Woodworking: Amateurs, Craftsmen, & In-Between

[zapatos]

46 minutes ago, iNow said:

Indeed, probably too many  

I’m curious how you did the grooves… maybe a straight cut bit in the router, or even a Dremel tool perhaps? They give it such a cool feeling of movement. 

Yes I made the cuts with a router (they are supposed to be reminiscent of a comet). For the circle I tapped a finishing nail into the board, used a Dremel to cut a small groove on the router base for a way to 'lock into' the nail, then just moved the router around the nail. Then I clamped a straight edge on the base so I could make the straight cuts.

One of the things I like about these projects is I always seem to have to do something I've not done before. It was fun to wire the lamp, including a toggle switch I added.

[iNow]

38 minutes ago, zapatos said:

For the circle I tapped a finishing nail into the board, used a Dremel to cut a small groove on the router base for a way to 'lock into' the nail, then just moved the router around the nail

That’s brilliant. Except for the router, that’s how humans have done it for thousands of years. I haven’t tried it yet, but am looking for a reason.
 

40 minutes ago, zapatos said:

I always seem to have to do something I've not done before

Exactly. That’s one of my favorite parts, too. Puzzles being solved. Skills being acquired. Ideas being made real. 

[Peterkin]

Oh, this is too good not to get a piece of.

Love all these projects! I don't do any precision work myself - lack the skill and patience - but I mess around with bits of maple sometimes. Carve them into bookends, mostly.  

[iNow]

4 hours ago, Peterkin said:

Carve them into bookends, mostly.  

Now that’s a super cool idea! Am curious how you finish them?

Here’s a fun side view of the recently completed table I mentioned above 

 

 

[Peterkin]

That's beautiful! I always like to see emphasis on some natural characteristic of the wood.  It has such interesting and varied character, like no other medium. I usually work around the most attractive original feature of the particular piece. 

22 minutes ago, iNow said:

Now that’s a super cool idea! Am curious how you finish them?

Sand until my arm falls off, which is never quite enough, stain and water-based varnish. I got a lucky break on gel stains - including a blue and a green, a few years ago at Restore. (The old, warren-like, good store, not the new, streamlined, boring one.)

[zapatos]

8 hours ago, Peterkin said:

Love all these projects! I don't do any precision work myself - lack the skill and patience - but I mess around with bits of maple sometimes. Carve them into bookends, mostly.  

Those are really nice! Where did you get the wood? Tree in your yard or elsewhere? Did you start with the bark still on?

3 hours ago, iNow said:

Here’s a fun side view of the recently completed table I mentioned above 

 

That bow tie is perfectly fitted! I built a bench with through tenons once and know how hard it is to be that precise (mine wasn't as good). 😁

[Peterkin]

14 minutes ago, zapatos said:

Where did you get the wood?

From the pile in the back yard. When I'm stacking, I rescue any pieces that catch my fancy, for something to do in winter - arthritis permitting. We buy firewood as slab from a small lumberyard that deals exclusively in local maple (Lots of syrup around here, as well!) Some of the trees were old, hollow or variously injured, so there are interesting crannies and knots. That big knot in 'Bones' was original, just needed a little reshaping; I carved the smaller one. 

 

22 minutes ago, zapatos said:

Did you start with the bark still on?

Tried a couple of times, but it tends to fall off seasoned wood. OTH, I hardly ever get cracks.

24 minutes ago, zapatos said:

That bow tie is perfectly fitted!

It is! You see workmanship like that sometimes in antiques; otherwise, only by artisans. A couple of local guys are very good. We have a talented young blacksmith on the studio tour, as well. They did hold one this year, but we didn't go. 

[iNow]

9 hours ago, zapatos said:

That bow tie is perfectly fitted!

You know what cracks me up? The ones I put on the bottom turned out even better (like super crisp and make this top one look sloppy), and nobody will ever see them or even know they’re there (except you and me and readers of this post) 😂 

9 hours ago, Peterkin said:

When I'm stacking, I rescue any pieces that catch my fancy

Smart man

9 hours ago, Peterkin said:

It is! You see workmanship like that sometimes in antiques;

They’re hand cut. No jigs or templates. Thank you, both ✌️
 

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by iNow

[iNow]

Built another end grain cutting board. Gave several of various designs out as gifts over the holidays, but think I’ll keep this one for our own kitchen bc I really like the optical illusion.

Approximately 13” x 9” x 1-3/8” and constructed using cherry, maple, walnut, and paduuk. 
 

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by iNow

[Peterkin]

That's way too beautiful to mess up with cutting. Very fine work!

[iNow]

37 minutes ago, Peterkin said:

That's way too beautiful to mess up with cutting. Very fine work!

Thanks! Since it’s end grain, it has an almost “self-healing” quality and is easier on the knifes edge, too. 

[Peterkin]

5 minutes ago, iNow said:

Since it’s end grain, it has an almost “self-healing” quality and is easier on the knifes edge, too. 

I'd be really interested to see it in use. (I do a lot of chopping and my boards look like battle-scarred veterans of a turf war.) Can we have updates from time to time?

[CharonY]

1 hour ago, iNow said:

Built another end grain cutting board. Gave several of various designs out as gifts over the holidays, but think I’ll keep this one for our own kitchen bc I really like the optical illusion.

Approximately 13” x 9” x 1-3/8” and constructed using cherry, maple, walnut, and paduuk. 
 

 

Wow, really nice. I keep destroying my cutting boards- (only the big 2 incher survived so far). Now I really want to learn how to do it (or perhaps splurge on a really expensive one, though it won't look at nice at this one).

[iNow]

1 hour ago, Peterkin said:

Can we have updates from time to time?

I can try, but with an occasional wipe of mineral oil and application of bees wax thinned out with said oil, it could theoretically outlast my children. Maybe a quick sanding and refinish once per decade etc. 

1 hour ago, CharonY said:

Wow, really nice

Thank you! I started with a simple face / edge grain one, then some more basic patterns on my first end grain ones. This is by far the most intimidating one I’ve tried yet. 

Good luck if you decide to try. Worst case is you make some new firewood and try again. If you buy, $200-250 is likely what you’ll spent (farmers market, craft shows, Facebook marketplace, etc)

[zapatos]

3 hours ago, iNow said:

Built another end grain cutting board. Gave several of various designs out as gifts over the holidays, but think I’ll keep this one for our own kitchen bc I really like the optical illusion.

Approximately 13” x 9” x 1-3/8” and constructed using cherry, maple, walnut, and paduuk. 
 

 

 

That is the coolest cutting board I've ever seen! You've got some real talent. 😁

I'd really like to try something like that. Did you work off a plan you found somewhere? If so would you be willing to share where you got it?

I'm trying to picture the process of gluing up what looks like roughly five individual pieces per square. Did you glue up entire rows at a time?

 

[iNow]

20 minutes ago, zapatos said:

Did you work off a plan you found somewhere?

No, I saw a few pictures of a few different designs others had done and kinda stared at them for a while until I figured it out. 

One square piece. Two pieces with that same size square plus another half square off the side of it cut to 45.

22 minutes ago, zapatos said:

I'm trying to picture the process of gluing up what looks like roughly five individual pieces per square. Did you glue up entire rows at a time?

Yes, whenever possible I did a whole row. Let it dry for 45-60 minutes, removed the clamps, and started the next row. 8 rows total, each 5 cubes tall. 

Once all rows are combined into a single board, you then spend an eternity sanding it totally flat and wishing you had a drum sander.  

[zapatos]

45 minutes ago, iNow said:

No, I saw a few pictures of a few different designs others had done and kinda stared at them for a while until I figured it out. 

One square piece. Two pieces with that same size square plus another half square off the side of it cut to 45.

Yes, whenever possible I did a whole row. Let it dry for 45-60 minutes, removed the clamps, and started the next row. 8 rows total, each 5 cubes tall. 

Once all rows are combined into a single board, you then spend an eternity sanding it totally flat and wishing you had a drum sander.  

Ah yes, I get it. That last pic really helped. When I looked at your original pic it took me a bit to get past the illusion so I could concentrate on what was really there. Thanks!

Also, do you ever use biscuits or some other joinery besides glue when putting together cutting boards? I'm just wondering if it is worth the extra effort of if glue alone has seemed sufficient to you.

Edit: One other thing. Do you a surface planer to use prior to sanding or do you have to do sanding alone?

Edited July 11, 2022 by zapatos

[iNow]

17 minutes ago, zapatos said:

do you ever use biscuits or some other joinery besides glue when putting together cutting boards?

Never. Just Tightbond III. Waterproof. Food safe. Stronger than the wood itself. Definitely joint the surfaces first for a clean bond though, and ensure the joint isn’t glue starved from over tightening clamps.

Worst case? If it fails 3 years from now, I can simply rip it quickly on the saw and reglue. Good as new. 

17 minutes ago, zapatos said:

Do you a surface planer to use prior to sanding or do you have to do sanding alone?

You can’t put an end grain board into a surface planer without extreme risk. Some idiots try, but I’m calling them idiots for a reason.

The blades too easily catch on the fibers, throw the board at 200+ mph. Board explodes. Planer explodes. Body parts hit by flying debris explodes.

Some do it and take 1/64th” passes, but it’s not even worth the attempt IMO… even though my throbbing shoulders are trying to convince me otherwise. 

I spray adhesive 60 grit sheets to a flat piece of ply and rub the board back and forth for a few hours until all cubes are dead level with each other. 

Edited July 11, 2022 by iNow

[zapatos]

Okay, thanks. Very helpful info.

[TheVat]

Real craftsmanship.  If it gets to where your cutting boards have 3D cats or time tunnels, then you may need to back away from the workbench for a while.  Had not heard of paduuk - that's the "frame" pieces?

[StringJunky]

@iNow Have you tried a low angle plane? They can be used on material with multi-directional grain and end-grain. Low angle block plane for the small stuff. 

[iNow]

28 minutes ago, TheVat said:

Had not heard of paduuk - that's the "frame" pieces?

Those frame pieces are the cherry. Paduuk is a more exotic african wood and is seen as the center reddish square in the piece.

4 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

Have you tried a low angle plane?

Not yet. I have a few hand planes that are old and need badly to be repaired and tuned. I'm sure if I had one that's well dialed in I could attempt to hand plane end grain without too much tear out, but for now I don't see it as worth the risk. Tear out that late into the build / that deep into the project would be devastating. 

Drum sander is easily the right tool for the job, but they're big and they're expensive.

34 minutes ago, TheVat said:

If it gets to where your cutting boards have 3D cats or time tunnels, then you may need to back away from the workbench for a while.

Lol. I can actually think of a few relatively easy ways to achieve this if I had a CNC machine to do it. 

[CharonY]

13 hours ago, iNow said:

I can try, but with an occasional wipe of mineral oil and application of bees wax thinned out with said oil, it could theoretically outlast my children. Maybe a quick sanding and refinish once per decade etc. 

Thank you! I started with a simple face / edge grain one, then some more basic patterns on my first end grain ones. This is by far the most intimidating one I’ve tried yet. 

Good luck if you decide to try. Worst case is you make some new firewood and try again. If you buy, $200-250 is likely what you’ll spent (farmers market, craft shows, Facebook marketplace, etc)

Huh, seems that these things require me to get out of the lab more. Not so sure about the facebook thing. Don't trust these newfangled things. I heard they eat your soul. Or maybe soles, not sure, since my spellchecker seems to be on strike.

13 hours ago, iNow said:

Good luck if you decide to try. Worst case is you make some new firewood and try again.

I think I am stepping back from that one. I tried to follow the conversation on how you made it and I think I had shortly an impression of what a grad student understands when I try to tell them how to do something. I mean, nothing that learning, trying and effort won't fix, but not sure about the time commitment nowadays.

But still, absolutely intriguing and really makes me want to at least try, if I only could find the time.

[StringJunky]

5 hours ago, iNow said:

Not yet. I have a few hand planes that are old and need badly to be repaired and tuned. I'm sure if I had one that's well dialed in I could attempt to hand plane end grain without too much tear out, but for now I don't see it as worth the risk. Tear out that late into the build / that deep into the project would be devastating. 

Yeah, know what you mean. I wouldn't try that technique unless the plane was absolutely tickety-boo condition and setup. I think you can get a Stanley No.62 Low Angle 'Sweet Heart' on your side of the pond which  are well rated and not a stupid price.

[iNow]

4 hours ago, StringJunky said:

Yeah, know what you mean. I wouldn't try that technique unless the plane was absolutely tickety-boo condition and setup. I think you can get a Stanley No.62 Low Angle 'Sweet Heart' on your side of the pond which  are well rated and not a stupid price.

I did begin with a card scraper before starting my 4-5 hour sanding session with headphones full of music and nostrils full of fresh air.