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I've cleaned up the board a bit and swept off the dust of ages. What is revealed is a nice sweeping grain figure which should yeild a nice spoon. As I thought, the piece right on the edge worked really well for our purposes. It's a great feeling to be able to recycle a lovely old piece of wood like this, especially knowing that it was destined for a trip to the landfill! I don't often work with walnut, but it always yields a regal looking spoon with a rich, dark colouration.
As you can see in the second picture, I've roughed out the spoon blank and have slightly domed the top surface to add some vitality and movement to the carving. Eventually, I will hollow the back a bit to give the spoon a graceful sweep. At this stage of the game, I can also get a good idea of how the final grain will look. Although it is a bit wider than I had expected, it has a nice flow and the slight angle gives it some drama. There is also a nice swirl in the area which will become the maple leaf which should add some nice shimmer to the finished leaf.
I'm looking forward to glueing the pattern on and starting the cutting. I know it isn't very exciting or dramatic at the moment, but once the cutting starts, the spoon will really take shape and things will get much more interesting
Dave:
ReplyDeleteGreat looking piece of wood. Your "handles", fretwork and all, look so fragile. Do you keep the wood full thickness or do you take the thickness down to scale with the fretwork?
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note. I generally keep the wood a bit thicker than required, both to give me room for adjustments if I make a mistake and to keep things a bit more structurally sound as I carve. Once the front is complete, I turn the spoon over and thin down the back to whatever I require.
David Western