My wife thinks I have a carving tool problem:

I agree; there are gaps.

A while ago she spotted an offcut of walnut from a chair build and decided it would make a nice egg rack. In the interest of having some input into the ever more spectacular baking that goes on in this house I have obliged.

Carving the egg cups

While I was carving I realised it would make a great beginner project. It teaches a lot about grain direction, slicing cuts and carving to precise layout lines. And it’s very hard to mess up. It can be done with very few gouges: I used a biggish number 9, a 10mm number 5 and a shallowish spoon gouge but you could do it with just the 9 in a pinch and you could probably sustitute various medium sized, medium sweep gouges. So long as the sweep is quicker than the curve of the circumference it will work.

Walnut is a lovely wood to carve, probably my favourite. When finished the grain can be absolutely beautiful.

Finish drying