Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
spoon making failures
mike recchione
>OK - I promised Pam I'd post some pictures of my spoonmaking disasters. Here's what happens when things go wrong. This one started as a piece of maple in the firewood bin. I split it and debarked the half I wanted, and got to work hollowing out the bowl. This is what the split log looked like. Sorry for the poor image quality - I'm just getting used to photoshop. But hey - it's a split log. Big deal, right?
Spoon 1 at 36 minutes
mike recchione
>Well, I was racing the clock. I didn't take time to think. Oh well, so now it goes in the kindling bucket.
Second attempt
mike recchione
>This started out as an otherwise useless scrap of cherry. It included sapwood, some heartwood and even some bark, and was checked and twisted. This is what it looked like to begin with.
Spoon 2 at 21 minutes
mike recchione
>So far, so good - have the bowl roughed out.
Spoon 2 at 40 minutes
mike recchione
>It's coming along. I'm starting to sweat about the time. Need to pick up the pace.
Spoon 2 at 58 minutes
mike recchione
>Oops! I should have stopped rushing since there was no hope of finishing within an hour. Oh well.
And one success...
mike recchione
>I wish I could say "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again". But I actually made this one last summer. It started as a piece of sycamore branch and was carved entirely with hatchet, drawknife, whittling knife and shaves. I don't remember how long it took, but it was certainly more than an hour.
I haven't given up yet. I mean to have my pancake batter spoon if it kills me.
You're a better man than I...
Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT
>I had the same results with my second spoon attempt- My 17 year old daughter was in the shop taking pictures of the sequence. Since she wants to major in journalism, I was trying to talk her into asking questions, taking notes, and turning it into a photo essay.
Crack. End of discussion.
In retrospect, I should have not been quite so upset with the broken workpiece and continued talking with her about how jouralists need to go in cold to an event not knowing much about the subject and leave with a story, etc, etc.
I guess, though, it is sort of a gloat that I had my H.S. senior daughter in the shop one-one-one with me for 50 minutes.
Greg
Re: spoon making failures
Ernie Miller Topeka
>Nice work. I wanted to make another but ran out of time as I was in KC part of the week for work. Should have taken some tools and a spoon blank.
Re: spoon making failures & prizes
Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX
>Great stuff for the spoon challenge, it will enhance the article.
On another note, I found out yesterday afternoon that I must spend the rest of the week in intensive tax remediation (had no idea that inherited IRA's are taxable to the recipient). It will be a scramble. So gathering the prizes and drawing will have to wait for the weekend. I apologize for the delay.
Pam
No problem, Pam
mike recchione
>It really wasn't about the prizes anyway. Good luck with your taxes.