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I have gone Love Spoon Mad!


rafairchild2

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It's been a busy weekend, I am now in the home stretch on 3 spoons.  The final steps will be hand-sanding and then a finish with Old Masters Gel, then a buff.

The Birds Eye Maple is VERY hard, it took the better part of 4 hours to carve, vs the Red Cedar.

I use my cut-offs to support my piece as I carve.  Being that this was scrap wood, I did not have even edges.  In the future, I will have perfectly parallel sides to clamp in.

This was a workout today for sure!

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3 hours ago, Scrappile said:

Those are beautifully cool..  I have a set of "not expensive" carving tools. Maybe I should try one of these!

Start with a low Janka harness wood like basswood.  The red cedar is higher Janka, but still carves nicely though prone to chipping if you do not outline with a blade, so that is a good option too.  The Birds Eye Maple was a lot tougher, I had to use my mallot for 80% of the carving since it is more than double the Janka of cedar, so I would stay away until comfortable and you have better tools, even with my good gouges, I had to stop and strop my gouges more frequently. 

Next tip... have a 'squared' (rectangle) piece of wood to cut from so it fits in your vice, (and after cutting out becomes your holding support) then after laying your pattern, carve your spoon bowl first, this way you have full support from the board, then drill, do inner cuts, then the exterior.  Finally, carve and shape the rest.

I did not do it this way at first and actually broke one of the more delicate pieces because of the pressure of my vice. Thus you see how I had to jury rig support in the vice.

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Edited by rafairchild2
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Here's is my work for the week.  Hand-rubbed Old Master Gel satin polyurethane. What a difference it makes, giving the completed look.  I will never use anything else for my finer pieces.

Still a few things to master, but overall I am pleased with my first efforts creating Welsh Love Spoons.

 

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Edited by rafairchild2
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17 hours ago, Gonzo said:

Those are beautiful!!!! I’ve been doing some spoon carving myself, but nothing like yours. I’ve been using birch blanks that came from a tree in our yard.  Do you make your own patterns?

These are patterns I found, but I have modified some.  I am currently working on my own designs now that I am getting comfortable with carving.  

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2 hours ago, James E. Welch said:

Awesome work, glad I could encourage this type of behavior. Lol 😁 

Well, this type of behavior keeps me out of trouble, so that's a good thing!  Working on new designs, and also ordered more wood sized for making spoons.  I have adjusted my technique and having "blanks" helps me a lot.

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21 hours ago, James E. Welch said:

Can't wait to see what you come up with next. 

Just put some Old Masters satin finish on this one. Started it yesterday, made out of Black Limba.  Overall about 4 hours into it.

It's funny, I have so far given all but one of my spoons away as gifts.  This one is going to a French Officer who is leaving the USA in 2 weeks, after being here at NATO HQ for 3 years.

 

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Edited by rafairchild2
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2 hours ago, rafairchild2 said:

Just put some Old Masters satin finish on this one. Started it yesterday, made out of Black Limba.  Overall about 4 hours into it.

It's funny, I have so far given all but one of my spoons away as gifts.  This one is going to a French Officer who is leaving the USA in 2 weeks, after being here at NATO HQ for 3 years.

 

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Thats awesome man! I'm impressed. 

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8 hours ago, Scrappile said:

Another great one.. I swear I am going to try this.. I have added many patterns to my catalog.  I want to do one for my neighbors that have a winery. It will have grapes on it.  Might be worth a bottle. 

That's ringing a bell.  I might have one if you don't. Let me check when I get home from work later today.

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19 hours ago, rafairchild2 said:

Just put some Old Masters satin finish on this one. Started it yesterday, made out of Black Limba.  Overall about 4 hours into it.

It's funny, I have so far given all but one of my spoons away as gifts.  This one is going to a French Officer who is leaving the USA in 2 weeks, after being here at NATO HQ for 3 years.

 

ls13.jpg

Where are you getting the patterns? Have you found a good source for them?

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9 minutes ago, James E. Welch said:

Where are you getting the patterns? Have you found a good source for them?

I am getting them off the internet, or modifying other scroll saw patterns.  But I just got a book called Fine Art of Carving Lovespoons: Understanding, Designing, and Carving Romantic Heirlooms (Fox Chapel Publishing).  I got it used off Amazon for $17.  It has the Lillies and also the grapes Scrappile posted. 

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1 hour ago, Scrappile said:

Yep. I just remembered I posted patterns yesterday or the day before and on had grapes.  

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Funy thing is, I printed out that pattern last night along with the "reeds" pattern.  I have some wood coming in, so I want to practice on different varieties and improve my carving. 

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