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Here are a few other recent boards. Each of these are a composed of a combination of Hard Maple, Black Walnut and Padauk.

One thing I should note; I never plan my patterns before hand. I think it is much more entertaining to do my initial glue up, then crosscut and see what comes out. I follow a few simple rules I've figured out through experience and that's about it. The final reveal is much more fun if I have no clue what it will look like before hand. I say this not to brag, but to encourage others to be brave and let the pieces fall where they may.

The real challenge, of course, sometimes comes when I've placed thin material in the center, such as the third board pictured. It can be a real nightmare, as I'm sure most of you know, to line that up properly.

Also, if I can give some humble advice to anyone looking to make a cutting board, please, do not feel the need to crank down your clamps to oblivion. We're making cutting boards here, not diamonds. You'll thank yourself when your sanding. Also, do your best to mop up glue before it drys. (End of stating the obvious). :)

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Nice boards. Welcome and I hope to see more.
 

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Thanks Robert! Just glancing at your projects, I am totally in awe! You have some amazing work!
 

· In Loving Memory
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Outstanding job on the boards.
I am a big fan of trying to make boards with almost complete random patterns. It's harder than it looks!
 

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now i know what to do with all the left over scraps from my other projects. Thanks for sharing. very beautiful work you did there.
 

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very nice boards!! its funny you mention about over clamping because I catch myself doing it to often. love the patterns. I need to get more end grain boards done.
 

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Nicely done. They do look like you planned them out beforehand, which is pretty cool happenstance.
 

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JoeinDE; these are some of the rules I've found to be helpful.

1. A symmetrical glue up = symmetrical pattern = bad.
2. If you want to stagger something in the center, make sure it's initially glued up off center.
3. Good patterns often come from varying the size of your boards from large to small. This rule doesn't always apply, but if you follow it even a little, you end up with nice patterns in the end.
 

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Cool user name and great cutting boards
 

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Nice boards.

I agree about the 'see what comes out approach" sometimes. It's makes for some interesting patterns at times. Your's certainly came out very cool.

I'm of the 'clamp hard' school of thought myself. After many boards using as much pressure as I could get from the clamps and not having anything come apart, I'll stick to it until proven otherwise. :) I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but I gotta go with what works for me. Then again, maybe I'm just weak :)
 

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Yeah Don, I'm with you on not fixin it if it ain't broke. LOL. The only reason i advise against a super hard clamp down is that it seems to be a good way to get a warp or slippage. I know a lot of folks clamp down lateral pieces along the bottom and top of the board to prevent slippage or warping, but I've found that that can lead to it's own set of problems. Of course, I always adhere to the school of thought that there is never a single right way or wrong way to do something. I figure if you find a method that works that you are comfortable with, stick with it and rock it out. :)

Thanks a bunch for your input! Everyone on this site seems incredibly helpful and encouraging. It is greatly appreciated!
 

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If you are of a mind to plan them out beforehand, there is some freeware called cutting board designer that I use (I did not write the software) to see what my finished endgrain board will look like before I mill any stock. I think you can still find a link to the software from LJ.
 
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