January 23, 2021
In the previous 2 posts I have outlined some of the basic tools that you may need for any woodworking project.
In this post I thought I would give a quick example of a project that most anyone can do. The project is a laminated wood cutting board. I don’t any pictures of the process - only the final finished project. I will do my best from what I can find on the Googily
First is to find your wood stock. For a cutting board you want to use a harder wood. Soft woods like pine or fir will chip easily from extended knife usage. I select woods such as maple, oak, ash, mahogany. Unfortunately, once you get away from the standard wood selections, they start to get pricey.
Wood hardness scale
The good thing about this project is that it is small, and you don’t need a lot of wood. You might be able to get some “scraps” from a construction site, cabinet maker or lumber yard. The idea is to cut random strips of wood of varying thickness and then laminate them together into a bigger board.
My planer can only handle stock that is 12” wide, so all my cutting boards are 12” wide or less. The cutting board could be any length. For this project it was 16”. The thickness of your cutting board could be anything. I find that a thicker cutting board is just nicer. So, this project ended up 12”x16x 1.5” thick.
Step 1.
Using the miter saw cut your stock (all the different types of wood you are using) to 17”. Make it longer than your finished piece. This will give you some wiggle room.
Step 2.
Using the table saw, now “rip” (cut length wise) each into 1.5” strips. Depending on how wide your original stock was, you will now have 3 to 6 pieces (or more) of each type of wood. Each one will be 1.5” wide. You could rip these into thinner pieces but ensure that they are always 1.5” thick.
Step 3.
Now arrange all the strips on your work bench in any pattern you wish. Be creative and come up with a pleasing look.
Step 4.
I now test fit every piece to ensure that the joint is seamless. If not, I use the jointer to ensure a straight smooth edge.
Step 5.
Once you are satisfied with your pattern and the joints, mark the top surface to make sure you can put it back together the same way. You are now ready to glue it all together.
Step 6.
Apply the glue and rearrange all the pieces back into their spot. With 2 or 3 of your wood clamps, secure everything. FYI – if you wanted to make a board that was wider than 12” you would create 2 laminated boards as per the example below. For me, 12” seems to be the maximum I would go due to my planer and my clamps. Going larger than that just become awkward. Now let everything dry over night.
Step 7.
Once everything is dry, use the planer to smooth the top and bottom surfaces. It should come out looking great.
Step 8. Now using the table saw trim both ends of the cutting board. Instead of a straight end, you could use the band saw and create a curved end. The project should be ready for sanding.
Step 9. Using a sander, sand all surfaces. I start with my large belt/disk sander than move to a handheld sander for the finishing. I usually try to round the ends and corners so there are no sharp edges.
Step 10.
Now apply cutting board mineral oil and let everything dry.
Step 11.
The last step that I do is that once everything is dry, I install some felt pads on the bottom. This helps save your counter from any scratching. The felt pads are the same ones you would use for furniture.
There you have it……one cutting board. Now you can start experimenting with different woods, different shapes, or different angles. One variation is that after step 6, go back to step 2 do everything again against the pattern. Below are some of the results you can get using this process.
If you need help, clarification, or examples of any of the equipment or tools above, please let me know and I can expand further.
What are you wood working stories?
That’s it for now. Let’s hear what you have to say.
Ronco 😊
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