Can she make a Cherry Spoon...

The first session of Hand Tool Woodworking: Build a Blanket Chest is now history. Due to some other obligations we were limited to two hours.

In my opinion, you give a new hand tool woodworker a much higher chance at avoiding frustration by first guiding them to understand how wood works. Power tool woodworkers have the ability to force the wood to submit to nearly anything but as hand tool woodworkers we can work faster by working in co-operation with the wood.

We started out by learning how to identify open ring-porous and diffuse ring-porous woods and why we care.

Here's Megan pointing out her diffuse ring-porous cherry pre-spoon. 

After sketching the outline of a kitchen spoon on a piece of cherry scrap we used our new knowledge to very quickly rough cut the spoon using stop cuts that they made with a cross-cut tenon saw and then an oversize chisel. By working with the grain and across the grain at low angles both had reduced the scrap wood into a reasonable representation of a caveman spoon.

Next we used a coping saw to work where the chisel is less effective, direct cross grain cuts. Both also used it to round the heel and front edge of the bowl of the spoon.

Next they moved to a gouge with a large sweep to hollow out the bowl of the spoon. Followed by a spooke shave to begin to refine the shape and thickness of the spoon.

Since, as I previously mentioned, we were time limited neither are finished with the spoon. However, both were further along than any of my previous students at the same time mark (sorry previous students).

So we ended the session understanding the types of hardwoods, safe use of a chisel, sawing with a back saw, using a coping saw for curved cuts, shaping with a spoke shave, and sharpening a chisel.

        

I was delighted at how quickly both gained the skills taught.

Next time we will complete the spoons and discuss finishes that are appropriate for food handling. Then, or more likely at the same time, we will rough saw the material for our plinths. I suspect next week's photos will include dark half-moons under their arms.