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Thread: First Cutting board from short scraps

  1. #1

    First Cutting board from short scraps

    I just can't throw out those short scraps (3-6") even though the milling and gluing depletes the value big time, but this project provided me opportunity to practice with little cost. Ended up approximately 1 1/2"thick end grain up, maple, birch, two types of mahogany, and a mineral oil finish. This was the piece I had the issues with the stopped grooves in the end as finger holds; thanks to all for the great advise on that, I have some ne technique to try now and lots of short scraps left to practice some more.
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2012
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    Gatineau, Québec
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    298
    Nice looking board! How did you prepare for finishing - sander, planer, scraper, other?

    J.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
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    Southwestern CT
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    Ben ... Nice finished product! I'd be interested in hearing some of the challenges you overcame in sizing the material. I usually choose longer lengths of material for the first glue-up on end grain boards, and am trying to wrap my head around the complexity of using scraps.
    "the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.” Confucius

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
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    SE Michigan
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    Ben, nice looking board and great way to use up some cutoffs! Thanks for sharing.

    I occassionally try to clean out the cutoffs by making cheese boards. Since they are long grain, I kind of discourage using them as cutting boards...but whatever. Just square up the cutoff edges, glue a bunch of shapes together and cut to final size. Because it’s long grain, I can just run them through my lunch box planer to thickness.

    28D1FE5A-133D-4CA5-80BA-2FC8F257514D.jpg

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    Bedford, NH
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    Nice work indeed Ben! I like the arrangement of the pieces. That is a great way to use scraps. I also find that I can't throw away leftovers. I find it a shame to discard good wood.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  6. #6
    Jacques, I used my Dewalt planed, sanded with my home made drum sander from StockRoom, see pics, and finished with 5" Orbital. drumsand-top.jpgdrumsand-inside.jpg

  7. #7
    Hi Bill, sizing took some time and "musical-chairs" with the pieces after they were sliced. Sequence .... I made two glue-ups with boards about the same width (height) but with different thickness and lengths, attached are a couple of pics to give an idea on how I maximized the different length pieces. After I cut (sliced) the 1st two glue-ups to about 1 3/4" slices I recycled some of the unused cutoffs from the longer boards into a 3rd glue-up not shown in pics. My challenge was keeping a picture in my head on the order of colors. I then flipped all the slices 90 deg so grain was facing up and played with the order to get something I liked. Then I did the final glue-up. I'm sure I can do it much quicker next time especially if I pre-mill sufficient "scrap" wood than I need so I can play with all the pieces before the first glue-up. The pre-mill prep of the stock took most of the time, some salvaged, some cutoff shorts, some rough, etc. Hope this helps. cutbrd-1.jpgcutbrd-2.jpgcutbrd-3.jpg

  8. #8
    Hi Phil, I like the cheese board, now I have more ideas for the use of my shorts.

  9. #9
    Hi Al, I am a certified wood hoarder. To complicated things I have instructions to stop acquiring more salvaged wood until I start using the salvaged wood I have, LOL. I just did an afternoon of sawdust production pre-milling about 20% of my salvaged wood into a usable form, almost therapeutic. Now I just need a lot of imagination for what to create. The picture is about 20% of my scrap/salvage pile. IMG_6283.jpg

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Bedford, NH
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    1,286
    Ben,
    I wish my scraps were as good as yours! I sometimes wonder if they even qualify for kindling.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  11. #11
    I feel bad also tossing out the small pieces of lumber. This end grain cutting board has over 350 small pieces. It's 24"x16" and is 1 1/4" thick. 20161204_144535.jpg
    Two T's Woodshop

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Benjimin Young View Post
    I just can't throw out those short scraps (3-6") even though the milling and gluing depletes the value big time, but this project provided me opportunity to practice with little cost. Ended up approximately 1 1/2"thick end grain up, maple, birch, two types of mahogany, and a mineral oil finish. This was the piece I had the issues with the stopped grooves in the end as finger holds; thanks to all for the great advise on that, I have some ne technique to try now and lots of short scraps left to practice some more.
    Nice job! What kind of glue did you use? I ask because I made an end grain cherry cutting board and gifted it to a friend who put it to work big time! It ended up coming apart at a weak glue joint. I used Titebond III for all the joints.

    This is what it looked like when completed:

    The break occurred in a zig-zag fashion, rather than split straight across the joint.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  13. #13
    Julie, I also used Titebond III.
    The one inb my pic stays in our house, kind of a test, LOL.
    I have read that cutting boards should never be submersed in water although we regularly do that but dry them off right away and occasionally reapply mineral oil; sometimes we disinfect with bleach, i.e after meat, etc. We have a board in the family 30+ year old and I had to fix a joint on it once about a year ago.

  14. #14
    Good grief, 350 pieces.., wow, you have much more patience than I have, looks good!
    Did you do them in strips (i.e creative cutting) or individual pieces?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Lafayette, Indiana
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    1,378
    Nice looking board. I too have a challenge throwing out cut-offs. These little designer cutting boards make for nice gifts. Last year I made a variety of parts and helped my kids each make one of their own design. Typically finish these out at 1/2 - 5/8 thickness - they are for light duty - sometimes double as trivets.
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