Cherry bowl and spoon/scoop-Finished!

[Racers]

Hi Chaps

I should have posted this over here instead on Hand tools.

I found a freshly cut cherry log and was going to do a couple of spoons, but the pith was well over to one side.
I decided to rip it on the band saw and make a bowl leaving enough for a spoon.
So a couple of hours with a big gouge axe and spokeshaves and this is the result.

Cherry bowl by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

The sap is oxidising and turning it orange but once its dry I will go over it again to clean it up.
I wrapped it in newspaper to slow the drying down and the sheets where soaking this morning, so I replaced them.
Its the wrong time to cut with all the sap rising but the opportunity was there so I took it.

Started the spoon today.

Cherry spoon/scoop by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

Pete

 

[SVB]

Nice project and very atmospheric / arty photos too, love them!

 

[kingchristo]

Must of took along time to do them

 

[Racers]

Only a couple of hours to do the bowl, green wood cuts very easily.

I unwrapped it from its newspaper and weighed it its gone from 233g on 26/3 to 204g on 1/4 with no cracks.
So it's looking good.

Pete

 

[monkeybiter]

Pete, for a long time I paid no attention to spoons and their ilk, no real interest, but a little while ago I started a love spoon in Beech. It never got finished because I fell out with the design, but I shaped the bowl and I think I may do some more in the future, it was quite enjoyable. Ramble over.
Please understand that this is a genuine question; do you make spoons as users, decoration or for the enjoyment of making them?

 

[Racers]

Hi Mike

Mostly for the fun of it, I don't tend to use them.

Try some green wood it's much easer to work.
I use a piece of 4X4 in a vice and an axe to do the rough shaping.
Ben Oford has a good video on YouTube of spoon making.

Pete

 

[monkeybiter]

Thanks Pete, but I think if I started swing and axe [of any size] about I'd be bad and dangerous to know too! I will have to find some green wood and give it a try.

 

[Racers]

The bowl is down to 183 grams and has a split in one handle which I should be able to fill.
That's 50 grams of water lost.

Pete

 

[monkeybiter]

I've been having a play with a wide 'spoon gouge'? I bought at Newark, I could enjoy a bit of this!
Do you get a lot of cracking because of the green wood?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I must say I've never done any green wood whittling apart from with knives as a kid, ie never made a proper utensil or anything like that.....I bet it's quite therapeutic if sat outside with nice weather. I might have a go one of these days. Nice work Pete.

 

[Racers]

I've been having a play with a wide 'spoon gouge'? I bought at Newark, I could enjoy a bit of this!
Do you get a lot of cracking because of the green wood?

It depends on the wood and when its cut, the cherry is very wet as the sap is rising at the moment, totally the wrong time of year, but it was just lying there so I thought what the heck!
Autumn Winter is the best time.

Thanks Bob.

I have often sat at the bottom of the garden in the sunshine finishing spoons its quiet and restful, if you are starting out get a pair of kevlar gloves so you don't cut your self.

Pete

 

[Racers]

Scoop finished.

Cherry scoop finished by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

The bowl has now lost 66 grams of water that's nearly a double whiskey worth of water, it still feels cold, so its got a bit more to loose before I finish it.

Pete

 

[Dokkodo]

really nice! thats the best thing about spoons, you can spot a bit of something interesting on a walk or whatever, and have it into a spoon by the end of the day

I found a beech tree in some woods while driving through france last summer, and it had a withered but still thick dead branch within reach, who knows how long it had been there seasoning. i chopped it off, was hard as nails and i immediately regretted starting, but the branch was long enough to get a whole matching set and came up lovely so i perserved, and after much cursing gave them to me mam for her birthday

 

[Racers]

Well its finished!

The moisture content went form 167g on 16/4 to 161 on 1/5 so I guess its just about dry, 72 grams of water or 30% of its weight has evaporated"

I cleaned it up and gave it a coat of Wood Silk furniture polish, that stuff is wickedly waxy, a good spray and buff is all you need to do.

Cherry bowl finished by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

And here is yours truly doing the bottom with a Millars Falls No1 Cigar shave.

Millars Falls No1 cigar shave by Pete Maddex, on Flickr

Roll those wrists!

Pete