Another 3-D Cutting Board (Plus Bonus Mistake)

[Vaughn McMillan]

Sorry, but I feel compelled to remove the body and pics from this post for reasons I won't discuss in public. Feel free to e-mail me at SMC -at- tg3k.com if you would like more information, or to see pics of the boards being discussed in the following posts.

[Michael Stafford]

Vaughn, really beautiful pieces of woodworking! Much too pretty to use as cutting boards. I think people will display them on plate stands as decorative pieces. I don't see no stinking mismatch..... :p ;)

[Byron Trantham]

Vaughn, they sure look good to me. I don't hink I would hesitate to sell any of them. :D Nice work.

[Dan Gill]

Nice. Looks like Escher meets Krenov. :D

[Keith Burns]

That is WAY COOL ! My eyes are reeling ! I don't see any flaws. I think we are all to critical of our own work.

[Alan Turner]

Very nice, but I would recommend a wood handled knife for the action shot.

[Ken Garlock]

That is really a neat looking board. One of the nicer ones I have seen on this or any other form. Keep up the good work. :)

[Ellen Benkin]

I think these look great and I agree that they are much too good looking to cut on. I wouldn't sweat a little mismatching -- after all wood is not a perfect material. If you wanted something perfect you could make it out of plastic.

These are the kinds of projects I'd like to do. Do you have a source for the plans?

Do you sell these at craft shows?

[Dick Strauss]

Vaughn,
Your boards are beautiful! I wouldn't change a thing!

How did you get them to match so closely? I assume you used a bandsaw to create the matching pieces? A bandsaw is on the wish list

I was considering building some frames with 45 degree mitred corners using 1/8" splines. Do you cut the 1/8" splines with a bandsaw? Have you ever used splines with mitred 45 corners? I assume you would have to cut/sand excess in corner...

I'm just trying to learn...

Dick-Ex So Cal guy

[Bruce Page]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/icons/icon14.gif Vaughn, you’re too critical of your own talent! Both look gorgeous to me! How much time do you have in them?

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Bruce, Vaughn. Those are great!

[Lou Morrissette]

Vaughn,

You can't see any flaws from my house.;) Those look absolutely great. Fine workmanship.

Lou

[Roy Wall]

Vaughn,

Those are terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I see what you mean about the book match...but (seriously) that could just as easily pass for "artistic discretion"... They are beautiful...!!!

[Greg Tatum]

Hi Vaughn...you make some very striking boards....I think being so critical with something you plan to sell is a good thing....when you put your time, effort and creativity into something and then put your name on it, you have set a standard for your work...if it doesn't meet your standards then send it to me ;) .....in all seriousness, you do good work.

Can you give some tutorial on the process of the 3-D board?
Did you make any special jigs for the multitude of cuts required?

[Richard Wolf]

Oh man, not again.
Oh sheesh! Not more pics of ANOTHER one of Vaughn's cutting board jobs. Man, does this guy ever quit with the boards? :D

I gotch! LOL
Beautiful job on those, I'm not sure I should have a knife in my hand when looking at that board.

Richard

[Vaughn McMillan]

Thanks for all the kind words, everybody. I'll try to address the questions and comments you've posted...

On the maple/padauk board, the "creative lighting" in the picture doesn't show it well, but the bookmatching on the two long sides is off, but it's equal on each side in such a way that of one half were flipped 180* it'd match up a lot better.

Alan, I like your idea of a wooden handled knife for the action shot. All my "real" kitchen knives are black handled Forstners and Henckels, but but I have a few older knives that have wood handles.

Ellen, I don't have any plans for the geometric board; it's just something I came up with after seeing a fuzzy picture on the web. I experimented a bit with strips of paper before doing my first one (this is the third). The fabrication is deceptively simple. In a nutshell, I glue up some strips of wood, cut the resulting plank at an angle into strips 1" to 2" wide, flip every other strip over, then re-glue them with biscuits. Trim the edge square and frame it, and it's done. Although it looks like it, I'm not cutting all the individual pieces then gluing them up. My "jig" consists of a crosscut sled with a stop block and a piece of scrap (cut at 60*) clamped to the fence of the sled. I'm working on a tutorial with pics showing how I did it, and I plan to post it here on SMC once I'm done.

Dick, I'm doing all the cutting on my TS. (My $100 cheapie bandsaw isn't nearly accurate enough.) The bookmatching is simply 1" or so thick crosscuts on a 8/4 piece of wood. For the geometric stuff, as I mentioned above, I'm dealing with 1" to 2" wide strips of wood instead of little diamond-shaped pieces. To cut the 1/8" splines, I use my Incra jig and fence, and the 1/8" pieces come off the waste side of the blade. I move the fence 1/8" plus the kerf width (3/32" in my case) for each cut. I've tried ripping 1/8" strips with the fence 1/8" away from the blade, but it's a good way to get hurt in a hurry. I can do 1/4" rips in the traditional manner using the Grr-Ripper, but for anything thinner than that I use the Incra and have the "keeper" piece come off the "waste" side of the blade. Takes a bit longer, but it's more condusive to keeping all ten calculators attached, and it keeps the maple splines from being launched across the garage in a mighty demonstration of kickback. DAMHIKT.

Bruce, I'd guess I have about 2 hours or so in the geometric board (over the course of a couple weeks), and probably at least double that for the other one. Since it's all splined, I glued it up in multiple stages. The end grain board also takes a lot longer to sand flat and scratch-free.

Thanks again everyone, and I'll get busy on that tutorial.

- Vaughn

[Bruce Page]

Bruce, I'd guess I have about 2 hours or so in the geometric board (over the course of a couple weeks), and probably at least double that for the other one. Since it's all splined, I glued it up in multiple stages. The end grain board also takes a lot longer to sand flat and scratch-free.- Vaughn

2 hours... 2 hours!?!
It would take me longer that that to get started!!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Bruce, that 2 hours doesn't include all the wandering around the shop, scratching my head looking for the pencil I had just a minute ago. And dang it...where'd I put that stupid combination square? I know it was right here yesterday. Since it was the third board like it that I'd made, I had the system down to a certain extent.

BTW, has anybody seen my tape measure? ;)

- Vaughn

[Charles Bruno]

Vaughn
I really like the 3-D effect. How many hours in that board? Did you use a band saw or a scroll saw?

[Vaughn McMillan]

Vaughn
I really like the 3-D effect. How many hours in that board? Did you use a band saw or a scroll saw?
Charles, it's all done on a table saw. (See my earlier post in this thread...)

- Vaughn

[John Buzzurro]

Vaughn,


Despite any flaws you may have pointed out, I like them all a lot. What type of finish do you use on them?

[Vaughn McMillan]

John, I slather them in mineral oil for 48+ hours (as much as they can soak up), then wipe them "dry" with paper towels for a day or two. I like to hit them lightly with Howard Feed-N-Wax before delivery, mostly just to make them smell nice.

- Vaughn

[glenn bradley]

Hi Vaughn, I'd swear this was discussed here at SMC but am not able to find the thread (operator error?). What process and material do you use to seal / finish the beautiful cutting boards you make? I was foolish enough to leave a picture of one of yours on the screen when the LOML walked into the room, LOL.

[Mike Cutler]

Vaughn.

Bro'. Listen to the folks here. Those are some very nice pieces, flaws or not. Those are some very fine cuts that you have repetetively performed.

If you are willing to put that amount of effort and attention to detail in that small of a piece, I would encourage you to check out the custom picture frame market. Remember, not everyone wants a gold leaf picture frame that looks like it belongs in an Italian restaraunt in Boston's North End.:eek: :D ;)

[Art Mulder]

Hi Vaughn, I'd swear this was discussed here at SMC but am not able to find the thread (operator error?). What process and material do you use to seal / finish the beautiful cutting boards you make? I was foolish enough to leave a picture of one of yours on the screen when the LOML walked into the room, LOL.

Glenn,
I could be wrong, but I think Vaughn explains what he uses on his web page.

On the cutting boards that I have made, such as the one outlined here... http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=37474
I used the LVT Beeswax+mineral oil finish
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=20087&cat=1,190,42950&ap=1

[Doug Shepard]

Vaughn
You can throw those defective ones into my trash anyday buddy. Nice job!

[Mark Rios]

Oh Vaughn, you are a silly, silly man. Your stuff is great! Just let us praise you and take it. We (I anyway) always enjoy your creativity. I'm dizzy from looking at the first board too long. :D

[Ron Jones near Indy]

As usual, Vaughn, absolutely beautiful!

[Corey Hallagan]

Awesome work Vaughn! Those are beautiful. Who could use something like that!

Corey

[Vaughn McMillan]

Wow, Glenn Bradley dug up an old thread. Glenn, the finish I use for the boards is a mineral oil soak, followed by a couple days of "drying", then a final rubdown with Howard Feed-N-Wax (mentioned in the post immediately prior to yours). ;) I've also done one board with General Salad Bowl finish, since I was told it wouldn't actually be used for cutting. For a usable cutting board, I don't like any kind of membrane finish.

Greg Tatum asked back in September 2005 if I had a tutorial on the 3-D boards. I do now, and it's on my website here (http://workingwoods.com/workingwoods/3-D_Board_Tutorial.htm).

The 3D boards were sort of a warmup for the quilt boards I did. After an initial failure, the quilt boards are so far my best. (There are pics towards the bottom of this page (http://workingwoods.com/workingwoods/specialty_boards.htm).) I'm planning to make another batch of them as soon as I can get a project in edgewise in the shop. (Too many projects...too little time.)

Thanks again for the compliments...:o

- Vaughn