Thomas Bennett
05-24-2012, 10:13 AM
I create a huge amount of scraps and left over wood in my day job as a cabinet and furniture maker. I harvest much of my own timber or buy from a local sawmill. This wood is all “mill run” with varying quality. In other words, I end up with some of good quality, a lot medium quality and a whole lot of low grade. I dry all my wood in a Nyle dehumidification kiln. After 18 years in my present shop, the left overs are taking over. I do enjoy the process of working from log to completed project.I decided around last November to glue up a few end grain cutting boards for the house and some gifts. I thought I might get rid of some scraps. Well, that was fun but they look really rectangular. I experimented a little and came up with these walnut mini-boards. They are turned top and bottom and the edges shaped with an air sander. I like the dished out cutting surface. It keeps some of the food from slipping off the edge of the piece. It also reminds me of the dished out look of the old fashioned butcher blocks found in meat shops. I made about 40 of them for x-mas gifts. Yes, my knuckles were all scarred up from hitting the spinning corners. I made a few larger versions, too, in cherry and walnut. I turned a few round versions which look like stool seats. I use walnut oil on these. I started making the blanks thicker. The next logical step was to see what they would look like in a turned bowl or platter. I was hoping I would see some interesting patterns with the angles in the forms.I made a few practice pieces about 12-13 inches in diameter. The three big blanks are around 19-21 inches in diameter and about 3 ½ to 4 inches high. I used a combination of really ugly, moldy curly maple, and cast-off cherry. I thought both species would have a similar density. Some hard maple sneaked in to some of the blanks. I used the McNaughton parting tool to cut out some of the waste. I cut into the blank at an angle until the cutter just barely starts to cut through, being very careful. To turn the form, I found that sharp Thompson gouges cut through all the glue and end grain very well. I do a little sheer scraping and start sanding to 1200. The more sanding, the more it seems to make the end grain pop out. I finished them with a coat of Penetrol , which I let dry a few days, and then a few coats of Minwax poly high gloss, sprayed with conventional equipment. The mold stain in the soft maple looks great on the end grain.