ResidentEvil Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 So I tried my hand at the cutting board. Since it was my first take, I decided to go easy and do edge grain. Walnut, Maple and Cherry. About 1.5" thick. No drum sander, so I made a router sled. I think that drum sander my be the next tool on my list. Next boards are going to be end grain, and possibly with the curve inlay. I'm starting to make two of everything, unless its a big and/or very unique project. I have a long list of honey do's, and I'd like to get to the point where I am making some tool money from my time in the shop. So for things like these boards and picture frames, I'm making two: One for me and one to sell. It doesn't add much time at all and it seems like the second copy will generally cover the costs of materials for both. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 I'd say you did a good job with that router sled. Those look very nice! Good luck with you plans for making some tool money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 You do realize that you could have sent those through the planer, right? It's the end grain boards you have to be careful with... Nice job, though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Very well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Very nice job! Eric's correct tho, planer would have worked just fine. End grain is where you have to find another way. You learned the sled tho so that's a huge plus for you as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabinfever Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Won't that sled work for his end grain boards now too? My first cutting board was with hand planes... and included Ipe... at least I learned how to sharpen a plane blade... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Won't that sled work for his end grain boards now too? My first cutting board was with hand planes... and included Ipe... at least I learned how to sharpen a plane blade... Yep, would work great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ResidentEvil Posted January 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Problem was that the wider board is 13.5" wide, and that wouldn't fit through the planer. In retrospect, I could have saved time by planning a head a little bit. But I'm going to have to do the sled for end grain eventually anyhow, so it was good practice. The router sled did a good job of flattening the boards, but it did leave some ridges that had to be sanded out. Not sure if that is just something that goes with the territory or not. I found that the ridges were less pronounced if I cut in the same direction all the time (i.e. make a pass, then return the router to the same side of the sled and make another pass..as opposed to cutting in both directions). It wasn't anything that didn't smooth out with 10 minutes 60 grit and a ROS. Thanks for the comments everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 I broke down and bought a drum sander which takes a lot of the work out of it for me but, having the sled is a good thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith.d.mullins Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Well done! I like your style, enough varied woods to accentuate the differences without overdoing it. Especially the cherry down the middle. What is the finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Looks good to me. Personally I think end grain boards are overrated given the cost/time/complication (i.e. potential for failure) that goes into them. I cook a lot and find maple edge grain to be durable enough. It's not the durability of the board when it comes to end grain vs edge grain. It's about the grain of the wood on the knife edge and how the knife holds up between sharpening. If you're using an expensive knife and you're a professional chef, end grain is gonna keep your edge sharper, longer. The router sled did a good job of flattening the boards, but it did leave some ridges that had to be sanded out. Not sure if that is just something that goes with the territory or not. I found that the ridges were less pronounced if I cut in the same direction all the time (i.e. make a pass, then return the router to the same side of the sled and make another pass..as opposed to cutting in both directions). It wasn't anything that didn't smooth out with 10 minutes 60 grit and a ROS. The boards look nice RE. Well done! As far as the sanding goes, you might shorten the amount of time sanding by a couple of minutes with a cabinet scraper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ResidentEvil Posted January 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Well done! I like your style, enough varied woods to accentuate the differences without overdoing it. Especially the cherry down the middle. What is the finish? I soaked them in Mineral Oil for about a day, then let them weep out the excess for a day or so. Then finished up with a beeswax/mineral oil combo for a final coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Rahberg Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I actually went to culinary school and worked as a chef for 10 years. Having used every known cutting surface known to man including saniplas (the white urethane that we love using to make setup blocks). I have been using my edge grain board for two weeks now with a very expensive and damn near impossible knife to sharpen correctly and I haven't even had to run it on the honing steel. Think about the paint brush example Spags uses. Beautiful work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 End grain does make a difference! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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