Spoon template

[Mat]

Here's an idea I had recently that I hope someone may find useful.

I really enjoy carving spoons but one thing I always struggle with is keeping them in proportion. I just don't have a natural eye for such things and I always end up with with an enormous bowl and tiny handle or vice versa!

Anyway, I recently wanted to make a decent spoon as a present for my sisters wedding, so I made a template to make sure it looked good enough.

Here's what I did:

1. Sketch out a rough design on plain paper.
2. Transfer the design to graph paper - this allows you to get everything straight and symmetrical.
3. Cut out this template and transfer it to a flexible chopping board.
4. Cut out the final design from the flexi chopping board.

And there you have it, a nice template that's all in proportion and being made of flexible plastic it's light, durable and won't be affected by the oodles of rain we seem to have in summer these days

The flexi chopping board are really cheap. I bought a pack of 3 (it's along time since I bought a 'pack of three' ) from Asda for £2. I've cut down one of them as a mini chopping board to use in the woods.

Mat

 

[Rothley Bill]

Good Idea, I seem to struggle with spoon proportions

 

[DoctorSpoon]

After all these years I still find it difficult to just start a spoon from scratch. However, I'm in the happy position of having plenty of good spoons around the place so always find one I like and draw around it as a template. Just making yourself draw what you aim to carve before you start to cut is always a good discipline even if you don't have a template - it makes you think first!
Nicola