At a glance
Finished dimensions
Overall sizes
- Overall
- 10 in long, 1-3/4 in wide at the bowl, 11/16 in deep under the bowl
- Bowl
- Ellipse 2-1/2 × 1-3/4 in; hollow 2-1/8 × 1-3/8 in and 1/2 in deep; rim and floor 3/16 in
- Neck and handle
- Neck 1/2 in wide and 1/2 in thick at 3-1/4 in; handle 1 in wide and 3/8 in thick at the end
Materials
| Item | Quantity | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dry, straight-grained hardwood | One blank | Measured at least 3/4 in thick; free of knots and cracks; grain along the length |
| Abrasive | As needed | For final smoothing |
Cut list
| Part | Qty | Dimensions | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spoon blank | 1 | 3/4 × 2 × 10-1/2 in, grain along the 10-1/2 in | Dry hardwood |
Tools
- Hook knife or carving gouge
- Carving knife
- Coping saw or band saw
- Rasp
- Clamp or carving holding device
- Rule and calipers
The design
| Feature | Position | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Bowl (outside) | Ellipse centred 1-1/4 in from the tip | 2-1/2 in long, 1-3/4 in wide |
| Bowl hollow | Same centre | 2-1/8 in long, 1-3/8 in wide, 1/2 in deep |
| Outline leaves the ellipse | 2-1/4 in | About 1-1/16 in wide |
| Neck | 3-1/4 in | 1/2 in wide, 1/2 in thick |
| Handle end | 9-1/2 in, rounded to 10 in | 1 in wide, 3/8 in thick |
| Under the bowl | 1-1/4 in | 11/16 in thick: the 1/2 in hollow plus a 3/16 in floor |
Every size is a BenchRoot design choice. The bowl's outline is an ellipse; the hollow is an ellipse 3/16 in shorter at each end and narrower at each side, so the rim is 3/16 in at the tip and the sides and only a few thousandths of an inch less between them.
Lay the blank out so the grain runs straight along its 10-1/2 in length. The Wood Handbook's tests show what sloping grain costs: at a slope of 1 in 10, clear wood keeps only 81% of its straight-grained bending strength and 62% of its impact strength, and knots bring their own local slope. A 1/2 in neck is where the spoon is narrowest, so that is where straight grain matters most; reject a blank whose grain runs out across the neck. Choosing stock is covered in wood grain.
Making the spoon
From blank to spoon
Mark out
Draw the centreline on the top face, then the bowl's ellipse and hollow from their centre 1-1/4 in from one end, the neck and handle widths at their stations, and the profile on one edge, all from the table — there is no template to print.
Hollow the bowl first
With the blank still square, clamp it or hold it in a holding device and hollow the bowl to 1/2 in deep inside the inner ellipse. Mora lists hook knives for hollowing spoons; a carving gouge also works. Check the depth with a rule as you go. Tools and their use are covered in carving tools and wood carving.
Saw the profile
Saw the profile on the edge — flat top, curved underside, tapering handle — staying outside the line, with a coping saw or a band saw.
Saw the plan
Saw the plan outline on the top face, again outside the line.
Shape and fair
Shape the back of the bowl until the floor is 3/16 in thick, checking with calipers, and fair the neck and handle to their thicknesses with a rasp and knife.
Smooth
Smooth all over with abrasive; see how to sand wood.
A finish is your choice. If the spoon will touch food, choose a finish whose maker documents it for that use and follow the maker's cure time; what makers and the FDA say is set out in food-safe wood finishes. This page makes no claim about food contact, heat or washing for the spoon. A turned companion piece, a 6 in wooden bowl, is in bowl plans.
Safety— Hold the work, not the blade's path
Clamp the blank or use a holding device, so both hands can be on the tool, as Wood Carving Illustrated advises; if you hold the work by hand, keep that hand out of the tool's path. A carving glove stops slicing cuts but not punctures. See woodworking safety equipment and woodworking safety rules.
Before carving
- Blank dry, straight-grained, free of knots and cracks
- Grain running the full length, straight through the neck
- Plan, hollow and profile marked from the table
- Blank clamped or in a holding device
- Hollow checked to 1/2 in, floor to 3/16 in
Sources
A BenchRoot design; every dimension is on the drawing or in the tables and is a design choice, not a standard or an ergonomic claim. It was drawn and checked but not built or tested for this page. The drawing is to scale on screen but is not a printable or full-size template, and there is no download. The page makes no claim about food contact, heat or washing; finishes for food contact are covered, from their makers' documents, in the food-safe wood finish guide.
- 1.
Find the right wood carving knife. Morakniv.
Used for: Hook knives for hollowing bowls, spoons and cups; short, thin blades for detail and longer ones for powerful cuts; a carving knife with a finger guard often recommended for beginners.
- 2.
Selecting Your Flexcut Tools. Flexcut Tool Company.
Used for: Beginners clamping the work to a stable surface; palm tools held in one hand while the other holds the work.
- 3.
Staff of Woodcarving Illustrated. Comparing Carving Gloves. Woodcarving Illustrated, 2026.
Used for: Holding the work in a holding device with both hands on the tool as the safest approach; a carving glove on the holding hand, out of the tool's path, stopping slicing cuts but not punctures.
- 4.
Chapter 5: Mechanical Properties of Wood. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Strength falling as the slope of grain increases — at 1 in 10, 81% of straight-grained modulus of rupture and 62% of impact bending — and knots bringing their own local slope of grain.
About this project
Written by BenchRoot Editorial. How BenchRoot sources, checks and corrects its pages is set out in the Editorial Policy. If something here is wrong or unclear, the contact page explains how to tell us.