| Project by PeteMoss | posted 341 days ago | 404 views | 1 time favorited | 8 comments |  |
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Well…my first project post. Here we go.
I decided to make a cutting board as a Christmas present for my step-mom. It is one of the ones in the picture with three of them. I have a version just like it, only bigger, that I made my wife a couple years ago. it has been nice to use, but really too big. I personally always wanted to have a small one just to dice onions or what have you. So, I made her’s in the same design (end grain of hard maple and two cherry strips) only smaller. It turned out pretty well and I had some left over materials, so I thought why not make one for my mother-in-law and sister too. So, now I have three that are virtually identical except for slight differences in dimensions (I didn’t really try to hit a certain dimension, just use what material I had).
Then, as the bug was biting and I started seeing other folks cutting boards on this site, I decided to try my hand at an end grain board with an alternating pattern. So, after much scratching my head over design for a while I started cutting parts for board you see by itself in the picture. This turned out okay in the end, but was fiasco after fiasco in construction. I made curved cuts on my cheap’o tablesaw, couldn’t glue the edges due to the curves and had to rip the edges off 1/2 inch. I busted out about half of the end strip and had to cut it off. One thing after another. Like I say, it turned out fine, but I learned lots of lessons on this one. It may be my last. This one is hard maple and some manner of oak (I think). I actually have a pile of redwood and picked a piece out of it. Turns out it was in the wrong pile. I should pay closer attention.
Thanks everyone. I have really enjoyed this site and learned a lot already.
-PeteMoss
-- PeteMoss
8 comments so far
lew
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4411 posts in 634 days
posted 341 days ago
Beautiful Boards!
Know what you mean about the end grain boards. Everyone here makes them look so easy. NOT!
PetVet
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232 posts in 366 days
posted 341 days ago
Nicely done Pete. I am sure they will be well received. I feel your pain when making the cutting boards. I have had my own share of woes with them. Still, it is a good exercise in being precise and paying attention to detail. Keep up the good work and thanks for posting.
-- Rich in Richmond
Max
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13968 posts in 1151 days
posted 341 days ago
They all turned out very nice. I am sure that all will like them…
-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT
rickf16
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213 posts in 459 days
posted 341 days ago
Nice boards Pete. End grain boards can be tricky. I glue on an sacrificial strip when I run them through my planer. Very shallow passes and the ends still blow off. That’s when the extra strip comes in handy, simply cut it off at the table saw.
-- Rick
Dusty56
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3401 posts in 566 days
posted 341 days ago
You’ve done a great job on all of them : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
PeteMoss
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55 posts in 348 days
posted 341 days ago
Thanks everyone!
I’m sure the gift recipients will like them, after all it’s the thought that counts…right? Truthfully though, I’m sure each of us are our own worst critics and I appreciate your kind words.
Rick: That is exactly what happend to the final strip. I ran this through my planer to flatten it, taking only about 1/128 to 1/64 per pass. Normally (and on the first three cutting boards) I cut a little chamfer on the trailing edge. This gives it enough meat to keep from blowing out under the planer knives. On this last one though I totally forgot, ran it through, and it self-destructed.
I guess one positive is that by having to cut off that one strip it helped to even out the overall dimensions since I had to cut about an inch off in width too. Hehe…take the good with the bad.
-- PeteMoss
rikkor
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11338 posts in 753 days
posted 341 days ago
Great looking boards that I am sure will be well received as gifts.
Beginningwoodworker
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3857 posts in 551 days
posted 339 days ago
Nice cutting board, Pete.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker