Spoons (stressing out my scrollsaw)

[Ned Bulken]

I got the hankering for some sawdust today, but didn't want to do any fretwork on the scrollsaw. As John will attest, I love stressing my scrollsaw blades by cutting thicker stock than most folks would think of trying.
Today's project are a few blanks which I'll shape with my router, spoon plane and probably dremel and 80 grit plane into some wooden spoons. I started out with a piece of dunnowood.

I drew a spoon shape on it and began cutting. You'd have thought I had a bucking bronco on the table, not a 3/8 thick piece of wood. Now I'm used to holding the workpiece down on my saw, as I don't have hold down feet on it, but this was Not normal. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was wrong, until after I finished the cut.

Then it hit me, the jumping was from the blade pulling UP on the wood. Normally the teeth pull the workpiece down into the table, holding it down, except for the last 3/4 " or so on a reverse tooth blade (which I prefer) Time to check the blade out;sure enough, my son had been the last one to use the saw, and he had installed the blade upside down!

I flipped the blade end for end and finished cutting out another blank, this one out of 3/4 Maple.

That is where the 'stressing out' comes in. Ever try and cut 3/4 rock maple with a #5 blade? slow and steady is the only way to get the job done, eventually. I still have to hold the wood down , but it is just the normal amount for my saw.
Here is the maple cut out.

As you can see I'm working on another smaller maple spoon as well. For reference, the larger blank is just over 12" long, the smaller one I'd estimate at about 6".

Isn't the figure in there pretty? Going to be a very nice spoon, once I'm done.

__

 

[Al killian]

Ned, They look good. I just receiced a old scroll saw and find it very relaxeing. I could imagin that cutting rock maple would really stress the blades. Keep up the exellent work.
Al

 

[Ned Bulken]

Thanks Al,
that scrollsaw, plus my two drill/drivers and a smattering of other smaller tools are about all I have to work with at the house. My buddy Grizz (Jim Capozzi) is out of town this weekend, so I've been sawdust free. Spoons are something I can meddle even with my scrollsaw. I've done several in cherry, and thought maple would be a challenge. Now I get to drag out my spoon plane, spokeshave and see what shape the blanks 'want' to be.

 

[Jim Young]

I just get the little x's, no pics.

 

[John Dow]

Yer lucky Jim, I didn't even get any x's

 

[Ned Bulken]

sorry guys, moved the images in photobucket, let me go fix them,
all fixed, should be good to go now:

 

[John Dow]

Now I sees 'em. Looking good Ned.

 

[Ned Bulken]

I rummaged around and found 'all' of the rough and tumble wooden spoons I've made the past couple of years,
they're kinda lumpy, but they're well used and abused in our kitchen. (mineral oil, where did that bottle go?)

cherry for most of them, the spreader is butternut and the fred flintstone special on the end is maple (my first small spoon attempt, funky but I keep it around for sentimental purposes)

I used to be a night dispatcher at a trucking terminal. and got really tired of those little plastic stir-sticks

so I made this:

and showing the bowl a little better.

 

[Stuart Ablett]

Looks great Ned, thanks for sharing!!

 

[Rennie Heuer]

Ned, you do nice work!

I think if I ever tried making a spoon it might only be good for stirring around corners! It's great that you can turn out something so useful in such a short time!

 

[jim capozzi]

hi ned

see what happens when i go away for the weekend

your as bad as me , i was looking for woodstuff on the boardwalk in jersey , just the boardwalk no stores or stuff . think we can get them to switch over to wooden chips ?? that would keep us busy for a few years

 

[Ned Bulken]

I imagine it would be tough to convince them that atlantic city chipwalk would be a good replacement name.

rennie, it is just taking a piece of wood and removing everything that doesn't look like a spoon

had a nonwoodworking day today, unless you count sketching on the new island plans... oh well

 

[Bart Leetch]

Well I guess this is flat work

This little ROS disk storage system has been fun to make. Now I need to buy more ROS disks.

 

[Ned Bulken]

how to

Did a little more carving today, planing I suppose it should be called. for those who are interested, here's the progression.

first I clamp it to a solid surface, the two clamps help keep it stable. One just lets it twist out, with two of them holding it down it doesn't move as much.

In the background you can see my straight/curved spokeshave and on the left is the spoon plane. AKA the real secret weapon.

Neat little gadget, curved blade and a spoon shaped (pardon the pun) brass body:

I put my knee under the end of the spoon for added support and start getting rid of the extra wood:

normally I use two hands, but for the sake of the photos...

I just let the chips fall neander style...

and here it is, roughed out, but starting to look like a bowl of a spoon.

 

[Robert Schaubhut]

Hi Ned,
That's real neat stuff. Those spoons are the kind of thing that get saved from generation to generation whilst the other stuff gets pitched. Good job and happy spooning.
Shaz