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.