Project Information
Summer is very harsh in my city, the maximum temperature reaching as high as 42C (about 107F). It is very difficult to do any hard woodworking in such a climate without air conditioning which I don't have.
To remain in touch with my hobby I made this cutting board from about 1" thick piece of Mango ( Manjifera Indica) Plank This wood is quite hard and long lasting. To cut the curved part of the board with hand tools was quite a task. The Korean Magic saw was very useful for doing it. I have used boiled linseed oil for the finish.
This board is attached at one end with a specially made curved cutting blade with a scraper to scrape coconut. The blade is made in one piece out of mild steel. Stainless steel is also used for this purpose. Vegetables and fruits can be cut very easily and efficiently using both hands. After shelling, a coconut is cut into two pieces and each piece is scraped as shown in the picture. This requires a little practice but shredding can be very neat. The cutting and scraping is generally done by the ladies in the house. (I am an exception.) The blade can be folded back on the board for safety. Scraping can be done sitting on the ground as well as standing by locking the board against the kitchen platform. This cutting board is being used in India for centuries but is slowly falling back in popularity because of western influence of using knife, I believe.
The board can be used as a traditional cutting board for cutting bread or similar things with a knife when the attached curved blade is not suitable for the job. With better workshop facilities the board can be made as beautiful and attaractive as the various designs posted by many of you on LJ,. Any questions, suggestions and comments are welcome.
Sharad
To remain in touch with my hobby I made this cutting board from about 1" thick piece of Mango ( Manjifera Indica) Plank This wood is quite hard and long lasting. To cut the curved part of the board with hand tools was quite a task. The Korean Magic saw was very useful for doing it. I have used boiled linseed oil for the finish.
This board is attached at one end with a specially made curved cutting blade with a scraper to scrape coconut. The blade is made in one piece out of mild steel. Stainless steel is also used for this purpose. Vegetables and fruits can be cut very easily and efficiently using both hands. After shelling, a coconut is cut into two pieces and each piece is scraped as shown in the picture. This requires a little practice but shredding can be very neat. The cutting and scraping is generally done by the ladies in the house. (I am an exception.) The blade can be folded back on the board for safety. Scraping can be done sitting on the ground as well as standing by locking the board against the kitchen platform. This cutting board is being used in India for centuries but is slowly falling back in popularity because of western influence of using knife, I believe.
The board can be used as a traditional cutting board for cutting bread or similar things with a knife when the attached curved blade is not suitable for the job. With better workshop facilities the board can be made as beautiful and attaractive as the various designs posted by many of you on LJ,. Any questions, suggestions and comments are welcome.
Sharad