# Cutting Boards



## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

*Breaking Down the lumber*

This is the start of two cutting boards that I am making for some friends of mine. Two boards were rough cut and is ready for milling. One board was Cherry (8×42 x 1), and the other Maple (8×42 x 1.25)

These will make two cutting boards approximately 11.25×15 x 1.5

Tonight I am hoping to get the milling done so that the parts can be cut down to their final dimensions and the first glue-up can be started.


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## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

*Jointers and Handplanes!*

Started the milling process on the cherry boards tonight. The biggest problem in my shop right now is that it is in the basement of the townhouse I rent. Living room is right up stairs and the noise / smell really carries. So I used my jointer to quickly flatten one face then I cleaned them up with my new handplanes which I tuned up this past weekend.

This comming weekend I am really hoping get get enough time to finish the milling process on all the boards and begin ripping them down to their final thickness. Maybe even start the initial glue-up.


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## BrandonW (Apr 27, 2010)

MolokMot said:


> *Jointers and Handplanes!*
> 
> Started the milling process on the cherry boards tonight. The biggest problem in my shop right now is that it is in the basement of the townhouse I rent. Living room is right up stairs and the noise / smell really carries. So I used my jointer to quickly flatten one face then I cleaned them up with my new handplanes which I tuned up this past weekend.
> 
> This comming weekend I am really hoping get get enough time to finish the milling process on all the boards and begin ripping them down to their final thickness. Maybe even start the initial glue-up.


Gotta love the handplanes for working when it needs to be quiet. Sometimes I'll get the urge late at night to do some woodworking, but can't fire up the power tools because they're too loud. Hand saws and hand planes to the rescue!

Best wishes on your cutting board-cherry is an excellent choice.


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## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

MolokMot said:


> *Jointers and Handplanes!*
> 
> Started the milling process on the cherry boards tonight. The biggest problem in my shop right now is that it is in the basement of the townhouse I rent. Living room is right up stairs and the noise / smell really carries. So I used my jointer to quickly flatten one face then I cleaned them up with my new handplanes which I tuned up this past weekend.
> 
> This comming weekend I am really hoping get get enough time to finish the milling process on all the boards and begin ripping them down to their final thickness. Maybe even start the initial glue-up.


Thanks Brandon.

Not only are the hand planes quiet, but it also allows me to get a little extra exercise! Since buying them, there is a noticeable difference in my arms.

Wife likes both benefits!


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## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

*First Glue Up*

Each of the strips is milled cut and ripped to the following dimensions:

Thickness: Little less than 1" 
Width: 1.5" 
Length: 21"

There are Five strips each of maple and cherry. I glued up the panel in two sections using an extra maple strip to separate them. Two strips on the end are glued together, but are not glued to the adjacent maple spacer strip or the other 8 strips. I did this primarily because I only have so many clamps at this point and my planner is only 10" wide.

In retrospect I could have glued up the entire panel because I used my Stanley #4 and my low angle block plane to smooth things out instead of the planner. This was a manual process, but it allowed me to take less material off in the end since the wood is thinner then I really wanted it to be.

Next Steps: Glue the two panels together and then flatten with the hand planes, then we cross cut strips 1.25 inches for the final glue up.


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## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

*Final Glue-Up and Flattening*

After the last glue-up, and flattening the panel, I cross cut the panel in strips 1.25" wide. Taking those strips I turned them so the end grain was showing and flipped every other one end for end to create the checkerboard pattern. I am sure we have all seen Marc Spag's (aka: TheWoodWhisperer) video. (7 - How to Make a Butcher Block End Grain Cutting Board)

I am sure Marc loves all of the extra attention on the subject of cutting boards.

Glue up was somewhat frustrating because I can never get everything flat. When I watched the video above again for the 100th time I realized that the calls he used were actually smaller then the board so they could be clamped between the main clamps. Well that makes more sense. THANKS MARC!

Once the glue up was complete, the final step is now to finish flattening the board which will be accomplished with my low angle block plane. Started last night and it was tough work at first, but got better. I did find that I was getting quite a bit of chipping on the edges. To fix this I took lighter passes and ended up skewing the plane. When The top if flat I will end up trimming the edges square on the TS before rounding over the edges with my router.

*Challenges*:
The biggest challenge here was keeping the board tight against the fence. Since I am relativity new to the whole table saw thing, I found that when I used the push stick that game with my TS, the board would pull away from the fence just a bit on the back edge. This of course was human error quickly corrected by paying extra attention where the push stick was located in relation to the fence.

*Issues*: I am not sure why yet but my saw seemed to bog down while cross cutting the panel. I am wondering if it has something to do with my new zero clearance insert Possibly putting extra resistance on the blade. I will have to take it out and try some similar cuts to see if there is a difference.

*What I learned*: Glue-up is a critical step and needs extra time and attention. No matter how straight your cuts are, if you glue a panel up and the joints are off, then the panel will need quite a bit of extra work to flatten it out.

*FYI*: I am not a skilled wood worker, and I have a lot to learn. This blog is hopefully to help other wood workers realize that most projects don't magically go together. Some of us are not as good as the pros we see in videos and on TV. If you are experienced and you see some dumb mistakes that could easily be avoided, then by all means, let me know! If you are new… well take heart, each project gets easier as we learn the important skills needed to craft things out of wood.


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## thewoodwhisperer (Dec 11, 2006)

MolokMot said:


> *Final Glue-Up and Flattening*
> 
> After the last glue-up, and flattening the panel, I cross cut the panel in strips 1.25" wide. Taking those strips I turned them so the end grain was showing and flipped every other one end for end to create the checkerboard pattern. I am sure we have all seen Marc Spag's (aka: TheWoodWhisperer) video. (7 - How to Make a Butcher Block End Grain Cutting Board)
> 
> ...


Well done man! The project is certainly more difficult than it initially appears. I'm glad you ended up with such a nice-looking end product. Congrats!


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## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

MolokMot said:


> *Final Glue-Up and Flattening*
> 
> After the last glue-up, and flattening the panel, I cross cut the panel in strips 1.25" wide. Taking those strips I turned them so the end grain was showing and flipped every other one end for end to create the checkerboard pattern. I am sure we have all seen Marc Spag's (aka: TheWoodWhisperer) video. (7 - How to Make a Butcher Block End Grain Cutting Board)
> 
> ...


And to think… The wood whisperer commented on my cutting board.

Thanks Marc! Your the man.


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## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

*Sanding, routing, sanding...*

The cutting board as seen in the picture below is just about complete. Just needs a little more sanding and finish.

Since the last post, here are the steps completed:

Using my dewalt random orbit sander I went through both 60 and 100 grit. After that I used what I believe to be a half inch round over in several passes. I left one side a much lighter pass then the other so that the cutting board can be used either way depending on the taste of its new owner.

After routing, I went through two more grits: 150 and 220, stopping between them to hand sand the round overs.

Picture was taken just after cleaning up the board and table with the shop vac. No finish applied yet.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

MolokMot said:


> *Sanding, routing, sanding...*
> 
> The cutting board as seen in the picture below is just about complete. Just needs a little more sanding and finish.
> 
> ...


Sweet.
I bet that baby will just pop when you apply some finish.

Steve


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## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

MolokMot said:


> *Sanding, routing, sanding...*
> 
> The cutting board as seen in the picture below is just about complete. Just needs a little more sanding and finish.
> 
> ...


Thanks Steve! I can't wait to put the finish on, it should look really good. What will be interesting to see is how the contrast increases over time and the Cherry gets darker and darker.


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## MolokMot (Jan 11, 2012)

*Finish Applied*

Close to the final step!

The cutting board was sanded down to about 220 grit using an orbital sander.

After sanding the board was cleaned off with mineral spirits.

Finish (50/50 salad bowl finish and mineral spirits) was applied in three coats. 
1. Applied a heavy coat till cutting board pulled the finish through to the bottom.

Waited 24 hours
2. Applied a second lighter coat.
Waited 24 hours
Light sanding with 400 grit.
3. Applied the third coat

This picture was taken just after the third coat was applied.

**The process was of course TheWoodWhisperer process. Cutting board Video can be found at the link below.

7 - How to Make a Butcher Block End Grain Cutting Board


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