Bowl and Spoon Carvers?

[Larry Gelder]

Any bowl and spoon carvers here at SMC? If so, what size & type (e.g., bent, spoon, etc). gouges do you use or recommend to a newbie?

[Wolf Kiessling]

I carve both spoons and bowls among many other things. Your question, at least for me, is impossible to answer as more info is required. Oh, I should also clarify, I carve bowls after I have turned them.

I was wood carving (sculpting) both relief and in the round for several years before I started decorating bowls with sculptural designs and making spoons. As a result, I have a whole collection of chisels, gauges, and v-tools, both the palm and long handled mallet driven variety, plus Dremel and Foredom rotary tools. I use these same tools when carving bowls and spoons.

Having said all that, you need to figure out what you want to do and then maybe put together a basic set of tools such as a good carving knife and at least a sweep gauge, U-tool, V-tool and, particularly for spoons, a 5/8" spoon bent gauge. I would also recomment at least a Dremel rotary tool (110v) with a variety of Typhoon burrs.

[Larry Gelder]

I am trying to carve a poplar greenwood dough-bowl that I saw demonstrated in a Swedish Carving video (Taunton Press, Jogge Sundqist). I have chopped the basic shape with a swedish carving hatchet, then hogged out the inside with an adze. The only bent gouge I have now is very small; consequently, my first attempt at roughing the bowl was not satisfactory. So, I'm at the point of rough gouging the inside bowl to remove the adze marks/shape the inside. I know next to nothing about gouges.

[Wolf Kiessling]

I now see that you are doing something I know nothing about. You are carving, actually creating, the bowl without using a lathe. I would guess there are some tools available that I don't use, maybe such as scorps and rather large spoon bent gauges.

You might want to contact "The Woodcraft Shop" @ 1-800-397-2278 in Bettendorf, IA, they carry a large selection of tools, and ask them for help/advice. They may not carry what you need but possibly they could point you in the right direction, if necessary. I've been dealing with these folks for a few years and have always been very satisfied with the service I've received.