How to Make a Wooden Spoon {That’s Shaped Like a Pineapple!}

 

Have you ever wondered who comes up with the “next big thing?”

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Like who decides (this was years ago) that chickens were the cool thing to decorate your entire house with?? (Remember that, mom?? The chicken WALLPAPER?! Don’t do that again.)

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Then, just a few years ago, it was owls. Then, hedgehogs stole the spotlight shortly after that.

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But recently, pineapples have taken over. Haven’t you seen them everywhere??

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So I just want to know. Who decides what’s going to be hung all over everyone’s wall and printed on everyone’s shirts each season?? DOES ANYONE KNOW?!

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Whoever it is, props to you! I’m loving the pineapple trend. And so are many more, because several other bloggers and I have joined in a Pineapple Blog Hop today which is the kickoff to Pineapple Week over on The Weathered Fox!  See links to the rest of the blog hop projects at the end of this post!

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So when I was challenged to make a wooden spoon (more about the challenge to come in the next couple weeks!! Sign up for email updates at the bottom of the post or in the sidebar so you don’t miss out!), I knew I needed to get creative if I was going to compete with the others in the challenge.

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That’s when I decided to not only make a wooden spoon, but make my spoon look like a pineapple!

Cutest wooden spoon ever, right??

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I’ve got the how to for you to make your own right here so let’s get started.

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For this project, I used just a few tools and some scrap poplar wood.

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Tools & Materials:

Band saw

Belt sander

Orbital sander (unless you want to hand sand everything)

Dremel (and carving bits–some usually come with the kit)

Hammer and chisel

Planer (optional)

Sandpaper

Scrap wood for spoon

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Step 1: Prepare the wood

I had some leftover rough poplar from our kitchen remodel. We decided not to use this lumber, so it’s been hanging out in my shop for a while. You could use whatever wood you want, but typically, hardwoods are best for spoons. Poplar is a softer hardwood, so it’s easier to carve. Plus it’s fairly cheap.

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It was only 1” thick, so I cut two short pieces (about 20”) and planed both pieces then glued them together to make it a little over 1 ½” thick. If you don’t have a planer, you could start out with thicker wood, or just make a shallower spoon.

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Step 2: Draw and cut the shape

I wanted my spoon to be a pineapple shape. So I googled cartoon pineapples and used an image I found to help me draw out the top and the bottom shape of the spoon. Then I just drew curved lines to connect them. The total height of my spoon was about 12”.

Once you have your pattern, you can cut it out on a band saw. Save the pieces you cut off the sides.

Once the general shape was cut, I wanted to make mine a little more curved on the bottom side. I drew out a shape to make the spoon handle curve up a little. You have freedom here to do whatever shape you want. Once it’s drawn use masking tape to tape a side that you just cut off to the spoon so that it has a flat surface to run through the band saw to cut the shape along the bottom.

Step 3: Sand out the shape

Once my shape was cut, I used my belt sander to smooth out the bottom spoon corners to make it more rounded. There was a lot of sanding in making the spoon. You can just sand until you get the shape you want. Once the shape was like I wanted it, I smoothed it out with an orbital sander and a finer grit sand paper. The wood should now be rounded and smooth to the touch. I hand sanded the little leaves as best I could. It’s a little hard to get in all the cracks…I just did the best I could.

Step 4: Carve out the pineapple design

Obviously, if you don’t want to make your spoon a pineapple, you can skip this step. But I drew out my leaves and pineapple design and used my Dremel and a carving bit to trace the lines.

I already started on step 5 here…so just ignore that 🙂

Step 5: Carve out the spoon

You can do this many ways. In order to get the majority of the material out of the spoon, I used a ½” chisel and a hammer. Because the spoon was already shaped, this was somewhat difficult to do because it wouldn’t sit flat on the work surface. It may have been a better idea to chisel this out BEFORE cutting the shape of the bottom of the spoon. Hindsight is 20/20. But with a little creative clamping, I was able to chisel out most of the material.

Then, I used my carving bit on my Dremel and went to town to smooth it all out. You will not get it perfect no matter how hard you try. Once it got close to smooth, I used some coarse grit sandpaper (I used 80 grit) and sand the shape out smooth. Then I went over it with 220 grit to smooth out all the scratch marks left from the 80 grit stuff.  Then finally, I used 400 grit to sand the whole thing baby’s butt smooth.  400 grit sandpaper is the most amazing stuff…for real.  It smooths out everything SOOOOO SMOOTH.

Step 6: Oil

I do not claim to be an expert on finishing, but I know that mineral oil is food safe. So I oiled my spoon with mineral oil. I just wiped it on with a clean rag and let it soak in. You may have to oil it occasionally if you use it a lot, but it’s as easy as wipe on, wipe off. You could also use butcherblock conditioning oil I assume, but mineral oil is much cheaper.

What do you think???

I thought it turned out SO cute!  And who wouldn’t love to have a pineapple shaped spoon??  Now, if only it was flavored like a pineapple, too…

For lots more pineapple projects and inspiration, check out the links below!

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Check out all the other Pineapple tutorials here:

Craftivity Designs | Pineapple Tablescape and Printable Menu
The Vanderveen House | Pineapple Pillow Cover
Upright and Caffeinated | Stenciled Pineapple Milk Can Planter
Our Home Made Easy | Summer Pineapple Printable
Woodshop Diaries | DIY Carved Wooden Pineapple Spoon
Hey Lets Make Stuff | Pineapple Candy Pouch Card
Happiness is Homemade | DIY Pineapple Candle
Mahles Market | Free Pineapple Printables
Sustain My Craft Habit | DIY Pineapple Succulent Mason Jar Planter
Casa Watkins Living | Pineapple Inspired Wine Charms
Our Crafty Mom | Pineapple Flour Sack Tea Towels
Sense and Serendipity | DIY Driftwood Pineapple Welcome Sign
Not Just Paper and Paint | Pineapple Casserole Recipe
PMQ for Two | Pineapple Wine Charms
Wife in Progress Blog | Homemade Pineapple Sugar Scrub

 

 

Until next time, happy building (or, uh…carving)!! 🙂