A servingspoon and a question on technique

[Two Socks]

Hello everyone,

Yesterday I carved this serving spoon. It is in poplar of some sort, and I am afraid there is a crack running through the handle. (Although that isn`t the point of this thread)

Now I have this problem more often, but I experienced it very much on this spoon: When you carve the 'neck'-bit you need to come from two directions to follow the grain. How do you get this done without leaving a scar in the wood? I had to sand this one, and still couldn`t get everything right:

The line that you see on the left isn`t really a scar but but that vaguer one on the right is definitely one. How do you guys go about carving this, and how do you solve this, or even better avoid it?

 

[Macaroon]

I've never been able to avoid it altogether, and the only way I've fond to deal with it is to practice tiny delicate strokes with a hair-popping-sharp blade: The other technique I've started to learn is to use various "scrapers" to clean up "V" cut scars that I can't do with the knife. The scraping I do along the lines of a cabinet scraping technique, adapted for the in-the-field carving.

Hope this helps a little, at least..................atb mac

 

[Macaroon]

Oh, forgot to add; Poplar seems to be partial to long straight splits without much encouragement, that's why they used it for making Matchsticks back in the day...........atb mac

 

[Two Socks]

Thanks mac. I have been wondering about scrapers lately. I have never seen one in use though, but I heard you can make them out of old saws. I`ll search the forum here, I suppose there is threads on them.

As to the split: I can only hope it`ll not grow bigger...

 

[fishfish]

dribble some runny superglue in the crack thatle stop it.

 

[Two Socks]

Oh, I`ll do that then. Better safe than sorry. thanks.

 

[Macaroon]

For the scrapers, a good starting place is different shaped pieces of broken glass with some scrap leather or suchlike as a handle at one end; you can collect all sorts of shapes to fit any akward angles and the finish on the wood is superb, much finer than you could sand or even get with a plane - the really good old cabinet makers used this trick a lot, and once you get the hang of it you can just french polish it and it's perfect, so I think it's ok for my feeble spoons!

As for the split, I wouldn't hesitate to use glue to save it.............................atb mac

 

[Two Socks]

I learn so much here. Right, tomorrow I`ll find some shards (or make some when swmbo doesn`t watch) And it seems like I need to get me some superglue. It is always the same here: when I need it the only tube available is dried up.

 

[Niels]

That is one very nice serving spoon

 

[heath]

I've started experimenting with cabinet scrapers on my spoons and have had a good experience so far. You can read a bit about it here: http://holtheathwoodentreen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/to-sand-or-not-to-sand.html

 

[Two Socks]

I like the shape of that scraper. There must always be a part of the curve fitting the work. First I`ll try the glass-idea, but if I don`t get along with it...may I ask where you got it?

 

[heath]

I like the shape of that scraper. There must always be a part of the curve fitting the work. First I`ll try the glass-idea, but if I don`t get along with it...may I ask where you got it?

I got mine from Axminster, it wa only few quid as I recall.

 

[robin wood]

It's all about technique. when you are coming both ways and meeting at a valley bottom like that the tendency is to overwork it and end with a V shaped valley botto. What you want is a wide U shape with a flat valley bottom so next time you are struggling instead of picking at the bottom of the valley work on the area either side making sude you rock up out of the cut well before you get tot he valley bottom. Do several cuts each side and eventually you will get tot he place where the knife can hit the valley bottom whilst it is running paralel to the grain and you get a lovely sweeping clean cut. It's a lot easier to teach that to write.

 

[Two Socks]

That is indeed exactly what happened. To clean up one cut I`d make another resulting in a deeper and deeper valley, while at no point it was scar free. i think I understand the technique you explain, and I`ll be sure to apply it on the next spoon. Thanks.