Cutting The Spatula Profile — How To Make A Spatula

Begin with the quadrant shape on the end of the spatula. Clamp your blank tight in the vice and use a 1” chisel and chisel hammer to chop the bulk of the waste. Follow the curved pencil line but avoid cutting into it. Also, make sure to ‘read the grain’ to avoid splitting in the wrong direction. Be careful when approaching the end grain as the wood will begin to offer increased resistance. To counter that, switch to the coping saw which works very well for cross-grain cuts.

Use a 1" chisel (bevel up) and chisel hammer to chop around the curved head

To cut the profile of the handle, use the stop cut method. Again, start with the coping saw on the initial, cross grain cut. Avoid cutting all the way down to the line, but stop just above so as to leave enough material for refining with the spokeshave in the next step.

For a more detailed explanation on how to use the stop cut method, see our ‘Arches’ exercise.

Use a coping saw for the steep cross-grain cut between the spatula head and handle

Create a series of parallel saw kerfs (stop cuts) across the grain, but stop slightly above the line

1 ¼” to 1 ½” apart should be enough between the stop cuts

Split away the waste, starting high above the line in case the grain dives

Continue removing the waste and work from the other end if the wood wants to split below the line