Final Cutting Board for 2010

I snuck out to the garage this morning to work on some Sapele boards I purchased a month ago. It was a little rough, so after blocking it down to size with the chop saw, I ran the pieces over the jointer a few times to get a straight edge before sizing them down on the table saw. Should have enough to make 8 boards.


The photo below shows the first glue up on a new board I'm making from bloodwood, sapele, black cherry and padouk. As you can see, this board should be a really warm accent piece. Lots of orange and red tones. All of the colors really start to come to life after final sanding and once the finish is applied.

Last glue up of 2010. Should be dry by 2011 and off to the planer. I think the colors are going to be awesome.

On the Finishing Table - Whew!

Spent a LOT of sanding time this weekend, Monday morning before work, and Monday evening after dinner. I am proud to say that I have seven cutting boards on the finishing table. I put the first coat of finish on the tops. This is one of my favorite parts of the process as they really come to life. The dusty, opaque woods that have been covered with fine layers of saw dust for the past several weeks are now glossy and rich in tone. I snapped a few photos this morning before work. You are looking at the bottoms of the boards with the recessed handles.

These babies will make perfect Christmas gifts, and I will begin contacting folks that are on the official list to see if they are still interested. 

Foreground is maple, bloodwood, walnut and the one on the right is cherry, bloodwood, walnut.

Seven cutting boards, belly up and soaking in the first coat of finish.

One coat down, four more to go.

December Boards

Still working like a mad man to get these 7 boards finished. I have 4 boards ready for final sanding/finish and three boards that were just rough-shaped last night. Hopefully by this weekend, I'll have all 7 ready for the finishing table. It will be such a relief to have these babies ready for new homes.

I am going to start running down my master list and contacting folks who are waiting for good news. The prices vary according to wood species and dimensions. I always like to give folks the opportunity to choose a board that suits their needs and budget.

A stack of 7 in various stages of final shaping.

Progress and planes

Weekends, nights and early mornings. I've been trying to get as much shop time as possible and sneaking into the garage for short 30 minute bursts to stay on track. So far, the boards are really turning out great. They are all unique in size and shape and I am experimenting with different thicknesses. Also the drum sander has worked out well and is an amazing tool and helps in both the accuracy and safety aspects. Saves me a lot of back aches.

I picked up some sapele lumber last weekend and I'm itching to finish this set of 7 boards to try it out. I haven't worked with it in cutting boards, but it has a nice rich orange color that should play well with the cherry lumber.

Here are a few random photos of where I'm at in the build processes.

Three full size boards and a smaller bar board. All rough sanded and shaped. Still plenty of finish work to be done.

One in the clamp and two ready to be planed and shaped.

Planing the rough surface and removing the glue. Almost ready for the drum sander.

My new drum sander. What a great tool. Messy, but great.

Pre-Christmas Rush

OK, so after too many days of sweating the shipping details I now have both tools set up in the garage. The jointer is so-so, but seems to get the job done. Kinda of a steep learning curve, and as a less expensive model was a bit underwhelming at first blush. However, the new drum sander is the coolest tool I have ever seen. It took about an hour to set up and dial in, but has already made me happy. Kind of got hung up in the shipping process, but I've forgiven the carrier for delivering an undamaged package.

First step was to take the lumber and joint the edges and start to build up a small inventory of species to select from when creating my giant mass of orders. Trying my hardest to get as many of these beasts ready in the coming weeks. I'll never finish all 25, but I'll do my best. A few recent pics of progress below. May not look like much, but trust me that it's a very dusty job with lots of man-hours.

New 8" jointer set up and already dusty.

Some of the initial sticks of cherry, maple, walnut and bloodwood.

More photos of the sticks. These will one day be part of beautiful boards.

The initial glue up of a maple, walnut and bloodwood board.

Beginning the Process

Last night I spent some quality shop time chopping my lumber purchases into smaller chunks. I studied each board that I purchased for knots, defects and grain pattern. I took the chop saw to them to get roughly 30" lengths and took some basic measurements to determine how many boards I'll ultimately be able to make. Every rough board I buy tells a story. How big was the tree? Did it grow at an angle? How many smaller branches did it lose in its life? Were some years better for growth than others? It's really cool to study... if you're a wood geek.

I also did some Amazon shopping and ordered two more power tools which should help me out in fulfilling the backlog of orders I have at this point. The tools should arrive in a week or so and I am completely excited to unwrap them and put them to use. Honestly I'm nervous about paying these expensive pieces off, but I'm going to swing for the fence and make/sell as many cutting boards as I can in the coming months. Fortunately, these new tools should cut down on the ever-dreaded frustrations that I encounter using my hand tools and ultimately allow me to make bigger, prettier and more precise cutting boards.

A few photos of last night's work. Not impressive at all, just documenting the process.

The bottom rack of my lumber shelf. 30" rough lengths of bloodwood, bubinga, cherry, maple and walnut.

A new board I am in the process of making. Maple, bloodwood and walnut. This is before the second glue up.

On the Fence

So, I'm crunching some numbers to see whether expanding my tool arsenal is a good idea or a bad financial move. With the recent onslaught of cutting board requests, I'll certainly keep very busy over the next few months. Can I make/sell enough boards to cover my costs is the big dilemma. It's a hobby... not a small business right? Yikes.

So, if I pull the trigger I may be able to fulfill my to do list. I just need to keep people interested in the fine art of my works. Like every artist, one must keep demand in the back of their mind. And I must stay focused on creating beautiful pieces that folks will stand in line for.

Saturday Morning Lumber Shopping

I took a drive over to the lumber yard this morning to replenish my stock of hardwoods. Spent just under two hours crawling around the stacks and picking through boards. Bought a few species that I have never worked with before. Lots of great colors. I'm excited to start milling them all down to useful stock size.

Walking amongst the lumber inspires me. If only I had more time and an unlimited budget.

So many species. A guy could spend a fortune on this stack.

A nice 8/4 piece of hard maple, just over 10ft long.

Cheese Boards

Just finished up some more cutting boards. Two full sized boards, and 3 cheese boards. I am pretty much out of bloodwood at this point, so I'm off to the lumber yard on Saturday to pick through the stacks to find some great boards for the next batch. No telling what will be in stock, but I'll do my best to pick up the most dynamic wood I can get my hands on.

Thankfully my loving and supportive wife is taking the kids to the zoo to give me some shop time.

I am getting swamped with requests for these cutting boards, so please be patient. I promise that I will post photos and send emails as soon as I get more made. Thanks for looking.

Cheese boards made from bloodwood, walnut and cherry. 12" x 6" 1.75".

A photo of the cheese board twins, sold as a set.

Another cheese board made from walnut, cherry and maple. Recessed handles on all 4 sides.

Cheese board made from walnut, cherry and maple.

I call this cutting board "back bone." Bloodwood, cherry, maple and walnut,

A close up view of the grain patterns.

Zig Zag Cutting Board

I made this zig zag cutting board for a former coworker of mine. It was made out of walnut and cherry and was a pretty substantial board. 12" x 16" x 1.5". Very heavy, very sturdy, and the darker woods really worked out well for the pattern.

Zig zag board made from walnut and cherry. Showing recessed handles on the edges for easy handling.

A top view of the zig zag board.

March 2010 Cutting Boards

Here are a few cutting boards I made for folks. These boards were my first attempt at using bloodwood and it ultimately hooked me. They turned out so nice, I immediately headed back to the lumber yard to buy more. In our red kitchen the colors seemed to come to life. Too bad I couldn't keep them. These were sold before the finish was dry. Two more happy customers.

A pair of bloodwood, maple and walnut boards made for a client. Recessed handles and rounded edges.

A close up view of the grain patterns. Selecting the right pieces in the lumber yard pays off when you can achieve a flowing grain across all species.

A walnut, maple cherry board before applying the finish. This was a medium-sized board and was made extra thick as an experiment. Was nice and heavy and finished beautifully.