Sanding cutting boards.....yay.....

[Joe Shinall]

368802368802So every year I make cutting boards for Christmas and sell for extra Christmas money. They're scraps from everything of the previous year. The first time I made them I sanded to 220 and then did a test wash of the board as a customer would clean it and it felt fuzzy. So I started doing this to get by the fuzziness:

Sand to 80
Sand to 120
Sand to 180
Sand to 220
Wet sand 220
Sand 400
Wet sand 600

That's a ton of sanding. Does anyone else have any other tips to avoid the fuzziness and to avoid all this sanding!?

[Steve Eure]

I started sanding to 180 grit, then lightly wet the board to raise the grain, let it dry, re sand with 180, then 220 grit. So far I've had no complaints.

[BrianD King]

Nice boards! That seems like too much sanding for something that's going to be pounded by knives. I've never had to do anything more than raise the grain once and then sand again. Then immediately hit it with mineral oil.

[mike waters]

80>120>220

then beeswax. I beeswaxed these 4 more times or so until it was all even. These pictures are after the first soak.

could of turned out better, but for what it was being used for...well..
And black walnut dust just

[John K Jordan]

Joe,

I don't make cutting boards often but to me, sanding to 600 seems unnecessary. I'd probably stop at 220 or 320. Have you tried moistening the wood after each of the finer grits with a damp cloth then letting dry before the next grit? I was taught this in the '60s to raise the grain between grits to eliminate the fuzziness. Is that still recommended? I suspect a lot would depend on the type of wood. But again, I'm not a cutting board maker.

You might try a search. This was the first thread I found: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?90485-Sanding-Schedule-for-Cutting-Boards

Edit: Oops, I just read some of the other posts which I should have done first. Well, there you go!

JKJ



...The first time I made them I sanded to 220 and then did a test wash of the board as a customer would clean it and it felt fuzzy. So I started doing this to get by the fuzziness:

Sand to 80
Sand to 120
Sand to 180
Sand to 220
Wet sand 220
Sand 400
Wet sand 600

That's a ton of sanding. Does anyone else have any other tips to avoid the fuzziness and to avoid all this sanding!?

[Mel Fulks]

I love the look of fancy glued up cutting boards. But a board not sanded at all is so much better at keeping the knife sharp. Plane and wax might be a good practical sales angle.

[Bill Dufour]

hand scraping is also a big thing these days. Gives that nice? wavy look in case the glueup got messed up and no need to sand it flat or smooth.
Bill

[Marc Jeske]

I know those fuzzies very well, get cut down sanding between coats of hard finish, but on oiled boeards as above, would remain a problem.
Pech Fuzz like to the touch.
Ya, like Bill sed - I have not yet progressed to Neanderthal Level, so I have not yet used one, but wouldn't a scraper remove the fuzzies ? Marc

[Joe Shinall]

Thanks guys, I have sanded to 220 and then wet sanded 220 again, and then oiled a board, and tested and after just 2 or 3 washes, it's fuzzy again. My method is the only way I've tried so far that doesn't make it fuzzy. I have customers that have used their boards for 2 years now and after 20 or 30 washes or more, they are still not very fuzzy. I guess I'll just keep tweaking and try and eliminating a step or two in the middle maybe. I do them in large batches of course, so it's not like I'm swapping paper that often and I can sand 20 boards in a few hours with that method. Just would like to sand 30 or 40 boards in that amount of time....

I know 600 sounds like overkill but that last step makes these boards butt smooth and I get a ton of compliments on that part.

[Pete Janke]

I have had good luck stopping at 220, followed by a mixture of mineral oil and melted candle wax. Here's one I made for my Chef sister-in-law. I personalize them by hand routing the name into the board and filling the name in with tinted epoxy.

[Marc Jeske]

Joe - And the scraper suggestion? ? Marc

[Bradley Gray]

Joe - There are lots of cutting boards out there and it sounds as though your methods have been well received and now you have a following. So I say keep up the good work!

[Joe Shinall]

Joe - And the scraper suggestion? ? Marc

Marc, I hate scrapers so that's out the window haha. I have thought about that, but it's probably quicker to sand 10 times than try and mess with a scraper as far as my skillset goes with them.

[Joe Shinall]

Bradley, unfortunately I think you're right. I have people coming back year after year and don't want to change that. I think I just need a sanding apprentice.....

Pete, that board looks great and wow, hand routed! Great job with the name. I would take out half the board if I tried that.

[John K Jordan]

... I think I just need a sanding apprentice.....


Boy, THAT brought back some memories. In 1968 I worked in the woodworking shop at Berea College. New student employees were all sent to one corner the 3rd floor and given the job of sanding. Sanding, sanding, sanding. For some things there was a production line, coarse sand, pass to the person on your left, etc. You could move out of sanding fairly quickly with a good attitude - fortunately, I worked my way down to the machining on the second floor fairly quickly.

Maybe you could open a school!

JKJ

[Bradley Gray]

Joe, Do you have a thickness sander? I have a Supermax dual drum. I usually run 80/100 grit. You could start the hand work with finer grits.

I agree with you about scrapers. I use them for some things(Like leveling finishes) but it is workmanship of risk - one slip and you're back to 80 grit.

[Mark Bolton]

I dont have any input really on the sanding, we are usually running them through the sander and then hitting them with 150 or MAYBE 180... BUT....

I have to say, as much as I hate making cutting boards, and I question why I do it every time we do it, an absolutely beautiful picture like these you posted is about the only reason we do. I have tracked the profitability (even accounting for "scraps") and it all points to a loser but pictures like this (that we have taken at the end of a run) are about the only reason we keep making them.

That is a super impressive batch of boards and a beautiful photo. Im almost miserable to see it because now Im going to want to pull the cutting board scraps down from the racks and fire out a bunch.



368802368802So every year I make cutting boards for Christmas and sell for extra Christmas money. They're scraps from everything of the previous year. The first time I made them I sanded to 220 and then did a test wash of the board as a customer would clean it and it felt fuzzy. So I started doing this to get by the fuzziness:

Sand to 80
Sand to 120
Sand to 180
Sand to 220
Wet sand 220
Sand 400
Wet sand 600

That's a ton of sanding. Does anyone else have any other tips to avoid the fuzziness and to avoid all this sanding!?

[John K Jordan]

I agree with you about scrapers. I use them for some things(Like leveling finishes) but it is workmanship of risk - one slip and you're back to 80 grit.

I'm curious about the risk of using a scraper. What goes wrong?

JKJ

[Bradley Gray]

Catch a corner, snag a grain reverse. Sort of like hand planing

[John K Jordan]

Catch a corner, snag a grain reverse. Sort of like hand planing

Ah, yes, a disaster. I don't know if it would help for real woodworkers but I round off the corners on some of my flat scrapers because of this. Also, when working on a large surface I use one of the Veritas scraper holders. (is that cheating?) I started using it since my hands got tired but I wonder if it helps avoid the snagging.

JKJ

[Bradley Gray]

The other issue is when I use a scraper on wide flat surfaces it is difficult to avoid scalloping.

I happen to like the surface a scraper leaves, but on a lamination like the OP's boards with lots of grain reverses and glue lines I use the thickness sander and follow with hand-helds. I generally stop at 220 until I build up some finish, but then I'm not making cutting boards.

[Joe Shinall]

Thank you Mark for the extremely kind words. I started doing boards aout 5 years ago and I do so many of them in so little time that even actually buying lumber to supplement the colors, I end up making a pretty good profit for what would usually be spent as time watching TV.... I take real pride in my boards and if I could get over the boring repeatability of it, I would do it year round. I basically set out each year to make whatever we want to spend on Christmas for ourselves, the kids, and family/friends. The last 4 years, I work just one month and it pays for all of it. Very fortunate to have repeat customers and word of mouth on these.


I dont have any input really on the sanding, we are usually running them through the sander and then hitting them with 150 or MAYBE 180... BUT....

I have to say, as much as I hate making cutting boards, and I question why I do it every time we do it, an absolutely beautiful picture like these you posted is about the only reason we do. I have tracked the profitability (even accounting for "scraps") and it all points to a loser but pictures like this (that we have taken at the end of a run) are about the only reason we keep making them.

That is a super impressive batch of boards and a beautiful photo. Im almost miserable to see it because now Im going to want to pull the cutting board scraps down from the racks and fire out a bunch.

[Joe Shinall]

Bradley, I do not but that's something I am probably going to invest in very soon. I just spoke with a friend of mine tonight about a Supermax. The biggest sanding issues I have are how I round my boards on the ends. A lot of wear and tear on the wrist using the orbital sander to smooth those end grains out. The thickness sander would definitely save time on the flat surfaces and leave only the ends to hit with the ROS through all the grits. Maybe I'll try and sell some extra boards this year to pay for that!


Joe, Do you have a thickness sander? I have a Supermax dual drum. I usually run 80/100 grit. You could start the hand work with finer grits.

I agree with you about scrapers. I use them for some things(Like leveling finishes) but it is workmanship of risk - one slip and you're back to 80 grit.

[mike waters]

if you have a large air compressor.. pneumatic sander ? :D

[John K Jordan]

if you have a large air compressor.. pneumatic sander ? :D

That's what I was thinking too. I have two pneumatic random-orbital-sanders, both very light weight. I got a palm sander from Woodturners Wonders that uses 3" disks that seems like it would be perfect, easy to grip with one hand and very little effort needed to move it around. I don't know what kind of air compressor it would need to be practical, though. Mine is a 5hp 60gal 2-stage.

JKJ

[Mark Bolton]

Can you not ease your edges on a shaper or router table with some good sharp tooling and a slow pass? Should leave you very little hand sanding after.

[Joe Shinall]

if you have a large air compressor.. pneumatic sander ? :D

I do, but I hate the annoying sound of a pneumatic sander haha. I have used it before. I just like the feel of my other sanders more.

[Joe Shinall]

Can you not ease your edges on a shaper or router table with some good sharp tooling and a slow pass? Should leave you very little hand sanding after.

Mark, even with a brand new really sharp bit on the shaper or router table, I still have to sand a good bit to blend it all together.

[Mark Bolton]

That's interesting. We treat some of the edges of ours with large radius cutters on the shaper making them kind of pillow shaped more of a serving board than cutting board and we edge profile everything on the shaper climb cutting with a feeder and the come off very clean. A pass or two on the edge sander and then to to 150 or so and apply finish.

[Mitchell Ristine]

Bradley, I do not but that's something I am probably going to invest in very soon. I just spoke with a friend of mine tonight about a Supermax. The biggest sanding issues I have are how I round my boards on the ends. A lot of wear and tear on the wrist using the orbital sander to smooth those end grains out. The thickness sander would definitely save time on the flat surfaces and leave only the ends to hit with the ROS through all the grits. Maybe I'll try and sell some extra boards this year to pay for that!

I round my corners on the router table. One is 3/4 rad, and the other is 3/16

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[Nike Nihiser]

Just curious, do you mind sharing how much you sell them for?