How do U carve yours out??

[mr dazzler]

I was wondering, theres a lot of folks as have done spoons and such. What actual method or technique do you guy's use to do the hollowing out of a spoon (especially a large spoon or ladle or kuksa type bowl or cup, IE where you got more that an inch or so of depth to cut through?) Personally I find the hook to be a good tool, but it does take a long time on a big hollowing job, time is money. To speed things up I've tried drilling out waste, useing a gouge and mallet, adze (just about). I want to try burning as well. What works for you?
cheers Jonathan

 

[SOAR]

I've used a hook knife but like you say it takes a while, I've tried drilling aswell but found this to be like cheating in a way. I think for speed on larger bowls turning has to be the way, only had limited experience of this. Burning looks like a good method, not done this before, sure someone on here has though.

 

[BIG_emu]

I tried using a wire scouring pad the other day on a spoon it works but it leaves the wood slightly metailic and you have to use a knife and sandpaper to remove the metaliic-ness but it does work (I can't see it working with a kuksa though)

Ben

 

[mr dazzler]

If yu were used to flint tool's a stel puukko blade might sem like cheating . Beside's you could use a bow drill or one of those moutth drill's as like the Inuit men use if you wanted to remain...."pure" I think they even carve with those bow drill's to do stuff in whale bone's, like an early primitive non electric dremmel tool?? I was amazed at there carvings I saw in the museum of man kind in London (top place to visit). I have tried drilling spoon blank's, as I said, and have split a few but that was with a brace and bit, a forstner bit is less likely to do that, the lead screw is what split's the wood when its only a small section; spoon bits might work better but you cant get thenm usually much over 1/2 inch. Burning with a poker or even a curved 6 inch nail would be fast I think, and wont split the wood, although I dont know about the reaction of wet gren wood and charred dry area's?

 

[spamel]

Why are you rushing? You're meant to be enjoying the moment! I tried burning, I thought it was quite slow. Saying that, I didn't have a blow tube to direct the blown air at the ember which may speed things up a bit.

 

[leon-1]

I have tried burning out on seasoned wood, it's very effective when you just use embers to do it, it still takes time though, but overall it's still quite quick and the results are very good.

 

[DoctorSpoon]

We just use hook knives, but always work the wood green. You can do it over a couple of days if you keep it in a plastic bag somewhere cool, but after a bit it becomes too hard to do any more than skim the surface. Choice of wood is important too - if you use something soft like alder or willow it's way easier!

 

[mr dazzler]

We just use hook knives, but always work the wood green. You can do it over a couple of days if you keep it in a plastic bag somewhere cool, but after a bit it becomes too hard to do any more than skim the surface. Choice of wood is important too - if you use something soft like alder or willow it's way easier!

Your right of course green wood is generally softer, although to be honest with the alder wood I cant say I found that much difference between wet or dry, both carve execptionally well. I started off doing spoons and that with dry stuff off the firewood pile. There seems to be lots of alder around here as theres a lot of these meadows with meandering stream's and the alder likes to be right next to a stream. I did a ladle bowl (4x3 inche's) from fresh alder (well relatively fresh, it might of stood in the yard for 6 month's or more??) in about 1 hour just with the 2 standard mora hook's and frost sloyd. I have a scorp tool somewhere I'll dig it out, its about 1 1/4 inch radius. Made for me by Brian Russell. A few scoops with that might be just the thing. I just used it for chair seat's before now. Just havenet a clue where it is
Can I ask are you both from an art school/craft design background? I studied at Gold smith's college and lived to regret it (Goldsmithexile on bodger's forum ) Glad you guy's like Alun's work at chair central. His strength is knowing traditional techniques but rather than being limited by a sense of traditional forms he has rather extended his range of forms beyond the tried and trusted familiar same old. He's given me a lot of encouragement.

 

[fishfish]

i make these,surdy sharp and suitable for left or right hand users! anyone want one pm me.

 

[littlebiglane]

Burning. It just nice sitting around the fire in the evening carving. But also - for a change - chatting and blowing on an ember to make a bowl. It might take most of the evening - and it is easier when the light drops.

 

[gregorach]

I have used a bow-drill, but only to smooth out quite a rough spoon bowl mainly chiselled out with my main bushcraft knife. I also find that the spay-point blade on my little stockman does a reasonable job. I've not so far felt the need to buy a more specialist tool like a hook knife - I don't do enough carving to justify it really. Plus I kinda like the challenge of doing it without specialized tools...

 

[John Fenna]

I have burned out spoons and bowls but generally use a Frosts spoon knife.
As most of my wood is of the fire wood pile variety, and I do not see the justification for taking greenwood just to carve a spoon in the field , most of my carving has been of seasoned wood, including Box and even oak!
Slow work but the knife does it fine - though it needs a lot of honeing during the job...
I recently had an ash fall across the road by my house and I got some green wood to carve off this and I found it easy to carve, except it proved quite fibrous in places.
The completed spoons are drying at the moment before they get their final sanding (sorry Dr Spoon!) and oiling.

 

[DoctorSpoon]

Can I ask are you both from an art school/craft design background? I studied at Gold smith's college and lived to regret it (Goldsmithexile on bodger's forum )

Neither of us went to art school originally; Robin did one year of biology and dropped out and my degree is in operational research! We both got into hand crafting stuff later whilst Robin was working for the National Trust as a woodsman. We had loads of free wood around and just needed to learn what to do with it

However, I work at Sheffield Hallam Uni's school of Art & Design now. I self-taught myself web design about 10 years ago when t'internet first started to take off and enjoyed it so went back to university to study multimedia design. I fell in with a very enlightened crowd, did an MA, then got funding to do a PhD, then funding to do post-doc research which is what I'm doing now.

You know John Wood at Goldsmiths? I do occasional workshops for him.

 

[John Fenna]

Art school is GOOD! I went -as a mature student - to CCTA and did a Btec OND in design and ended up designing Outdoor Clothing for a living (amongst other things).... though it does not seem to have helped the look of my spoons....
It also taught me how to draw with the wrong end of a paintbrush dipped in mud, which is as near bushcrafty as the course got!

 

[mr dazzler]

You know John Wood at Goldsmiths? I do occasional workshops for him.

Crikey if he's still teaching he must be knocking on a bit, He must of been well into his 40's when I was there (1980-83) I remmember him as a cheeky bawdy sort of chap, ireverent humour, a bit of a ladies man IIRC if you know what I mean. He was well into holography I think he ran that dept, he played keyboards in some cult rock group in the 70's. Other teacher's I remeber was Basil beattie, Mike Kenny (now deceased), John Bellany, Michael Craig martin, Bert Irvin, jon thompson, mary Kelly cant recall any other's. Funnily enough sheffield at that time had a good sculpture dept and that was my 2nd choice after goldsmith's. Have you ever come across John Frankland? He was one of my best mates, and is now head of MA sculpture at central/St Martin's art school now (last I heard any way),

 

[DoctorSpoon]

Crikey if he's still teaching he must be knocking on a bit, He must of been well into his 40's when I was there (1980-83) I remmember him as a cheeky bawdy sort of chap, ireverent humour, a bit of a ladies man IIRC if you know what I mean. He was well into holography I think he ran that dept, he played keyboards in some cult rock group in the 70's.

John's well in his 60s now I guess, but otherwise hasn't changed I don't know the others.

Funnily enough sheffield at that time had a good sculpture dept and that was my 2nd choice after goldsmith's.

Sculpture is still going strong at the moment, but from September they are closing our little out of town campus and shunting us into the city. Space is going to be squeezed, resources lost and I think a lot of creative spirit will be lost too

Have you ever come across John Frankland? He was one of my best mates, and is now head of MA sculpture at central/St Martin's art school now (last I heard any way),

not heard of him, but I'm more design than art based

 

[cariboo]

An adze and hook knife.

We carve dry wood because it is stable. My partner and I sell everything we carve. Cherry, apple, plum mainly. We've carved a lot this way. You need good quality tools.
Greenwood is much easier to carve but we find it to be too much trouble.
With an adze I'll get as close to the shape as possible and then finish it with a hook knife.

Scott.

http://www.caribooblades.com

 

[John Fenna]

These are the two I mentioned earlier- made with an axe( I used and SFA on the spoon a Granny B wildlife hatchet on the "Spoontula") a knife (Jonsson Mora rehandled by myself) and SANDPAPER (sorry Dr Spoon) with a mixed oil finish.
For 2 items from the same small billet of wood the colours are suprisingly different.
Both were carved green then dried before final finishing with only one day between them.
Would the colour difference be down to heart/sapwood alone?

 

[DoctorSpoon]

Greenwood is much easier to carve but we find it to be too much trouble.

So, what trouble do you have with green wood? I find it really enjoyable because I can quickly make it take the form I want, and quickly refine the form, because it is easier to cut. I find dried wood stints my creativity because it is hard to cut so I end up with clumpier shapes and thicker wall thicknesses.

These are the two I mentioned earlier ...

where are they? (we'll not talk about the sandpaper )

 

[John Fenna]

Darn photos!

That should be them....