Best tool for shaping/sanding convex curves in wood

[Dustin Thompson]

What is the best tool for shaping inward curves in wood? I am shaping some spoons for stocking stuffers, and am curious as to how people may go about this. For the few that I have made so far, I have used a gouge to rough the spoon out, and then hand sanded to finish. It would be great if I could speed the process up a bit.

I want to constructificate some stools in the near future (think tractor seat) and would like a technique that could translate to that as well, for hollowing out the seat.

Thanks!

Dustin

[Jamie Buxton]

For scooping out a tractor-like seat, I do most of the work with a 4 1/2" right angle grinder. I start with the Arbortech Pro blade. I've thrown away their guard, which just gets in the way. After I've roughed out the blank, I go to sanding discs on the same angle grinder. It goes pretty quickly.

I haven't tried making a spoon with the original Arbortech, but I suspect it won't work well. It cuts a radius of 2 1/4", which is probably too big for spoons. I see that Arbortech has a 2" diameter version with just two teeth. It would probably do your job for you.

[Dustin Thompson]

Thanks for the reply, Jamie. I thought about a sanding disc, which I have. I'll try that first. What do the arbortech "disks" go for?

Dustin