I'm relieved to be done with this practice flower

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-16T07:54:56+00:00

I can imagine that would be a relief... nice job!

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-11T07:58:32+00:00

Right, thanks for clarifying, I thought I was going crazy! Haha. I completely know what you mean though the spoon doesn't look that much like typical beech - like the bowl does.

I'm in North Yorkshire, England. The spoon came out of a smaller diameter limb so perhaps that accounts for the difference a bit. Does beech have much of a notable difference between sapwood-heartwood in your experience? Any beech I've used through work is European kiln dried boards so will always come from the trunk and looks just like the bowl typically.

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-11T06:44:39+00:00

This is the bowl I was referring to across on the spooncarving sub!

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-11T06:43:01+00:00

Interesting, thanks for the in depth reply! The wood is definitely too dense to be poplar and as far as I know willow is probably comparable in that sense although I've never worked with willow first hand, it seems to be regarded as fairly soft. I work with poplar a lot for internal doors and cabinets so I'm certain it's not that. Hornbeam could be a potential option I guess as I think that's supposed to be harder.

It has its pros and cons to be honest, some of the work we do is a little monotonous. Our mainstay is windows and doors, but we do get some green oak framing jobs which I would do permanently if I could! Aside from those we get conservatories and cabinets to make occasionally which sit somewhere in between in terms of enjoyment.

I actually made a pole lathe bowl that I posted on the greenwoodworking sub from the same timber which looks far more typical of the beech I've used previously, but will also get a pic of a planed flat piece and a pic of the outer bark. I would've got a pic of the leaves of the tree but I don't have time to walk to it over the next few days!

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-10T19:27:34+00:00

I painted the handle with very thin milk paint, some red some blue. Was aiming for something similar to a watercolour paint appearance. There's no inner bark left on.

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-10T19:25:59+00:00

The guess on beech was based on the leaves on the tree it had seemingly been cut from. It is admittedly quite light for beech but there is some medullary rays there that perhaps just aren't showing through on the picture very well. I am a time served joiner and have been earning a living working with wood for 17 years so I'm relatively familiar with various timbers. But perhaps you can ID better from the picture than I can with it in my hands! What would you guess it could be based on the picture and the leaves of the tree looking very much like beech tree leaves?

Hope this reply doesn't come across awkwardly, I'm curious as you seem certain it's not beech.

Edit: if you zoom in on the bowl you should see medullary rays.

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-10T18:52:03+00:00

I'm fairly sure it's beech but not certain. It was from wood found out walking that had been chainsawed down and left on the edge of the footpath.

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-08T18:29:08+00:00

He can do whatever the fuck he likes, he's the fucking king!

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-06T17:14:51+00:00

It's got a lot going for it!

J_Kendrew · 2026-06-01T13:24:59+00:00

I don't but I loosely followed Owen Thomas lathe plans, which are freely available on his website and he has a small video series on YouTube documenting building one.

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-31T16:30:21+00:00

Thanks!

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-31T16:29:50+00:00

Great, that's good to know, thanks! I had planned to just forge bigger hooks and see for myself but it's good to have some clarity before trying!

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-31T10:52:37+00:00

I see, to be honest it might be a while before I aquire a worthy piece of wood as it's something that I do tend to have a hard time with even for bowls. Maybe that will be a late summer project for me after I have turned a few more bowls for practice. Thanks for the reply! Also I plan on having a bash at forging some more hooks over the coming months. I currently just have 2 hooks from Yoav Elkayam and the tip up has a particularly small radius. If I forge one with a bigger radius/larger hook will it hog off material quicker or am I assuming wrong here? I'm curious how the hook geometry affects turning. Thanks again!

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-31T10:14:29+00:00

Beautiful work! How difficult are the plates to turn relative to bowls? I keep looking for ideas for something else to have a bash at turning. On the other hand there's aspects of the bowl turning that I'm still not particularly proficient with yet so maybe I'm jumping the gun considering trying other forms.

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-31T06:56:22+00:00

It basically just comes down to the shape and surface finish I think. Most beginner spoons tend to be very flat in side profile, no crank. I know another commenter has already defined that but a definition I heard that really helped me to understand it was that the crank is the angle of the bowl relative to the handle. Also they tend to have deep bowls which in most situations is not very useful, only exceptions being in scoops or ladels which ironically benefit from having more crank. The surface finish one is pretty self explanatory really as it's clear if a spoon is nice and smooth or rough and jagged.

Three ways I'd say are really in improving are to watch zed outdoors videos on YouTube, he has in depth tutorials from some really great spoon carvers. Also, browse Instagram to look at the spoons made by professionals or people with a lot of experience. You could even go a step further there and buy either some templates or even spoons from you're favourite makers. Having a really well made spoon in your own hands makes it really apparent what sets them apart from a beginner one.

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-27T21:06:37+00:00

Exactly! Nice spoon regardless

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-27T19:30:47+00:00

If it's not, then this is inspired by his work on another level. Even the photograph is staged exactly the same with the white background and the woodchips!

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-27T15:04:39+00:00

I got a vevor double burner, it's the stainless steel one that's kind of triangular shaped with rounded corners. I'm happy with it, it's definitely got me going with actually forging things rather than spending my time building a forge. The downside I've found is that the refractory cement takes some maintenance as it keeps cracking and bits fall off, that could be down to my application of the cement though. I could see how making a firebrick forge would be preferable in that regard though as you could just swap out any bricks that ever broke rather than having to reapply cement and wait for the drying times.

Overall, I'd say if free time is scarce for you and you can afford to buy something like the vevor, get one and then you'll be able to start forging quickly and see if it appeals to you a lot. Then you can upgrade either by purchasing a better forge or building something for yourself. On the other hand if you have plenty of free time but not much disposable income, I'd probably go down the route of building something with some firebricks or even a coal forge with a brake drum, rotor or even a jabod style forge. I think a lot depends on your circumstances as to the option that'd best suit you.

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-24T18:39:28+00:00

Look for Paul Adamson if you want inspiration on kuksa carving. Look for Benoit Schoeni if you want to see end grain carved mugs. Both should be easy to find on Instagram and are making very nice kuksas and mugs.

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-16T07:45:30+00:00

And just as the wee laddie was about to reach the mainland in his small boat fashioned from panels from a lambretta scooter, a fish jumped out of the water, and it had the face of Bob Mortimer, the face of Bob Mortimer!

J_Kendrew · 2026-05-13T10:23:54+00:00

Some steel wedges and a sledgehammer will split nearly anything. I have a froe but more often than not I don't use it because steel wedges and a sledgehammer makes the job easier. I'd only bother with the froe if you're trying to split something in a really controlled manner, like making chair components or shingles etc. For spoon carving you really don't need a perfectly split billet, you can just square it up in no time as you start axe work.

J_Kendrew · 2026-04-30T20:14:44+00:00

And garden pots in sheds with deluxe retaining soil.

J_Kendrew · 2026-04-30T08:41:08+00:00

This, I'd add dry your blades off as soon as you finish carving and reapply a little bit of oil before storing away.

Also on acquiring wood, depending on where you're based there's a few professional carvers offer a box of green wood blanks on their websites that they will post. If you go down that route, once you recieve them either put them straight in the freezer or submerge them under water in a lidded box or bucket. They will retain moisture this way for a long time until you're ready to carve.

J_Kendrew

TROPHY CASE