Turned Spatula Project – Video and Photos

[Botch Studio]

We recently finished up a little lathe project we thought some of you might appreciate—a turned spatula. It started as a bit of an experiment more than anything, just to see how far we could push shaping something functional on the lathe.

We’ve attached a few photos here, but they don’t really capture the full process or some of the trickier moments (especially refining the profile and getting a comfortable handle). If you’re interested in how it actually came together, we filmed the whole build and put it into a short video:

In the video, we go through the wood selection, roughing it out, shaping, and finishing. There were definitely a couple of points where things could’ve gone wrong, so we’d be curious what you all think about the approach.

Always open to feedback - especially if anyone has tips for improving efficiency or refining shapes like this on the lathe.

If you enjoyed the video, feel free to subscribe.

Cheers!

 

[daniscool]

The pics are nice. They don’t completely do it justice like the video but they give a good first impression.

It is very important to either Waterpop while sanding or blade finish otherwise the fivers of the wood will raise up when the spatula is wetted. This will make the texture very rough. For spatulas you can actually use a spokeshave to get that blade finish. (It doesn’t work on spoons obviously)

If you do sand I really recommend the waterpop.

 

[Botch Studio]

The pics are nice. They don’t completely do it justice like the video but they give a good first impression.

It is very important to either Waterpop while sanding or blade finish otherwise the fivers of the wood will raise up when the spatula is wetted. This will make the texture very rough. For spatulas you can actually use a spokeshave to get that blade finish. (It doesn’t work on spoons obviously)

If you do sand I really recommend the waterpop.

Thanks for the advice, we'll take that onboard for sure. Thanks for watching.

 

[Nature Man]

The pics are nice. They don’t completely do it justice like the video but they give a good first impression.

It is very important to either Waterpop while sanding or blade finish otherwise the fivers of the wood will raise up when the spatula is wetted. This will make the texture very rough. For spatulas you can actually use a spokeshave to get that blade finish. (It doesn’t work on spoons obviously)

If you do sand I really recommend the waterpop.

Is the waterpop procedure just wetting the wood then sanding, or is there something further to it? Chuck

 

[Nature Man]

We recently finished up a little lathe project we thought some of you might appreciate—a turned spatula. It started as a bit of an experiment more than anything, just to see how far we could push shaping something functional on the lathe.

We’ve attached a few photos here, but they don’t really capture the full process or some of the trickier moments (especially refining the profile and getting a comfortable handle). If you’re interested in how it actually came together, we filmed the whole build and put it into a short video:

In the video, we go through the wood selection, roughing it out, shaping, and finishing. There were definitely a couple of points where things could’ve gone wrong, so we’d be curious what you all think about the approach.

Always open to feedback - especially if anyone has tips for improving efficiency or refining shapes like this on the lathe.

If you enjoyed the video, feel free to subscribe.

Cheers!

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Like this a great deal! I will watch the video for further information. Chuck

 

[Botch Studio]

Like this a great deal! I will watch the video for further information. Chuck

Nice one, Chuck. Appreciate it!

 

[Nature Man]

Like this a great deal! I will watch the video for further information. Chuck

Watched the video. Never thought about turning a spatula like that, but your demo was a teaching moment. Chuck

 

[daniscool]

Y

Is the waterpop procedure just wetting the wood then sanding, or is there something further to it? Chuck

Yes it is.

 

[Botch Studio]

Watched the video. Never thought about turning a spatula like that, but your demo was a teaching moment. Chuck

Glad to hear it!