dining room server cabinet

i'm using reclaimed redwood from louisiana for this project the first step is to cut my blank to length i'm re-sawing the blank into two book matched pieces this is a pre-shaped template made from 1/4" plywood i'm using my hirsch #7 gouge to carve the server bowl carefully working up to my pencil line now i'm back at the bandsaw to cut out the servers shape here i've set the fence to make a 1/8" cut off the top of the handle this will provide a nice step detail from the handle to the server section

now i'm shaping a slight curve on each side of the handle with my spokeshave once the curve is established i shape the handle into a cylinder now i need to work on the transition from the handle to the server bowl i use my chisel to cut the wood fibers across the grain then come back and shape the handle with my chisel the grain is giving me a little bit of trouble so i switch over to my rasp now i move on to shaping the backside of the server bowl my wood spokeshave is set to take an aggressive cut removing the bulk of the material this spokeshave is set for a finer cut

i sand, first with 150 grit, then 220, 320, and finally i polish using steel wool the two salad servers are identical in shape with exception to one having forks i'm using my coping saw to cut out the forks now i use my chisel to straighten out my coping saw cuts here i'm using a small gouge to even out the valleys i use my chisel to carve a small chamfer detail on the backside of the forks same thing on the long edges of the forks i opted to leave the carving marks from my gouge, i think this adds a nice detail the final step is applying mineral oil

this old redwood has some beautiful color to it! thanks for watching!