Spoon carving

Unfortunately, that information will be for scrapers designed for flat
work.
You can dispense with the burr turning and allow the work and your attack
angle to do the job in most cases. Draw with a bit of shear for the best
finish.

You lost me on that. Can you explain further?

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 13:36:16 -0600, "Walker"
wrote:

Unfortunately, that information will be for scrapers designed for flat
work.
You can dispense with the burr turning and allow the work and your attack
angle to do the job in most cases. Draw with a bit of shear for the best
finish.

You lost me on that. Can you explain further?

Metal scrapers have their working edge filed flat and then have a hook
turned by drawing a burnisher across the flat edge. That leaves a
sharp ridge which is perceptible when you run your finger across the
burnisher (gently!) and the hook is what actually does the work.

A properly burred scraper removes paper-thin shavings and is a joy to
use. An improperly sharpened one produces fine wood dust, lots of
chatter and is a pain in the neck.

I've always put a burr on my metal scrapers for flat or curved work.
However use whatever gives you good results.

Glass is different, btw. You use hold the piece at the right angle and
it scrapes. Sharper but it dulls much quicker. Flint is the same way
if you want to get real primitive.

--RC

--RC
"Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells
'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets
fly with a club.
-- John W. Cambell Jr.

"Walker" wrote in message
...
Unfortunately, that information will be for scrapers designed for flat
work.
You can dispense with the burr turning and allow the work and your
attack
angle to do the job in most cases. Draw with a bit of shear for the
best
finish.

You lost me on that. Can you explain further?

Any edge can scrape, it's a matter of how it's presented to the wood.
Traditional cabinet scrapers have burrs turned on them which bite at a
particular angle of attack. Works great for flat surfaces and in tools with
fixed angles of attack, but can be inconvenient or unobtainable on irregular
surfaces. If you've got your knife handy, turn it up to about 80 degrees to
the surface and scrape whatever you're working on to demonstrate.

The smaller scrapers, and ones with curves work just fine with a sharpened
edge, and your knuckles will thank you for not cutting them as your
burnisher slips off the edge while turning a burr.

As to shear, if you cut wood at all, you know the advantage. The angle the
spoon scraper makes with the handle, and the sharpening bevel combine for
the 80 degrees with a neutral wrist. I draw and skew from each end of the
bowl to the bottom. The skew keeps the end grain portion smooth.

Although I haven't bought any, a search on the internet reveals a fairly
large quantity of books on the topic of spoon carving. I prefer to learn on
my own from my own mistakes. I have enjoyed asking questions of the
experienced carvers in this forum too as I have always received polite and
sincere answers.
So far, I've used the patterns of spoons in our silverware drawer and other
kitchen utensils. I prefer to make items that may be used as well as being
unique for the material (wood) from which they are made. I haven't made to
many yet but am getting a little quicker with each one I make. Carving a
smooth, functional bowel has been my hang-up so far. I think my biggest
hurdle is getting used to carving hardwoods as I have spent years carving
pine.
Thanks to all who have commented and continue to comment. I value all of
your advice!
Dan
"BobLondonKy" wrote in message
2...
wrote in
:


I use a hooked knife and I have several. The scandanavian pattern with
the 3/4 circle blade is the cheapest ( $20) and works just fine.
-- John W. Cambell Jr.

Okay. I'm new to carving. A Real green horn. So where could I find the
item that you mention above? I thought that carving spoons would be easy.
Found a book on carving celtic spoons, and love spoons. Seems to be the
kind that you would just look at, and not use. I would like mine to be
useful. Is there a book on carving spoons to be used? Anywhere on the
internet that I might find some information, and maybe a pattern or two?

Thank you for your time!

Bob,
London, KY

Can you refer me to any online images of the scrapers you refer to?
Dan
"George" george@least wrote in message
...

"Walker" wrote in message
...
Unfortunately, that information will be for scrapers designed for flat
work.
You can dispense with the burr turning and allow the work and your
attack
angle to do the job in most cases. Draw with a bit of shear for the
best
finish.

You lost me on that. Can you explain further?

Any edge can scrape, it's a matter of how it's presented to the wood.
Traditional cabinet scrapers have burrs turned on them which bite at a
particular angle of attack. Works great for flat surfaces and in tools
with
fixed angles of attack, but can be inconvenient or unobtainable on
irregular
surfaces. If you've got your knife handy, turn it up to about 80 degrees
to
the surface and scrape whatever you're working on to demonstrate.

The smaller scrapers, and ones with curves work just fine with a sharpened
edge, and your knuckles will thank you for not cutting them as your
burnisher slips off the edge while turning a burr.

As to shear, if you cut wood at all, you know the advantage. The angle
the
spoon scraper makes with the handle, and the sharpening bevel combine for
the 80 degrees with a neutral wrist. I draw and skew from each end of the
bowl to the bottom. The skew keeps the end grain portion smooth.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,310,41069

"Dan Farrow" wrote in message
...
Can you refer me to any online images of the scrapers you refer to?
Dan

Found a book on carving celtic spoons, and love spoons. Seems to be the
kind that you would just look at, and not use. I would like mine to be
useful. Is there a book on carving spoons to be used?

Found this at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books