Spoons, spoons, spoons, everybody is getting into carving spoons. Spoon carving is a great hobby. I like to make spoons also, but I do it with the lathe. I use a five or six quarter stock (1-1/4 or 1-1/2 inch) and draw the spoon on the wood with a magic marker. Using the bandsaw I rough cut the form drawn.


Next, I go to the lathe and put it between centers and turn it down into a round handle and spoon shaped ball.

If you want to add a little texture or ornament to the handle do it next, and then sand to final sanding. Next, I take it off the lathe and bring it over to the bandsaw and cut the top of the ball so it looks like a non-hollowed spoon.


I recently bought an Arbortech Ball Gouge. It's new on the market. It's a ball on a shaft with a circular cutter and does an amazing job of hollowing. I love it. I also used an electric die grinder with a carbide round nose cutter and I modified the Proxxon Long Neck Grinder to take 2" sanding discs. It still took a bit of hand sanding before I was done. Now I have a great spoon for the kitchen.


In the end, I feel like hand carving a spoon is the way to go. It allows for infinite design possibilities and is faster to produce, but turning is a fun option and it works for me.

Phil can be reached directly via email at woodturnerphil@gmail.com