| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| colour it green |
what wood for making spoons?I remember someone made wooden spoons and posted about it.. but I can't find it.We have a couple of trees come down in the high winds recently, an alder buckthorn and a hawthorn. Either of these good wood for making spoons? if not then its all firewood... |
||
| Treacodactyl |
Do you mean this thread? http://forum.downsizer.net/viewtopic.php?t=23912
I'm not sure if there's a specific list of woods suitable for spoon making but I'd avoid anything poisonous such as yew and some of the traditional woods used such sycamore are quite easy to carve. I have heard of people using hawthorn although I think it's quite tough. |
||
| colour it green |
oh thanks for that.
hmm yeh the hawthorn is proving tough to saw with a bow saw.. then again maybe it's time for a new blade.. |
||
| pixieblighter |
Hawthorn is a beautiful wood for carving. not the easiest mind. Better to carve i think than burn, although it burns hotter than any other native hardwood.
Ideal starter woods for craving are sycamor, birch, willow and hazel. |
||
| wellington womble |
I read somewhere that sycamore is the wood to use for spoons and drainers, because it will take the wet, but it's unlikely to be a definitive source, I'll admit! | ||
| vegplot |
Lime is supposed to be a good carving wood but I've no experience of it. I made a spoon out of oak once and found it was okay but tended to be dry in the mouth. Wild cherry is meant to be good if you can get it. Beech is used to make kitchen wood utensils such as spatulas. | ||
| colour it green |
oh thats interesting. the hawthorn is a nice colour at the mo. we have very little sycamor in our hedges here.. not seen any birch or willow but we have loads of hazel. Maybe I'll set some hawthorn aside to season for future carving dreams welcome to the forum btw, another Devonion... 
|
||
| Marts |
Hawthorn is a lovely figured wood for carving
If you carve it green it is easier going but you need to be careful to avoid it splitting as it dries out. Once it is seasoned it will be much harder to carve. A good compromise is to rough shape the log to create a spoon blank and then leave it for a while to dry out. I've always found that the best way to reduce splitting though is to get the central pith section of the log out while green - this is the bit that retains the most water and so shrinks more as it dries. |
||
| Treacodactyl |
If you have any field maple I've used that mostly. You need to take care with the central pith on younger wood but it's fine for small spoons. |