Flatwork on the lathe (cutting boards)

[Curt Fuller]

I've never done any "flatwork" but this is pretty close. If my turning skills were a little better it would be even closer. I cut strips of various woods, sanded the edges flat, glued and clamped them together, then turned them round. Pretty simple project but I had fun. Turning them flat is a trick though.
First two are ambrosia maple, alder, walnut. 13.5" x 3/4"
Second two are combinations of ambrosia maple and siberian elm 9.5" x 3/4"
all with walnut oil.

BTW, if I had a planer could I run these through it after they're turned round to get them flatter?

[Ernie Kuhn]

Curt,
I expect you mean a thickness planer? Might have to put them on a carrier board with two-sided tape and, sandwich them on all 4 sides with equal thickness pieces of board in front and behind them to eliminate snipe.
Use longer boards on the sides for the rollers to grab. Might be easier to run them through before turning round but still make sure they are the minimum length required by your planer and they should be a bit over-length, again, for potential snipe problem.
Ernie

[Gary DeWitt]

Sure, you could plane them after turning, but that would take all the fun out of turning, checking with a straightedge, turning, checking with a straightedge, turning, checking with a straightedge, turning, checking with a straightedge, turning, checking with a straightedge.....

[John Hart]

Kinda got yourself hooked on those breadboards after that garage sale eh Curt?;) Too cool. They look great!!!:)

[Mark Pruitt]

BTW, if I had a planer could I run these through it after they're turned round to get them flatter?
I think it would make more sense to me to run them through a drum sander, since you would not need to remove any substantial amount of material. With a planer you always worry about snipe, even the newer ones that say they don't snipe.

OTOH, since those are cutting boards, it might be beneficial that they be just slightly convex rather than absolutely flat, to allow juices to drain toward the edge.

[Charles McKinley]

Great job Kurt!

Don't wory about them being perfectly flat after that first trip through the dishwasher that will have that cool wave action going on. :D Just kiddding.

I'm sure they will be appreciated and well cared for.

[Keel McDonald]

OTOH, since those are cutting boards, it might be beneficial that they be just slightly convex rather than absolutely flat, to allow juices to drain toward the edge.[/quote]

I was talking about that very thing with a fellow woodworker. I suggested maybe using a gouge to create a trough near the edge to catch those juices, scraps, whatever. It would be very easy to do.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice looking cutting boards Curt. Hard to tell from the pictrues about their flatness but I would think you would be able to sand them while still on the lathe to get rid of any little imperfections. Have to agree with the others that you will have a snipe problem using a planer.

[Richard Madison]

Curt,
It might be a waste of nice wood, but if you make your rectangular blank about 4-1/2" longer on each end (9" total) than the intended diameter of the finished round board, you could plane it first (the snipe will be in the first 4-1/2" of the ends of the blank), banksaw the round center section, and turn it.

Much better to just turn it approx. flat per Gary's method, and then flatten it with an 80 grit sanding board.

[George Tokarev]

OTOH, since those are cutting boards, it might be beneficial that they be just slightly convex rather than absolutely flat, to allow juices to drain toward the edge.

I was talking about that very thing with a fellow woodworker. I suggested maybe using a gouge to create a trough near the edge to catch those juices, scraps, whatever. It would be very easy to do.[/quote]

Convex won't sit steady, that's why we make the bottoms of our turnings concave. You'd have to leave a raised rim to get back to non-tip and slip.

Since it's wise to have two cutting boards, one for things to be cooked, one for things eaten raw, a square and round would keep from cross-contamination.

[Mark Pruitt]

OTOH, since those are cutting boards, it might be beneficial that they be just slightly convex rather than absolutely flat, to allow juices to drain toward the edge.

Convex won't sit steady, that's why we make the bottoms of our turnings concave. You'd have to leave a raised rim to get back to non-tip and slip.

George,
When I made the suggestion of a slightly convex surface I was referring to the "service" side of the board, not the bottom surface which sits on the counter.

[George Tokarev]

Sacrifice one side? If you crown without making some sort of rim or "blood groove" that's what you do. On the other hand, if you crown within a modest rim, the fluid won't run out onto the counter, but be contained for pouring - might even make a "spout" by filing out a spot - while providing a firm footing which would allow use of the opposite side.

This is a bit more extreme, but serves as a place to chop spices with a controlled pour, and might serve as an illustration of what I propose.

[Keel McDonald]

Convex won't sit steady, that's why we make the bottoms of our turnings concave. You'd have to leave a raised rim to get back to non-tip and slip.

I meant the top would be convex, thus leaving the bottom either flat or concave, not the other way around.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Curt those are some mighty fine looking pieces. I would run them thru a drum sander myself.

[Paul Engle]

Yep and nice blood groove around or near the edge is ok also...

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Curt, when you exhaust your need for cutting boards, mount one on a backing plate with some double-seded tape. Then use a parting tool and cut concentric rings about 3/4" apart at about a 45 degree angle (if the board is about 3/4" thick). You'll then be able to stack the rings into a funnel-shaped bowl. Here's a photo of a couple of bowls made this way.

[Ernie Nyvall]

Great idea Curt. Nice job too.