Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 18, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Back in 2013 Fine Woodworking ran an article about a novel cutting board made by a guy named Scott Lewis. I thought they were pretty original and made a couple for family members. Fast forward to this week. I finally got sick of being between shops and gathered some 120v tools together, purged the garage of stuff being stored in anticipation of the new shop build and cobbled together a space where I could at least make something . . . anything. . My new neighbor had loaned me his tractor on a few occasions and my plan was to do something for him . . . any day now. That was a year ago. He is an avid BBQ and smoker and routinely tortures me with mouth watering aromas of baby back ribs, tri tip, and brisket on his outdoor cooking devices. So, this cutting board / BBQ-fixens-transport device is for him. I scaled it to hold a rack of ribs, some sides and the usual paraphernalia I see him carrying from the house to the 'cook shack'. The blank in this case is maple. It gets cut in two, once for each inlay. Not as much work as it sounds like but, it does take a few days to get through the process while waiting for glue to dry. I'm sure you could rush it but, I'm retired and I let each glue up set overnight. (these pics post fine on other forums. Same source images and I have gotten lazy in my old age so, I guess we'll just have to deal with it ) I draw a reversing curve that appeals to me and create this in 1/2" MDF scrap. I bandsaw close to my line and then sand or scrape to a fair curve. A quick flexible sanding block helps out and takes just minutes to make. I route a 1/4" groove for the 4 pieces of cherry that will make up the first inlay. I then cut along this groove on the bandsaw and router both pieces flush. Slather everything with glue and clamp it up. A card scraper brings the proud inlay edges into plane. Repeat the process for a 3/8" thick stack of walnut . . . And an 1/8" stack of padauk. I cut the completed blank true and layout the curves I want on the sides and ends. I lay these out before I cut the juice groove to make sure of my position. These lines will also be my guide lines at the bandsaw and my witness lines as I finalize the curves. I use a Trend jig to define the juice groove. I got this stupid cheap one of the times Sears was "going out of business". Trend's clamps and t-nuts were a little pricey so I milled some scrap t-nuts years ago adn use clamp fixtures that I already have. Once the juice groove is laid in I bandsaw the edge curves and finish to the witness lines. The remaining tasks are the finger grips, edge profiles, some finish sanding, and the mineral oil finish. Here's one from mid-2014. It is smaller but, basically the same deal. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 I see no burn marks on the finger grips and that was my biggest problem. How did you accomplish your clean cuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted January 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 4 minutes ago, Coop said: I see no burn marks on the finger grips and that was my biggest problem. How did you accomplish your clean cuts? Maple and cherry are definitely burn hazards when machining. I run the bit slow (WAG about 18k RPM?) and make my feed rate as fast as I can while doing the operation safely. I use a temporary fence shaped with the same arc as the ends of the board. The fence also has start and finish position 'stops' (pieces of wood clamped in position). I practice the operation a few times before the actual run; corner of the board on the right hand stop, rock into the bit and move to the left, hit the left stop and rock away from the bit. Using the fence to control the depth I do this in four cuts, the last cut being only about 1/32" in depth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 19, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 Here's the fence setup I use. You can see the stop in the read which is set for full depth. I use setup bars to space off of this for the first pass. I swap the bars for used up gift cards (about 1/32") for the second pass. The last pass leaves a pretty decent result right off the machine. I don't do this often enough to keep a tub of mineral oil running so I pour it on and wipe it around with gloved hands. I come back a couple times and hour and add oil if required and rub the oil around any areas that have gone dry. Once it stops soaking in oil I leave it for several hours and then wipe off any excess. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 19, 2021 Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 @gee-dub, does that router bit have a name? Better yet, a mfg. and part #? I can't recall seeing a profile like that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted January 19, 2021 Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 +1 It looks to be a Cove bit but if so, he would have to flip the board and run it thru for the opposite profile. I have used a Core Box bit with the board on it’s end with a substantial amount of burn and sanding. Looking forward to your answer as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gee-dub Posted January 19, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 Most makers seem to call them an Edge Fluting Bit. This one has a 3/8" radius. IIRC it is the Woodline bit mentioned in the article . . . #1475 comes to mind. Amana and Whiteside (and I'm sure others) make the profile but, finding the dimensions I was after was the challenge. It got done soaking up the mineral oil. It will weep for a while but, I should be able to delivery it day after tomorrow for sure. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted January 19, 2021 Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 You might want to hold off on the delivery until you smell some BBQ going on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt-H Posted November 17, 2021 Report Share Posted November 17, 2021 Can someone let me know what the flexible sanding block is made with that’s pictured in this post? I can’t find anything like it on YouTube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted November 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2021 On 11/16/2021 at 5:26 PM, Matt-H said: Can someone let me know what the flexible sanding block is made with that’s pictured in this post? I can’t find anything like it on YouTube. Hi Matt. I had to go back and see what I did . That is a piece of 3/4" MDF with 1/8" saw kerfs, 5/8" deep, every 1/8". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt-H Posted November 18, 2021 Report Share Posted November 18, 2021 Thanks so much. It looked like mdf but I wasn’t sure. I appreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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