There's just something special about taking a block of wood and turning it into a useful item.

These scoops are fairly easy to make and only involve a few tools. This project probably took me around 2 to 3 hours to make.

I believe you will enjoy making this wooden coffee scoop. Follow along, and I will show you how I made mine.

Step 1: Safety First

Make sure you wear a face shield or safety glasses and a dust mask or respirator. Don't forget to read all the safety instructions that come with your tools. I also recommend having some clamps to help hold your wood while you cut. You should't need clamps if you use a bandsaw. Watch where you put your fingers and maintain positive control of your workpiece at all times. Not sure about certain tools or techniques -- then ask for help.

Step 2: Choose a Hardwood of Your Choice

I generally like to stick with hardwoods for kitchen utensils, especially ones that are more closed grain. Hardwoods also tend to be more durable. I've made scoops out of Purpleheart, Olive, and Walnut, but for this instructable I'm using Cherry. The grain pattern of the Cherry also turned out to be quite stunning.

There are many ways to make coffee scoops. You can buy the stainless steel kits, turn the wood for the handle, and then assemble. For this instructable, I'm making my scoop from 100% Cherry hardwood.

Step 3: Trace the Coffee Scoop Shape on the Wood.

I grabbed a metal scoop from my kitchen and used it to trace a shape to the wood. I decided to make the handle longer than the metal one and you might consider making it even longer. The long handle comes in handy for digging deep into your coffee container. The capacity of my scoop comes out to 2 tablespoons.

I recommend doing a search on Pinterest and getting some ideas for your scoop. You can get very creative with the shapes and types of wood. Don't worry about making yours the exact same dimensions as mine.

Step 4: Drill the Bowl Portion

I found that it's easier to drill out the bowl portion of the scoop before cutting out the coffee scoop body. I like to use a 1.5 inch Forstner bit to drill the bowl portion of the scoop. Mark the bit with a sharpie so you can gage the depth of the hole. I drilled down exactly 1 inch to get the 2 tablespoon capacity. Go easy - drill part ways and back the bit out to remove sawdust and chips. Do this until you arrive at the desired depth. The Forstner bit will give you a nice finished hole.

I suppose you could use a router bit for the bowl section, but the Forstner bit does it very efficiently. However, if you want more of a true bowl shape you'll probably need to use some carving chisels or a power carver.

One little caveat with using the Forstner bit -- it leaves a small dimple in the bottom of the scoop. If you don't like the dimple, you'll need to sand it out.

Step 5: Cut Out the Scoop

I used a bandsaw to cut out the rough shape of my scoop. But the beauty of making these scoops is that you can use handsaws or coping saws. The bandsaw is much quicker, but you can use other saws -- even a jig saw will do the trick.

I recommend cutting 1/4 inch back from the line. That gives you room to sand. After sanding, the final dimensions of my coffee scoop bowl walls is around 1/8 inch thick. The bottom is probably some where around 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick. Handle is about 3/8 inch wide and thick. But please don't worry about getting these exact measures.

Take a few minutes and read the safety instructions for your power tools. Wear your safety gear.

Step 6: Sand the Scoop

Once you have cut out the rough shape of the scoop, take it to your sander and sand to the final shape. You could use a sanding drum and attach to your drill press or use a belt sander. I used a 1 inch belt sander. You could also use a Dremel. Don't have any of these power tools? Then you could always carve it to final shape.

Once the scoop was to the desired shape and dimensions, I used sandpaper and hand sanded the rest of the way. Started with 120 grit, then 220 grit, then 320 grit. I finished with my Micro Mess sanding cloths.

The Forstner bit did leave a small dimple at the bottom. I didn't completely sand the dimple out, but I did sand it some.

Step 7: Finish the Scoop

Once I finished all my sanding, I took some denatured alcohol and wiped all the leftover dust off the scoop. Allow it to dry, and then apply a food-safe finish.

I've used Danish Oil or food-safe mineral oil for my coffee scoops. For this Cherry scoop, I used the Danish Oil. You must allow the Danish Oil to dry according the directions on the can before it's safe with food.

Step 8: Enjoy Your Completed Scoop

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial! Leave some comments and let me know what you think. Please share any other ideas you might have for making these.

These make great gifts. In the pictures above, you can see other scoops I have made. I've made a Walnut scoop and several scoops from stainless steel kits. I have another tutorial on my blog that shows how I make the scoops from the kits.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.