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.

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.