# my first falling blocks



## Philzoel (Dec 26, 2011)

*my first tumbling blocks*

Started this project in early Jan when i saw them by degoose.

Made this drawing immediately to see if I could figure the angles.










60 degrees (*) to make 6 sided figure was the clue. 360*/6 = 60*. Took me awhile and drawing the box in bottom right of this drawing.

Next hurdle was how much wood of each type (color)? In The drawing top middle, shows board 1.6" thick. Cut on 60* with all sides equal to hypotenuse. in this cause sine 60* = 1.6/x or x= 1.85". all sides need to be 1.85" in length. set saw at 60* cut end off at 60 and move fence 1.85" + kerf(K).

Also need length of boards to decide how much of 7" cherry, 7" wide walnut and 7" maple.
From drawing I counted 32 octagon pieces. I can get 3 cuts from 7" so I need 12 pieces from each board. 12 pieces times 3 is 36. I have 4 left over. I may need them. 12 pieces from each board and each piece is 1.25 " thick for final board plus K. 12×1.25+K= 15+K = 15+12/8ths = 16.5 inches long. I treat this as minimum length and cut more.

I cut and planed a piece of cherry, maple and walnut 17" x 7" x 1.6". And then cut them at 60*. I use a block of wood to set fence then spacers and feller gauge to move fence closer for next cut. Should have show the set up. It is exact to get the fence moved accurately.

















All that is left is gluing up sets:









cutting 32 pieces off:









and gluing and sanding and finishing.

Gluing up was a learning. Thought I could simple stack them in square corner and glue whole board at once. THAT DID NOT work. 









Ended up gluing up a row at a time with pretty good success. Wish I had taken more time and fit each piece, but by the time I ended the gaps were getting bigger. I don't know if it was accumulating error or last stack was off from glue up.

At any rate here is sanded result:









I'll be back


----------



## Rob_n_Wood (Mar 25, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *my first tumbling blocks*
> 
> Started this project in early Jan when i saw them by degoose.
> 
> ...


Nicely done I have yet to make a cutting board like this 
and if you don't mind I would like to emulate yours 
Again well done

Rob


----------



## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *my first tumbling blocks*
> 
> Started this project in early Jan when i saw them by degoose.
> 
> ...


Hey Phil… not bad for a start..in fact pretty darn good..see, you can do Louis Cubes in end grain…lol
(referring to statement you made awhile back)


----------



## RetiredCoastie (Sep 7, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *my first tumbling blocks*
> 
> Started this project in early Jan when i saw them by degoose.
> 
> ...


Very nice Phil..I like the pattern and it looks like you've got tight joints. Please post more pics. Thanks for posting.


----------



## Philzoel (Dec 26, 2011)

Philzoel said:


> *my first tumbling blocks*
> 
> Started this project in early Jan when i saw them by degoose.
> 
> ...


@ degoose: you have good memory. It was fun and only cost me $1359 for a Jet drum sander. Expensive? Now I can make all the boards I want without the major sanding headache. The cost will be cut in half with my next board.

Joints came out better than I thought they would.

@Bob. I would be honored. Any questions I would be glad to collaborate with you.


----------



## hhhopks (Nov 22, 2011)

Philzoel said:


> *my first tumbling blocks*
> 
> Started this project in early Jan when i saw them by degoose.
> 
> ...


No CHOPING on this board. It is way to nice for that.


----------



## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *my first tumbling blocks*
> 
> Started this project in early Jan when i saw them by degoose.
> 
> ...


Great work these are so much fun, Larry ( degoose ) is one of the Masters on here. He has become a friend and a joy to chat with. Keep up the great work.


----------



## Philzoel (Dec 26, 2011)

*some thoughts*

I had planned to cut the edges square but think I could add a twist be squaring up ends and leaving top and bottom jagged.










What do you think?

Tomorrow I will sand out both sides, cut the ends and take picture. I always round off top 1/4" and bottom 1/8" so I will do that and then take picture. If it is ugly I can always cut off to square.

This board cost me $1359. I bought a 16/32 plus Jet drum sander with extension table. wow!!! does this make it quick to finish after gluing. For me almost too quick. I am used to work and then pretty. This machine gets it done while I watch.


----------



## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *some thoughts*
> 
> I had planned to cut the edges square but think I could add a twist be squaring up ends and leaving top and bottom jagged.
> 
> ...


The Jet 16/32 certainly makes a difference to time taken… If you are going to make boards… you really do need a drum sander…
As to the board… try squaring up on set of opposing sides to see what it looks like..


----------



## rtriplett (Nov 25, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *some thoughts*
> 
> I had planned to cut the edges square but think I could add a twist be squaring up ends and leaving top and bottom jagged.
> 
> ...


I just read your first blog post. I took a longer approach by cutting EACH piece individually (180)and then gluing up the hexagons. I REALLY wish you had posted before I did that. I guess I missed some other post by DeGoose or others. Gluing up the three pieces and then cutting the hexagon pieces from that seems quicker and easier. Yours is looking good. I think how you leave the edge may depend on its use. I bought a used 16/32 for $600.00, so my first board was cheaper! It has more than paid for itself in the last year. Thanks for the pictures.


----------



## Philzoel (Dec 26, 2011)

*Decision on how to do edges*

Cut off ends square and rounded edges 1/4" and sanded. I like it. Makes blocks on bottom and top complete.

Used mineral spirits to show final color
.

















Look close and you will see holes in walnut. These are soft centers of log used. I use a small drill to open them up and fill with epoxy. They are too soft to leave. Also the knots are soft too. I have to fill them.

I will finish sanding, patch holes and gaps with clear epoxy and paint.

Then ready for posting


----------



## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *Decision on how to do edges*
> 
> Cut off ends square and rounded edges 1/4" and sanded. I like it. Makes blocks on bottom and top complete.
> 
> ...


Looking good…Not real sure about the jagged sides… Just me…
Either way a great project…


----------



## rtriplett (Nov 25, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *Decision on how to do edges*
> 
> Cut off ends square and rounded edges 1/4" and sanded. I like it. Makes blocks on bottom and top complete.
> 
> ...


The edge looks good. It depends on the use the board will have. Maybe a centerpiece on a table. A wall hanging. I like the orientation of the blocks. I did one with the long sides as top and bottom. Yours seems to stretch away more. Keep having fum with them.


----------



## Philzoel (Dec 26, 2011)

*filling bad cracks*

If someone is to use this board I have to fill the cracks and make it look OK. Would not be sanitary this way.

In this case I'm using casting epoxy. 


















Tedious work. If a crack goes all the way thru, I had to put scotch tape on bottom so the crack will fill up. This material takes 24 hours to set up and will run right thru and out bottom. But it will fill crack completely, since it is casting material designed to fill every nook and cranny.









As you can see here 24 + hours later sanded out you can hardly see crack. In picture thin darker line tapering toward you to bottom left corner.

Still need to sand out epoxy and round off bottom and then finish board.


----------



## rtriplett (Nov 25, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *filling bad cracks*
> 
> If someone is to use this board I have to fill the cracks and make it look OK. Would not be sanitary this way.
> 
> ...


That is what i did for my first tumbling blocks board. I don't think anyone will ever cut on it, but if it is used to serve food, it might need to be washed and now the wood is sealed. Hopefully our mistakes diminish as we make more.


----------



## MrWizard (Sep 21, 2010)

Philzoel said:


> *filling bad cracks*
> 
> If someone is to use this board I have to fill the cracks and make it look OK. Would not be sanitary this way.
> 
> ...


well done sir


----------



## AttainableApex (Aug 24, 2010)

Philzoel said:


> *filling bad cracks*
> 
> If someone is to use this board I have to fill the cracks and make it look OK. Would not be sanitary this way.
> 
> ...


where did you get the casting epoxy?


----------



## Philzoel (Dec 26, 2011)

Philzoel said:


> *filling bad cracks*
> 
> If someone is to use this board I have to fill the cracks and make it look OK. Would not be sanitary this way.
> 
> ...


Ben, hobby lobby or any such store in the casting section. I ended up doing a lot of sanding to get rid of spill over.


----------



## Philzoel (Dec 26, 2011)

*THE FINISHED PIECE*

Well it is done and came out very well:


















I like that I did not cut off top and bottom to get it square. It adds a row of blocks to top and bottom.

Thanks for reading. Appreciate any comments or critique.


----------



## MrWizard (Sep 21, 2010)

Philzoel said:


> *THE FINISHED PIECE*
> 
> Well it is done and came out very well:
> 
> ...


Very Cool, Are you an Esher fan as well? How are you going to display this work? It deserves a nice open frame, or not. It does stand on its own merit.

I have a dream to recreate Eshers endless stairs i day.


----------



## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

Philzoel said:


> *THE FINISHED PIECE*
> 
> Well it is done and came out very well:
> 
> ...


It really is hard not to get a few slips… overall a fine piece of work.


----------

