Woodworking: From a Log to a Spoon

Course details

In From a Log to a Spoon, Frank Strazza, Master Craftsman with Heritage School of Woodworking, will show you how to make a Swedish-Style Spoon starting with a log straight from the woods or from the firewood pile. You'll learn how to select your log and what woods work best for splitting. Then, Frank shows you how to split the log with a froe and mallet and how to rough shape the spoon using a hatchet and the "chopping-splitting technique.

At the workbench, he carves the bowl of the spoon with a gouge while discussing grain direction. Frank then moves to the shaving horse to shape the spoon using drawknife and spokeshave before fine-tuning and smoothing it with a scraper and Swedish knife.

You'll learn the difference between working with wet or dry wood and the pros and cons of scraping or sanding. Frank then discusses what types of oils are best to finish the spoon with.

In this truly enjoyable video, you will see a spoon take shape out of a rough-looking piece of firewood. Frank presents well, with over 20 years of experience and having successfully trained many hundreds of students at all different levels. Learn how, and try your own hand at this rewarding, simple project!