Spoon Experimentation

[Patrick Doody]

Well i've made 3 spoons so far, the 3rd one I played around with some offset turning and i think the bowl positioning is by far the best of the 3.
I first turned the outside of the bowl, then i offset the handle about an inch and turned the handle.

#3 was my favorite to make but the proportions are not great, it was more just messing around more than anything but the next one i make will build on what i learned with #3.

Ive already posted pictures of 2 of these spoons but thought i should post the progression in one thread, comments and criticisms welcome.



Spoon #3
Spoon #2
Spoon #1
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4582320261_2ab1723475.jpg
Spoon #3 Side:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3328/4582948230_402ec6def7.jpg
Spoon #2 Side:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4582318641_c2db525afa.jpg
Spoon #1 side:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4582317887_68f8bebab5.jpg

[Baxter Smith]

Some very pretty wood. Good job on the experimentation! Each one should be be an improvement! Even though I think I like the proportions on 2 the best.

Will be interested to see # 4.

[John Keeton]

Patrick, nice work, and pretty wood. I am with Baxter on #2 - the clear winner on balance, proportion and style!

[Mike Willeson]

Good work Patrick. I will differ and say I like #1. I could see a big old scoop of chilli in that spoon. I also like the style of that handle best.

Would you show or describe how you did the turning / hollowing on the business end of the spoon?

[Thom Sturgill]

Good Job! Now get #4 with #2's proportions and some of #3's offset. This is another challenge that I will have to attempt.

[David E Keller]

Looks like a fun project. I agree with Thom's encouragement.

[alex carey]

yep, 2 takes it.

loving these spoons.

[Patrick Doody]

thanks for the great comments! I can't wait to get started and finish #4, #3 was supposed to be a mom's day gift but it didn't work out as well as i had hoped, so hopefully i can get something knocked out tonight after the baby goes to bed.

The wood is a maple tree that I cut down last fall, on my family's hunting land. The difference between the heartwood and the sapwood is pretty dramatic, I wish i had more from this tree but I only have 1 or 2 logs left. on spoon #3 I only used a palm gouge and a sanding ball that i put in a drill chuck and put on the lathe, then i hand sanded to 600 grit.
I feel like there must be better ways to carve the bowl, but I'm getting decent results with my method, and a palm gouge is a pretty small investment.

[Mike Willeson]

For an "out of round" spoon, carving is probably the way to get it done...if you want to make a spoon with a round dish, here are a couple of links to interesting ideas on how the end could be turned:

http://home.vicnet.net.au/~pwguild/p-spoons.htm

http://www.woodturningonline.com/assets/turning_articles/coffee_scoop/scoop.html

[Ken Hensley]

Great job, I agree on #2 and have been thinking about giving it a try myself if I ever get a chance to get in the shop. Once again great job.

Ken