Daintree Timber Gallery shares with you the process for making a carved wooden spoon that even beginners can do as a DIY project.
The Materials
The first thing you will need to make your spoon is a piece of hardwood, which works better as it will be strong enough not to snap and at the same time can be carved easily. Then you will need a pencil, food-safe oil, wood rasp, a rag, spoon gouges, a carving knife, sandpaper of 320 grit, 180 grit, and 120 grit.
Starting the Process
Take your wood and draw the spoon’s shape on it with your pencil, then you cut it with a band saw. Then you can proceed to carve the spoon’s centre area, which picks up the food, with a spoon gouge.
The depth to which you have to carve this area largely depends on what you want to use the spoon for.
Stirring spoons can be shallower than soup spoons or eating spoons in general, but what matters is that you pay close attention to the process to avoid excesses. If you have a clamp, using it to fix the spoon to a table while you carve will make it easier. But you can also use your hand to hold it if you carve very carefully with the other one.
The Handle
After you have carved out the centre of your spoon to the desired depth, you can take your pencil and draw your spoon’s side, back, and outer edge, on the wood. Use your carving knife to shape the side and back first. You save the handle for last because this keeps it from snapping while you carve the rest of the spoon.
When you are carving the handle, you need to do it from the side up, taking little strips at a time to have better control of the depth and look of the handle. This is also a great time to pull out your rasp, as it will help you shape the rounded edge better.
Smoothing
Once you have this done, you can go on to work a bit more on the spoon’s inner bowl with the gouges, this time taking out little strips to avoid over-doing it. Then you can start smoothing it all out with your 320-grit sandpaper and work your way to the 120 grit one. Treat the spoon with the oil on the rag and it’s done.
This is a beautiful spoon that you can easily do without woodcraft expertise and you will shock friends and family with your newly developed skill.