Project Information
Many months ago I stumbled upon a picture on the internet of a board like this but could never find it again. I've made enough cutting boards that I could figure out the basic construction but I couldn't come up with a satisfactory solution for the walnut diamonds. I had a number of ideas and I think they all would have worked more-or-less but when I landed on the right solution I knew it would turn out great, which, I think it did.
The solution I landed with was to chamfer the edges of the maple columns and then glue them side by side being careful not to get glue in the chamfered 'V'. Once the glue had set, I cut triangular columns and glued them into the 'V' chamfers, first the top and then the bottom. I was careful to spread a few clamps across the width of the board to ensure that my downward (or inward) pressure securing the triangles didn't split the side-by-side lamination. Once all was set I planed until smooth, cross cut like a Whisperer board and did the final glue-up revealing the end grain. The crude illustration above may help to explain this process. In all, this process worked very well and I'm pleased with the result.
When I started milling the maple I didn't notice how pronounced the heartwood would be in the finished product. In hindsight I should have either picked clearer wood or better managed the heartwood pattern. Even with the heartwood not being to my preference, I'm really pleased with this board and solving the construction challenge was very satisfying.
The solution I landed with was to chamfer the edges of the maple columns and then glue them side by side being careful not to get glue in the chamfered 'V'. Once the glue had set, I cut triangular columns and glued them into the 'V' chamfers, first the top and then the bottom. I was careful to spread a few clamps across the width of the board to ensure that my downward (or inward) pressure securing the triangles didn't split the side-by-side lamination. Once all was set I planed until smooth, cross cut like a Whisperer board and did the final glue-up revealing the end grain. The crude illustration above may help to explain this process. In all, this process worked very well and I'm pleased with the result.
When I started milling the maple I didn't notice how pronounced the heartwood would be in the finished product. In hindsight I should have either picked clearer wood or better managed the heartwood pattern. Even with the heartwood not being to my preference, I'm really pleased with this board and solving the construction challenge was very satisfying.