Making a Black Walnut and Maple End Grain Cutting Board

Black Walnut and hard rock Maple End Grain Cutting Board

I wanted to share with you a little bit of the process of making an end grain cutting board. I am making two boards using a combination of Black Walnut and hard rock Maple. These two woods will give a nice contract of color. The final size of each board will be 14″ x 20″ x 1-1/2″ thick.

The first step is to hand pick nice hardwood, preferably woods with nice grain, color, square, no splitting and no worm holes. If you purchased wood, let the wood acclimate to the conditions of your shop for a week before starting your project. Knowing the final size of the board allows you to calculate the total board feet of hardwood required to make the board. Keep in mind that there are numerous cuts and glue ups in the process. You need to account for all of the cuts as each cut on a table saw waste 1/8 of material.

Prepare your cuts for the best use of the hardwood and the design.  If you plan to use different types of woods, you may need more board feet of one wood verses the other based on your design. Since this board is primary Black Walnut, I will need more Black Walnut than Maple.

Plan your cuts based on final size of the board. Start by cutting the wood into strips. The size of the strips is determined based on the final design and size of the board. Glue all of the strips together in the sequence of your design, leaving the boards in the clamps for a minimum of 24 hours.

The above photo shows the Black Walnut and Maple strips, this is the first glue up. After removing the glued strips from the clamps, both surfaces were sanded smooth to size per my design.

Next step was to cross cut the above boards into strips that are 1-5/8 wide, which will make a 1-5/8 thick board. The 1-5/9 thickness provides 1/8″ for flattening both surfaces and all the sanding. After cutting the strips, each piece is carefully placed in the proper sequence based on the design. Every other piece is the opposite of the last piece.  After each piece is in order, it is time for the second glue up.

The above photo shows the second glue up of all of the strips that were cut to 1-5/8″. This will be the final design.

In the above photo, after 24 hours, I removed the boards from the clamps. I then cut the board to size, 14 x 20 inch and started sanding the surface on all sides. The final thickness will be 1-1/2 inch. Once this is completed, I will cut finger pulls of each end and then sand them smooth. My sanding process starts at 120 grit up to the final grit of 300.

The sanding took nearly an hour to go from 120 grit to 300 grit. They are looking good, flat on all surfaces and all sanded. Next step is to cut the finger pulls, then apply the final finish.

The above photo shows the board after cutting the finger pulls, sanding the finger pulls and applying the final finish.

Finished boards!

 

I hope you enjoyed my post!

This board is stall available, made to order only. If you are interested, please email me from my Contact Us page. Click CONTACT US button below!

 

 

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Engraved Ice Cream Scoops!

Above, Engraved walnut ice cream scoop.

Please note, the manufacturer of the stainless steel ice cream scoop hardware has changed the design. Effective March 1, 2017, all orders will include the stainless steel hardware shown inn above picture and picture below.

 

Above font is Amaze Bold-script

Above: Rockwell font

Above: Curly Black Walnut and Blackwood ice cream scoop custom engraved for Debra at the University of Connecticut, Office of Alumni Relations.

 

Over the last few months I have handcraft over 70 ice cream scoops and engraved more then 40 of them. I wanted to share with you some of the pictures!

above, Amaze Bold script font

above, Amaze Bold font

above, Amaze Bold script font

above, Amaze Bold script font

above, Amaze Bold script font

The above ice cream scoop was a gift to Maryland Coach Turgeon!

Above: My customer sent me a picture of Maryland Coach Turgeon with the ice cream scoop!

Whimsical ice cream scoops!

above, Amaze Bold script font

above, Rockwell font

above, Amaze Bold script font

above, Amaze Bold script font

above, Amaze Bold script font

Curly black walnut handle engraved.

I am now also engraving serving boards and cutting boards!

 

Above: Wedding gift

    

The above scoop was also a wedding gift and it had engraving on the topside and bottom side.

 

Everyone seems to be enjoying ice cream this summer!! I know I have had my share of Ice cream too!

Enter a caption

 

Above, Cooper font

Above, Curly Black Walnut and Blackwood engraved scoops.

The above Ice Cream Scoop was made for a FedEx sales rep that is on the State Government Team!

above, Amaze Bold script font

above, Amaze Bold script font

Above, Cooper font

The above handle was special order, walnut with special colored wood. The shape is like the hard rock Maple handle. If you like the handle be sure to let me know and I can make this design in walnut for you!

Above, Engraved customer logo’s

Above, Rockwell font

Above, Rockwell font

Above font is Amaze Bold-script

Above font is Rockwell

Above, Amaze Bold-script and Rockwell

Above: curly walnut old fashion ice cream paddle with Rockwell engraving

Above: Amaze bold-script font

Above: Old fashion ice cream paddle scoop engraved using Amaze Bold-script font

Above: Hard rock Maple and Padauk ice cream scoop handle engraved using Amaze bold-script font.

Ab0ve; Old fashion ice cream paddle scoop with Amaze Bold-script font. Below is Cooper font ice cream scoop

Above: Curly Walnut with Blackwood scoop, Rockwell font

Above: Amaze bold-script font

Thank you for visiting my Blog!

Please check out our handcrafted woodwork, charcuterie boards, cutting boards, wine boards, serving trays, wine stoppers, unique ice cream scoops, honey sticks and more. 

For more information please click SHOP NOW

 

 

 

 

New Boards Made The Last Month

Above: Black Walnut Board

I thought I would post today a few of the boards that I have made this month. There were a few more that I made but did not get a picture of them!

 

Above: Ambrosia Maple, Cherry and Black Walnut

This one is 14 inch in diameter and has a lot of different grain character and colors, it’s stunning!

Above: Black Walnut and Maple

Customer wanted a long board to place beside her range, 22 inches long and 6-1/2 inches wide.

Above: Black Walnut and Maple end grain cutting board

Rachel was looking for a unique board that could take lot of use. See her picture below!

The above photo was taken by Rachel, she is a wonderful cook, check out her Instagram page, @5280Meat

 

Above: Black Walnut board with handle.

Check out Trina’s picture below of this board, round board and ice cream scoop! Trina is a wonderful cook, check out her Instagram page, @Paleo_Newbie_Recipes

 

My Wood Conditioner is homemade combining a mixture of food-grade mineral oil and pure food grade beeswax. It will help you maintain the finish on your boards, reviving, condition and help protect your boards from moisture and drying out.

Enjoy your afternoon!

After months of hard work and dedication, my NEW website is live!! I would love it if you would go take a look, here is the link:  MichaelsWoodcrafts

www.MichaelsWoodcrafts.com

Purchasing my work is Simple, click the above image or the SHOP NOW button below to be directed to my website.

 

 

 

 

Maple & Paduak

 

I started two end grain cutting boards last week, One was Maple and Cherry (left), the other was Maple and Pakauk (right). Paduak is an orange-red color wood from South America.

The Maple and Paduak boards is to the right, first glue-up. In this post I am going to show you the finishing process of the Maple and Padauk end grain board.

The above picture shows the second glue-up for the final pattern.  It’s dry  and ready to go to the Jet belt sander to get it flat on both sides. This board will finish out at 10 inches wide, 16 inches long and 2 inches thick. Once flat I sanded all sides from 120 grit up to 600 grit.

What looks like water is food grade mineral oil. After being in the food grade mineral oil bath for over an hour I removed it to let it air dry. I will let it dry over night before wiping it down with a cotton cloth.

Another view of this board that shows the finger pull, I cut one on each side to make it easier to lift. This board was finished with  food grade mineral oil, then my wood conditioner that is a food grade mineral oil and food grade beeswax mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Walnut Rounds

This afternoon a good friend and I cut 2 foot off of a Black Walnut log that is 17 inches in diameter and cut 10 Walnut rounds. Each round was cut 2-1/4 inch thick.

I will store these in my shop, stacked with wooden spacers between each piece so that air is able to pass between them. I will rotate them serveral times a month until they are dry. Drying could take a long a 6 to 10 months.

The color looks great on these and as they dry they will darken.

They will make great cutting boards, serving boards, cheese boards or plate chargers! These will be available on my One of a Kind page once they are dry.  Below is a picture that shows how these can be used to serve your favorite food!

I hope you enjoy your weekend!

For more information, view more images, pricing or to order, click SHOP NOW

The above photo was taken by Bob Bernotsky at That_Paleo_Guy

 

 

My Logo

Several months ago I create a new logo. Even though I was not quite happy with it I posted it in the header on my web site. It just wasn’t as clean as I wanted so I have been spending a lot of time cleaning it up. I think I have  finally finished it!

 

After getting the logo finished I decided to create oval labels that I can use. This label will be 3 inches long and 2 inch wide. What do you think about my updated logo and the oval labels?

I hope everyone has a Wonderful Easter Weekend!

Handcrafted Cutting Boards

Above photo credit Carolyn Himes, CarolynHimes.com

 

 

Dining Out San Diego Magazine

You might remember my post in early March about Carolyn Himes photographing Chef Rob Ruiz food for the Dining Out San Diego magazine, my post was San Diego Magazine. I am excited to write this post and grateful to Carolyn, Chef Rob Ruiz and all those at the Dining Out magazine that was involved in the process of the shoot and selecting this photograph, thank you! Carolyn emailed me late this evening to let me know that the Dining Out magazine is published as of this afternoon,  her photograph, chef Rob Ruiz food and my Walnut cutting board is on the front cover!!  Love it, Love it, Love it!!

Beautiful photos!

If you are interested in reading more, below are links to the story! 

Dining Out San Diego Instagram

Dining Out San Diego magazine digital issue, great article on Chef Ruiz!

Land and Water Company Instagram

Chef Rob Ruiz also posted on his Instagram as well, Chef Rob Ruiz Instagram

Carolyn Himes website; Carolyn Himes Imagery. Be sure to check out Carolyn’s website!

Thank you Carolyn!!

 

 

 

Walnut Coasters

Back in December I post Walnut and Pentacryl, the two Walnut rounds I had cut that day from a wet Walnut log and then soaked them in a Pentacryl bath. Pentacryl is a non-toxic liquid compound of modified polymers designed to prevent racking and splitting of green wood for the drying process.  Basically a preservation solution.

The idea in using Pentacryl was to stop the cracking and splitting. After soaking for 72 hours, they have been drying naturally in my shop with cardboard on both sides. Every week or so I would check the moisture content.

Just last week, the moisture content reached 9% which is what I needed before I could start preparing them for finishing. After I ran them them the drum sander to get both sides flat, I started sanding each side with 60 grit paper, then 100 grit, 120, 150, 200, 240, 280, 320, 400 and finished up with 600 grit.

After sanding I placed them into a food grade mineral oil bath. After 30 minutes I removed them from the oil bath for drying. Here is a picture of what they look like now!

The mineral oil makes them shiny but will soon soak into the wood and be a nice finish. The bark is holding on but over time could fall off or not, I am hoping it will stay.

They are looking good!

On February 13th, I posted Rustic Black Walnut Wood Slices, today I checked the moisture content on all of these and they are now at 11 to 14%. Still waiting on them to get to 9% moisture content so I can work these too!

 

The photo below of my boards Food Photographer Tricia Buice! Check out her website, Saving Room for Dessert.

 

 

Beautiful Pictures!

I have a wonder photographer that is helping me with pictures of my work and I wanted to share a sample of her beautiful work. All of these pictures were taken by Tricia, you might already know Tricia because she is a very active blogger, please visit her site, Saving Room For Dessert.

Tricia is not only a great photographer but wow, she can cook, and is a wonderful baker. She is always creating new recipes and also loves kayaking, hiking, watching great movies, baking and traveling.

Tricia has sent me a lot of photos over the last few weeks, I love all of her pictures!! I hope  you enjoyed seeing Tricia’s pictures and I hope you will check out her blog, Saving Room For Dessert!

I could eat that bowl of ice cream right now!! 🙂

Tricia makes some wonderful, delicious pies and has included many recipes on her blog.

The Teardrop shaped cutting board I hand crafted using Black Walnut!

Honey Dipper Sticks are great if you like using honey!

The above board is handcrafted using Walnut, Cherry and Ambrosia Maple!

Do you remember when no one knew what a kiwi was?

Walnut cheese boards are great for serving your favorite cheeses, crackers and maybe cold cuts!

If you are interested in my woodwork, browse my site or email me if you have any questions!

Love all the pictures Tricia!! 🙂

For more information, view more images, pricing or to order, click SHOP NOW

 

Walnut and Pentacryl

I cut a few Walnut rounds on Saturday using my chain saw from a wet log that was given to me.  I used Pentacryl, which is a non-toxic liquid compound of modified polymers designed to prevent cracking and splitting of green wood for the drying process.  Basically a preservation solution. The idea is to stop the cracking and splitting, if I get lucky there won’t be any cracks! The Pentacryl is absorbed by the wood replacing the moisture in the wood.

Using a plastic bucket, I poured the Pentacryl over the walnut rounds with a small thin piece of 1/8 wood, 1″ x 1/2″ between each piece to keep them separated. About every 12 hours I rotated the Walnut rounds, letting them soak for a total of 72 hours.

The picture above I took after removing the Walnut from the Pentacryl, you can tell they are wet, the colors seem to bleed together. All that will change when they are completed try!

I removed them from the Pentacryl, stand them on their ends and let them drain for about an hour. Next I cut cardboard rounds the size of the Walnut for both ends and covered them. The cardboard will help slow down the drying process.

I will rotated these daily for the next 3-4 weeks. Once I think they are close to dry I will check the moisture content, can’t start the final finish until they are dry. I will follow up with another post when they are dry and show you the final finishing process!

Over the last year I have made a lot of new friends blogging and have so much enjoyed all the comments, conversations, emails and getting to know you! 🙂 Enjoy your Christmas with family and friends!

 

Charcuterie platter

Artisan cutting boards