Tim’s Blog

Posted on

Caring for your Timsboard wooden items

To ensure your wooden wares last a lifetime a small amount of care is required. Wood is a natural product and as such some twists and turns in the wood are to be expected. But with some TLC you can ward off those evil wood spirits and keep your product looking as fresh as the day it arrived.

After use, wash your item with washing up liquid and warm water by hand, NEVER in the dishwasher. Towel dry or leave to dry on the side out of direct sunlight. All my products are made to a smooth finish so if you wish to retain this for many years rub your item down with a high grit sand paper (240 grit or higher) then seal with a food safe wax (Timsboard Original Wax is available in the shop). Rub in a small amount, leave for a few minutes then wipe off any excess. If you wish to build the patina then skip the sandpaper and go straight to the wax.

And that’s it. Simple, quick and will ensure your wooden products last a lifetime.

Timsboard Original Wax is my homemade wax. It’s a mix of mineral oil and melted down beeswax to make the perfect food safe surface protection. A little goes a long way so avoid digging into the jar and scooping out a handful. Just a little dip in with a lint free cloth (to avoid little bits of fluff sticking to your wooden item) and you’re all set.

Posted on

Timsboard spoon making process

This blog is here to give you an insight into my process, a behind the scenes look at what a woodworker gets up to day to day as well as news of any upcoming events to keep an eye out for. Here is the start of an alder wood spoon. Alder is soft to carve and retains shape well making it the perfect choice if you want to start carving.

I often begin spoons and scoops with a generic shape but as you will see if you look through my shop or gallery, rarely do they come out looking like this in the end. I start with this simple shape to allow for the wood to tell me what to do. First, I gouge the bowl of the spoon with my hook knife (or scoop). Then I cut out the blank following the rough shape I’ve drawn. You can start by cutting the shape out first but I find it easier to carve the bowl if I have more material to clamp down to my bench. Once I have the blank in my hands I begin removing material with my knife. It is then that the spoon starts to take shape. A combination of my knife, a rasp and various grits of sandpaper are the final layer before finishing with food safe oil and my Timsboard Original Wax. It really is such a therapeutic experience carving a spoon. And it is really easy to get started. All you need is a lump of wood, a scoop and a knife… oh and plenty of patience!

Posted on

My new favourite chopping board

Limewood is a great wood to carve with. It is a hardwood with the feel of softwood. Really easy to carve details into and holds the crisp edges well. As the grain runs straight it very rarely warps so is ideal for serving boards, cheese boards, spoons etc. So imagine my excitement when I got my hands on a big chunk of the stuff. I carved out a few spoons, butter knives, scoops. You know the usual. But as I dug deeper and deeper into the timber I found incredible patterns along the grain. The plane came out and after lots of elbow grease I had the beginnings of my new favourite board. Is it my favourite because of the pattern? Somewhat. Is it because it was fun to carve? Perhaps. But my absolute favourite thing was how the wood had hidden this pattern from prying eyes. I could so easily have used the whole lump up with spoons and scoops, which wouldn’t have been a bad thing of course, and never noticed this shading. That find just reinforced my love for carving and working with wood. The secrets each lump of timber holds make every time I sit down with my carving gear an exciting and invigorating experience.

This delightful board is now enjoying a sunny life in Australia… That’s not code for something sinister, it was bought by a couple of wonderful Australians and travelled back with them to Adelaide. Will it bring as much joy to them as it did to me when creating it? Whose to say. But one thing is for sure, this is a beautiful piece of wood.