My first all woodworking Project step by step Pictures

[Karin Voorhis]

Hey all. Thought I would give you all a step by step of the first project With wood minus a few laser projects.

My very best friend has helped me out in my shop a lot. She is not a wood worker but she knows tools and a lot of stuff I am new to. Since She has helped so much I wanted my first proect to goto her.

She ust got her Kitchen going after a lot of remolding and so I thought I cutting board would be up to me skill set adn great for her as a thank you gift.

Went over and met Ray Mighells the other day. What a great guy. He give me many tips on what I needed for my shop, gave some tips on woods and table saw tricks. Plus we had to talk laser for a bit too. The before I left he gave me some great wood. :cool: :D This is what I have done so far. See pics


What I learned:

1. cutting boards have more to them then it looks.
2. cutting small pieces on a table saw is nerve wracking and needs 110% of your wits about you.
3. joints must fit tightly watch for warped or rough edges
4. Me and glue is ust as bad if not worse then a 2 year old. (need practice)
5. Clamping is an art that I am ok and will get better at with time.

More to come I will post as I come along. Plans are to plane and snad tommorow and then round the edge with a router. Hmmm any tips never have I done the routing minus a few key holes for practice the other day.

[James Manning]

Good looking cutting board Karin, excellent job! Keep up the good work.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Karin.....You doing well!

Routing....one of the most often mistakes made with a router is trying to take too much off in a single pass. Taking small amounts off and using multiple passes will often result in a better product. The 2nd most often mistake is feeding material too fast past the bit if using a router table. If you are using a router freehand, don't move the router too fast. If you see burning occurring, you are feeding the material too slowly. IF you are not using a router table...burning occurs as a result of moving the router too slowly.

Keep posting photos as you progress with your project!

[Jim Becker]

I fine job, Karin!! Keep 'em coming!

[Ted Miller]

Karin, Congrats on the new project, and when it comes to all of our machines, no matter what you are making or cutting, they all deserve your utmost respect and undivided attention...

[Mike Cutler]

Nice work Karin. Very nice contrast between the two woods.

One more router tip to add to Ken's excellent advice. On each of your multiple passes with the round over bit. Router the end grain edges first. As the router exits the end grain it will lift a few fibers. The long grain will router easier and smoother than the end grain, and will remove the slightly lifted end grain fibers at the corners.
Will you be using a fence or a pin to do the routing?

[John Michaels]

2. cutting small pieces on a table saw is nerve wracking and needs 110% of your wits about you.e to come I will post as I come along. Plans are to plane and snad tommorow and then round the edge with a router. Hmmm any tips never have I done the routing minus a few key holes for practice the other day.

I recently made a cutting board also. For cutting small pieces on the table saw I think I'm going to make a ripping sled. I think a piece of mdf with a piece glued on the bottom to fit the miter slot, and clamps integrated to the top side to hold down the small pieces would work great. I've seen crosscut sleds for sale but never a ripping sled, so I guess I'll have to make one.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Nice looking board! They sure are fun to make, but you are right, they are not as easy as they look!

[Karin Voorhis]

Thanks everyone. I am hoping I do not mess it up when planning or routing this week. I am happy thus far with it.

Kelly thanks so much for sharing your work with me too it help me out a lot with this....

ANy other tips from any greatly helpfull:cool:

[Ralph Barhorst]

Another router tip.

If using a hand held router make sure you cut left to right or counter-clock-wise around the cutting board.

If using a router table make sure you move the cutting board from the right hand side of the cutter to the left hand side.

Going the other direction is called a climp cut and is dangerous unless you know what you are doing.

[Greg Stanford]

I would also suggest making or buying feather boards to help w/ ripping small stock. You want to keep your fingers.

g

[Karin Voorhis]

Ralph thanks for the tip. As noted I really have no idea what I am doing yet. Saftey tips are alwasy a good thing.

Greg thanks for the tip on a feather board I used so v cut tipped screw drivers I had but it was very nerve wracking when I got to cutting the last walnut that was 9/16th I needed off it.

[glenn bradley]

Looking good. Keep it up. I make peace with my learning curve by reciting this mantra: "it's all practice, its all practice". BTW, I have yet to finish the end-grain cutting board I started. Boy was there more to that than I thought.

[john whittaker]

Hi Karin,
Nice looking cutting board. As you already found out and stated..."
2. cutting small pieces on a table saw is nerve wracking and needs 110% of your wits about you.

I bought a Gripper about a year ago and found it to be a very useful addition. It makes cutting small or marrow pieces MUCH safer. In fact, I use it for most cuts on the table saw.

If you don't know what a Gripper is....just do a search here and you will find plenty of info. They are not cheap but I am "thrifty" and consider it to be one of the best woodworking purchases I ever made. It is the best accessory I have because it makes cutting on the table saw much safer.

Great job on the cutting board. Keep up the good work.

[lou sansone]

nice to see the photos of your work. wood working is one of those things that seems simple until you try it. But it is a lot of fun.
best wishes
lou

[Bryan Somers]

Nice start on what should be a very good looking cutting board and a nice gift.

Lesson # 4 I'm still right there with ya.

[Karin Voorhis]

Thanks for bringing up the gripper I was just reading about that. I was super careful with the TS but non the less still very never wrecking and ready to jump at any moment. Some lessons I would like to learn while still having 10 fingers as I started this new found journey of wood working with......

I hope to have more pics tonight or tommorow.

Any tips for planing I have a 12 1/2: craftsman planer that I guess it will be run threw tonight on both sides to level it off then sand and then router.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Karin.....Keep in mind...a planer will give you uniform thickness but will not straighten out any "wows"....Normally on wood you joint one side to get a straight edge and then plane it to a uniform thickness using a thickness planer put the flat side down.

[Lars Thomas]

If you intend to run the completed boart through the planer, take VERY light cuts. Almost certainly, the grain will run in different directions on some pieces. . .therefore some will want to tear out. Consider spraying the board down with some water prior to planing. If you can, take care to align during glue up to minimize the amount of stock needing to be removed. If you run into trouble, a scraper or hand plan may be able to bail you out. Lars

[David Kauffman]

Karin, thanks for sharing your first woodworking project with us. So happens my first project (I was 13 yrs old, school woodshop) was also a cutting board, but a simpler one. My father is STILL using that same walnut cutting board today, 40 years later.

Please, get yourself a push stick for that tablesaw. If you don't want to spend the bucks for the Gripper, or want something a little simpler, get yourself a good push stick from one of the WW mags. Yes some of the ones they sell are a bit small and flimsy. I agree, and so I made myself a beefier one on the bandsaw. I glued a strip of 100 grit sandpaper to the bottom, which keeps it from slipping off the wood as you're pushing through. If you are interested in my design, PM me and I will send you a pic.

[Karin Voorhis]

Thanks so much I would have never thought of wetting down the wood before planing...

Also yes I am interested in your idea plan for a push block and stick. I will be PM'ing you.

I am so greatful for SMC the knowlege is amazing here........

[Roy Wall]

Karin,

If you have not already done so, go to your local library and get some books on the TS, Router, Jointer, etc.. from Taunton Publishing. Kelly Mahler and Jim Tolphin have excellent books on the TS. Safety is the key here......
It looks to me from the first photo you are directly behind the stock being fed through the saw - you should be standing off to the left a little - and pressing the work not only thru but against the fence a little. Anyway - these books will show you clearly how to operate safely using each machine.
As mentioned, push sticks are essential. I also use Board Buddies now.

When cutting thin boards I've even used two push sticks- one behind and one in my left hand. The one for my left is a thinner stick w/ a "V" groove cut in it to to hold the edge of the stock down. These books are great references.....check them out!

Nice work!

[Karin Voorhis]

Thanks Ray will be checking righ now as I work @ a college wher ethere is a library. Thanks for the names too very helpful.

[chris fox]

nice work, this reminds me to upload some pics of my work.
I do have one suggestion for you, and its real important....
get rid of that Michigan sweatshirt...go Buckeyes!!

[Karin Voorhis]

HEY Chris Thanks for the major important tip on the Michigan shirt!!!:eek: But it has to stay but not for the sports reasons. I have some of the closeest people to my heart that I have met in Michigan so therefore anything Michigan gives me warm reminders. Your sports team is safe with me!!!!:rolleyes:

[Al Willits]

As another newbie, I enjoy seeing other projects that don't involve thousands of dollars and professional skill requirements, don't feel bad about the table saw scaring you, I've launched a board or two off mine and it does take a lot of concentration, along with a bit of learning curve.
Keep at it, looks like your doing just find.
btw...Minnesota rules!!! :)
Well...ok, maybe not....:D

Keep posting, thanks.
Al

[Karin Voorhis]

Thanks very much Al yes I too love seeing the small projects. The large grand ones are great to but a bit out of my league right now. I just finsehed a 2nd cutting board as well tonight too!!! alot of fun and pleasure!

Lets see some pics of you stuff!!!!