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

 

 

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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.

 

 

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

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

 

It’s been weeks since I have been able to post! This year more I have been covered up with orders for my boards, ice cream scoops, birdhouses and honey sticks. Most all of the orders have been shipped with a few that were ordered late that will ship this week. If you ordered from me I want to thank you very much and hope you loved everything. If you are giving as gifts, I hope everyone enjoys them. I sure would love to see pictures from your kitchen!

My wife and I spent the afternoon yesterday making Chocolate Chip Cookies, 6 dozen! 🙂 In just a while we are planning to make 4 dozen our Heath Candy bar cookies.

This chocolate chip recipe was given to me many years ago from a friend. It is not the traditional Hershey chocolate chip recipe, these cookies are a chewy chocolate chip cookie. Everyone has their preference but I really like a chewy cookies with medium thickness and a ratio of 50/50 chocolate to dough.

Ingredients:
1 pound unsalted butter (room temperature)
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
2-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
4 eggs (room temperature)
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds of chocolate, chips, chunks mixed plus a little chopped

I use King Arthur pastry and bread flour. f you have not been to their web site and you like to bake, you need to visit their site! 🙂

To get started, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line all of your baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift all of your dry ingredients into a separate bowl.

In a large mixing bowl of your electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.

Reduce speed to low and add your dry ingredients and vanilla. Stop mixer, remove and clean off paddle. Now addd your chocolate and mix using spatula or by hand.

I like to use a scoop to keep all the cookies about the same size. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft about 12-14 minutes depending on your pan and oven.

Walnut cutting board, click picture to see more!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!!

 

Cheese boards, cutting boards and charcuterie platters