things and decorate those. This is some of what I've done so far after a couple of months of practice:

chip_carved_goblet_IMG_5001.jpg chip_carved_ornaments3.jpg chip_mess.jpg

I made the sign for my shop!

JKJ

[Eric Schatz]

Holy smokes! That's some beautiful stuff. Thanks for the thorough reply. What is the one tool you use for chip carving? I'm a furniture maker so flat carving on things like boxes and chests seems like it would be a practical place to start.

[Sean Hughto]

Beautiful. Any short grain issues with the curl at the end of the handles? As in - do you have to be mindful of the grain orientation in any particular respect as you lay these out?

[John K Jordan]

For chip carving all you really need is one knife like the one on the left:

chip_carving_knives.jpg

I bought the second knife with a slightly different profile which may be a touch better for sharper curves, like in some of the letters.

There is a second type of knife called a stab knife but it is not often used and could easily be made.

The one on the left is recommended for most carving, an old Swiss design sold by Wayne Barton at Woodcraft, Klingspor, Amazon, and elsewhere. The one on the right is from the "My Chip Carving" web site - they call it a "modified" knife. It has a less pronounced curve on the top.

A knife will set you back $30-$50. There are a couple of general accessories you might need if you don't already have them: some sharpening stones, a leather strop, and some drawing tools: straightedges, drawing tools and such. These knives must be RAZOR sharp and are stropped repeatedly while working Almost all carving is done in basswood (Northern basswood, btw) but traditionally other woods have been used. Basswood is just easier. I tried some maple and I think I could make it work.

Note that NONE of the knives I've bought or looked at are useful as they come. This is a shame since it has probably turned many people away from chip carving - I know it did me, and a friend of mine. I bought a Wayne Barton knife years ago, tried it once, then gave up in disgust. The way they come they will barely cut and will pry the wood apart instead of cutting a clean chip. This is not the sharpening, but the shape of the blade - they are useless even when very sharp. The blade must be reshaped and flattened on the sides to be effective, removing almost all of the bevel.. A Hock chip carving knife I bought is the closest to being useful off the shelf but even then I spent some time on shaping it it and might need some more.

Notice how the blade on both of the knives above are tilted downwards from the long axis of the handle, the Swiss design. What ever you do, do NOT buy a knife with the blade that is more straight, such as the knives sold by Flexcut. This is my opinion based on trying, reading, expert advice, and the experience of a friend who developed severe pain in his wrist trying to chip carve. The Swiss design makes it far easier to control and cuts with less effort and wrist strain.

If you decide to try this and get a knife, post a note here (and send me a private message so I won't miss it) and I'll be glad to tell you what I've learned.

There are lots of good books, YouTube videos, and some DVDs that would be helpful to get started.

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

Beautiful. Any short grain issues...

Thanks, Sean. I wrote about the wood and grain and the curl in an earlier message in this thread if you could check that. (might save me from repeating!) Basically, I would for some wood but for what I used it wasn't that important, especially given the small size and gentle use these should get.

JKJ

[Jon Nuckles]

John,

I am one who bought a chip carving knife more than 10 years ago and gave up after a couple of attempts. I'd love to hear your tips for shaping and sharpening the blade to make it useful. I can't remember for sure, but the Barton name sounds right and it definitely looks like the one on the left in your picture. Thanks!

Jon

[Mike Schnorr]

The scoops look great - and I do love my coffee!

The silly putty tip will come in real handy with several projects I have in mind! Thank you!

[John K Jordan]

In case anyone else is interested in preparing a chip-carving knife, I plan on writing up what I've learned, hopefully early next week. I'm in the middle of preparing a program for a large group of small children for this Sunday but should have some time after that.

JKJ