A big “thank you” to everyone who has been posting their cutting boards on lumberjocks (especially the people who have been showing us all how to do it with their blogs). This was my first cutting board and I was amazed at how easy it was to do (now if I can just get the second one unglued from the workbench…)

I did this from local lumber – Imbuia is a Brazilian Walnut that grows here in the Dominican Republic. The variety that we have here is a dense black wood that reminds me of ebony… when you cut it, it smells sort of like chocolate mixed with creosote (cocktails anyone?). Andiroba is a type of Mahogany that grows here also. I’m not sure what cultivar of maple I am using but I am 99% sure it is maple.

I’ve been looking for some projects that I can use to teach basic skills to some of the folks who live in the village near my farm here. I think we will try working on some cutting boards that can be sold to tourists – if a person can build one or two of these per day and then sell them to the local souvenir shops with a $15 profit, that is a good job that will put that person at the high end of the village earnings scale… wish me luck!

This is a simple design that I used to teach myself how to make simple panel doors. I’m not sure what the technique is called (edge joining thin sheets and then framing them to make the doors), but I was happy with the results.

I used two coats of nitrocellulose sanding sealer (and sanded after each coat) and then sprayed the whole thing with marine varnish. There are probably better finishes to use, but I’m a beginner and don’t really know what to do… so, I just used whatever I had around.

This is an original design – they are extra heavy to be able to stand up to a lot of abuse, salt and sun. I’m curious to see how long the finish holds up… so far, I have yet to find anything in this country that can last more than 6 months in the salt and sun of my home (we are about 50 feet from the Atlantic Ocean and the wind is always blowing salt inland).

Here in the Dominican Republic, there is very limited availability of dimensional lumber. So, I have to buy large rough stock (or trees) by the bundle, then saw and plane them down to whatever size I need. The good news is that I can get all sorts of exotic hardwoods by just sending someone out to look for a tree (of course, it needs to be on someone’s land who wants to sell it :-> )

I built 20 of these for the pool and patios at my home. Then, I stitched cushions from polybacked canvas.

I’m a beginner woodworker – so, please excuse the amateur joinery!