New set of Cutting Boards for 2011

In the final stages of putting the finish on a set of 5 cutting boards. I wanted to experiment with some new patterns and wood combos. Each one of these boards takes on a very different tone. All sanded to the smoothness of granite. It's amazing what hours of sanding will yield.

Should only be a few more days until they are ready for new homes. As always, please let me know if you are interested in purchasing one for yourself or a gift. They make great wedding, house-warming, and chef-of-my-life gifts.

Made from Padouk, Sapele, Black Cherry and Bloodwood.

Made from Padouk, Mahogany, Rock Maple, Bloodwood, Black Cherry and Sapele.

Made from Black Cherry, Bloodwood, Sapele and Walnut.

Made from Rock Maple, Walnut and Sapele.

Made from Black Cherry, Walnut and Sapele.

A photo of all five boards on the drying table. Still a few coats of finish to go.

First set of Boards for 2011

Still cranking away in the wood shop. I started 5 new cutting boards using some of the recently purchased Sapele, which is very similar to Mahogany and should work really well with the reddish tones of Cherry, Bloodwood and Padouk. I have tweaked my methods a bit on this batch, to hopefully reduce the amount of scrap wood that it taken off in the later steps.

I'm headed to the Woodworkers Show in Baltimore this weekend to browse the latest in tools and to learn from the experts. Looking forward to finishing these boards in the coming weeks.

The photo below shows some of the sticks that will eventually be glued together to create endgrain boards. I took a lot of extra time to run these through my drum sander to make sure they are all finessed down to equal thickness before taking the next step. Hoping that the payoff is worth it.

Four of the five boards before the final glue up. Woods include Bloodwood, Walnut, Maple, Padouk, and Sapele.