Cantil3v3r Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 I have been playing out a cutting board project in my head for a while now and one piece still perplexes me. I want to make some kind of American Flag cutting board. In order to do so I was going to use maple for all parts and hopefully dye the stripes red and the star area blue. I could easily do this if I didnt want to make it end grain, but that is one thing that I am pretty set on for multiple reasons. My question comes here...is it possible to dye the end grain like you would the face/edge grain and maintain the transtint blue/red colors? If I do this, and then have to assemble the pieces after will I have any issues with glue up? Any thoughts, answers, or questions are welcome..thanks! -Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBaiga Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Question, did you want this cutting board to be for decorative purposes or did you want it to be functional? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cantil3v3r Posted January 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 I would like it to be functional. My brother is a pilot in the military and loves to cook in his spare time. This would be a functional board he could use all the time and still rep the USA in the kitchen. I appreciate any/all the help on how to dye the end grain, cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Personally, I wouldn't dye anything I plan on using for food. Dye particles will definitely wear off over time since the surface will be frequently wet, cleaned and cut. So I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I'd suggest skiping the dye. You might try food coloring, but again I am sure it will quickly fade from the constant use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Bloodwood / maple / purpleheart? You might find some ideas in this video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBaiga Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 you're not being a Debbie Downer, just practical and safe. the flag cutting board is a cool idea, especially for your brother, i for one greatly appreciate his service! to me, you want to show off the flag in the kitchen, so what if you made a 'sheath' for the cutting board and did a nice flag inlay on the surface? Then you could pull out the end grain cutting board and use the sheath either as a stand or even a trivet if the inlay material was heat resistant. in this way the cutting board is functional, while it's sheath or 'case' is decorative. alternatively you could make the case a true case or box, and going a step further you could also build the knife block under the lid. there are many ways to capture both function and form, even though you might have to 'think outside the box' to get there. good luck!sheathed cutting board.skp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cantil3v3r Posted January 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Personally, I wouldn't dye anything I plan on using for food. Dye particles will definitely wear off over time since the surface will be frequently wet, cleaned and cut. So I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I'd suggest skiping the dye. You might try food coloring, but again I am sure it will quickly fade from the constant use. Marc - I appreciate the heads up, and this is one of the things I was curious about...plus I would never call you Debbie Downer...maybe Robbie Raincloud, but certainly not Debbie Downer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cantil3v3r Posted January 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Bloodwood / maple / purpleheart? You might find some ideas in this video. Chip - I appreciate the idea and was actually thinking about utilizing bloodwood but have read several things (including peoples personal experiences) about having skin reactions to bloodwood. The last thing I want to do is have that on somebody's food and cause an issue. I might have to go with more of a muted color pallet using maple and purpleheart for the stripes and walnut for the star area. I don't think there will be any question what I am going for once you see the stars and stripes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 I might have to go with more of a muted color pallet using maple and purpleheart for the stripes and walnut for the star area. I don't think there will be any question what I am going for once you see the stars and stripes. Padauk is another wood with a red color. You might also look into red oak. But I think you are right, once you have the thirteen strips and square in the corner, it's an American flag regardless of the colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cantil3v3r Posted January 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 you're not being a Debbie Downer, just practical and safe. the flag cutting board is a cool idea, especially for your brother, i for one greatly appreciate his service! to me, you want to show off the flag in the kitchen, so what if you made a 'sheath' for the cutting board and did a nice flag inlay on the surface? Then you could pull out the end grain cutting board and use the sheath either as a stand or even a trivet if the inlay material was heat resistant. in this way the cutting board is functional, while it's sheath or 'case' is decorative. alternatively you could make the case a true case or box, and going a step further you could also build the knife block under the lid. there are many ways to capture both function and form, even though you might have to 'think outside the box' to get there. good luck! Tom - I really like your ideas to accomplish both the color and character of the flag in wood while still maintaining the functionality of the piece. One of the challenges for me in do this piece is that I want to make the cutting board entirely end grain including all of the stars. The stripes won't be a problem, although I have some fun plans to make the flag wavy. I want to make the stars out of maple and it will be like a jigsaw to create all of the stars, glue them all up inside of walnut/blue area. All I know is that when I start cutting all of those small pieces I am going to need to be extremely alert and safe. These challenges however is what makes a project fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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