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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Milling Black Walnut Flitches

A friend milled Walnut flitches for me this week. You never know what is inside a log before you start cutting but this Black Walnut log was beautiful inside.

Each piece is stacked in the order they were cut, just like the shape of the original log.

The first cut of a log or “Flitching Line” is the most important cut as the location of the first cut dictates the grain pattern for the entire sequence of cuts. Only years of experience on where the flitching line should be on the log will unveil the best the log has to offer in grain and color. If you get this first cut wrong, you could have unusable lumber.

This Black Walnut log is absolutely beautiful, just amazing! I was so excited to see the beautiful colors and grain.

Each flitch is around 14+ inches wide.

All of these boards were stacked in order of the cut and will be slowly air-dried. The boards will be stacked 10″ off the ground on a stable base. So that air can pass over each board, sticker boards are placed between each board. The sticker boards are all the same size or it will cause warped boards as the boards would be unevenly  stacked. Once the stack is completed, each end of the boards will be painted with Anchorseal 2 to seal the ends of each board. Sealing the ends prevents splitting, cracking and lows down the drying process.

All of these boards were cut to a thickness of 5/4. It generally takes  about a year to dry 5/4 before it can be used. The moisture content was 100% when these were cut. The moisture content will be monitored during the drying process. As I monitor the moisture I will also make sure that the flitches do not dry too fast which will cause splitting and cracking.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how logs are milled!  These boards are going to make some beautiful pieces!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Walnut Cutting Boards

Photo credit Tricia Buice

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Custom Quilted Flame Maple Cutting Board – Part II

This board was custom made for my blogger friend over at Forest Garden blog, she wanted the wood to look as natural as possible. She selected Flamed Quilted Maple for the board and I was lucky to find a piece with a live edge. She did not want a large cutting board but one that fit into her space that she could use everyday. She likes beautiful woods, but wanted it all organic and artistic as well as functional.

The live edge board I had found was only approximate 9-1/2 inches wide. The board needed to be 12 x 15 inches. To provide the extra 2-1/2 inches or so I added a piece of Flamed Quilted Maple from another board that was a different shade that would help to off set the live edge and that would look nice.

After cutting the two boards to match, gluing the dominos to attach the boards I glued them using Titebond III which is a water proof glue. The board stayed in the clamp press for 24 hours before I was able to run the board thru the drum sander to insure it was perfectly flat. Then I sanded this board smooth like I do all my boards to 1200 grit. After wiping down the board to remove all the fine dust using a tact cloth,  I then placed the board into a food grade mineral oil bath for about 30 minutes. Sitting in the bath of mineral oil allows the wood to soaks in the oil creating a barrier and a nice finish. I then let it drain for an hour before applying a warm mineral oil and food grade beeswax mixture. The warm mineral oil and beeswax is the final finish that adds protection. As you can see in the picture the sheen is from the warm final finish. I also shipped a tin of my Wood Conditioner!

Debbie (my wife) was in the shop last week and saw this board before it was sanded and fell in love with it. Debbie has a basket full of cutting boards but you guessed it, I am making her one just like it this week!!

I shipped the board on Monday, FedEx home Delivery, it arrived today around 11:45and shortly after being delivered I received the following email;

Dear Michael,
It board is absolutely magnificent!  My husband says that he’s not sure now what he was expecting, but that what you have created blows away whatever expectation he had.  He has informed me that it is a piece of art, and I shouldn’t use it….

At the moment it is resting in the light where we can visit it and admire it 😉  Not in the kitchen…..

I will use it and enjoy it-  he wants me to use it as a serving piece, not an every day work surface.  And truthfully, the grains and patterning in the wood you chose is just magnificent.   It is peopled with all sorts of beings- we’ve found a bear, several eyes, and other creatures so far.

I love how the wood contrasts on one side of the board, and melts almost seamlessly from the large piece of wood to the smaller one on the reverse.  You matched the grains perfectly so they look almost like they grew together.

There just aren’t enough words, Michael.  It is so absolutely smooth, and the extra sanding makes the grain appear mulch-dimensional.  It shimmers and moves with the light.

We love the live edge.  It is perfectly finished, beautifully shaded, wonderfully sculpted, and transports this piece from the everyday to the extraordinary.

Thank you so much for all of the love and care you poured into creating this wonderful cutting/serving board.  We will enjoy it so much.

…..So I think she likes it! It makes be very happy when someone orders from me and really likes my work! I hope she will tell all of her friends!  Thank you for ordering from me! 🙂

Please visit Forest Garden, she takes beautiful photographs! 

Handcrafted Ice Cream Scoops 

Also check out my engraved ice cream scoop handles!

12 inch round Cherry board that just came out of the food grade mineral oil bath! Next it will get a warm food grade mineral oil and beeswax applied for the final finish and protective coating!

Custom Quilted Flame Maple Cutting Board – Part I

A few weeks ago a blogger friend at Forest Garden blog and I were emailing about the holidays, grandchildren, the weather, etc. and she mentioned that she wanted another cutting board. She was looking for a unique cutting board, wanted a live edge, wanted a wood with character and wanted the board to be unique!

She soon picked out Quilted Flame Maple wood. I then started looking for a really nice piece that she might like. I found the two boards in the first picture, both are approximately 26 inches long and 10 inches wide. Since the board on the left had the nicer live edge, this would be the board I would use.

I sent her pictures and she loved it. We planned to keep the live edge on one side. The dimensions of her new board needed to be 12 x 14, which was an exact size for the area she planned to store it to make is easy to use everyday. Over the next week I started working on her board.

Check out Forest Garden blog!

Stay tuned for Part II coming soon!

Enjoy your evening! 🙂

 

Below are a couple Walnut Teardrop Cutting boards with handle and a Walnut Round Cutting board with handle. All of these boards just came out of the oil bath after an hour and are drying, waiting for the last finishing process! The oil makes the boards really shinny until it is dry.

 

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

 

 

 

Wood Supply

 

I had a new wood supply of Black Walnut land this week…four beautiful pieces! These came from a huge Black Walnut tree, each piece is between 11 to 13 inches wide, 4/4 thick.

All of these have beautiful markings, color and curly designs, so pretty. These are going to make some beautiful pieces after sanded and finished.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!!! 

Go Tigers!  

The Clemson Tigers won today 35 to 17 against South Carolina!!!

 

 

 

 

Shopping!

Cheese Boards

Here’s a little preview of some of my work! Browse my site for more designs and options. All of my boards are handcrafted one at a time. Read more, About My Work.

Need a perfect gift idea?

Our cutting boards, serving boards, cheese boards all make great Christmas gifts, wedding, housewarming, anniversary and birthday gifts too!

All orders over $100, FREE shipping to a single address until midnight Friday, December 5th.

Cutting Boards

Teardrop Cutting Boards

Bread Boards   Baguette Boards

Handcrafted Ice Cream Scoop

Honey Dipping Sticks

Wood Conditioner Board Butter

All board orders receive a tin of my Wood Conditioner!

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Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Cutting Boards Greenville SC

New Teardrop Cutting Board

I decided I needed to offer a new design board this year for the Holidays! What I came up with is a take off from the teardrop board I offered last year during the Holidays. The teardrop cutting board last year did not have a handle.

          

Teardrop Board with Handle

Teardrop shaped but with a handle. The above pictures are walnut but I can also make this board using Birds Eye Maple or Quilted Maple. This board could be used as a serving board, cheese board or cutting board. Link to detail page:  Teardrop Cutting Board

 

         

One of my most popular boards is the round board, the above pictures show this board in Walnut and Birds Eye Maple. In the picture to the far left next to the jar of honey are the Honey Sticks made from Walnut.  Click for more detail:  Cheese Board

         

The first picture shows two beautiful Birds Eye Maple boards, second picture shows a stack off Walnut, Quilted Maple and Birds Eye Maple boards and Honey Sticks! You can find more details here: Honey Sticks

Any of these boards would make a great Christmas gift for family or friends! All of my  boards are handcraft one at a time, so allow plenty of time for me to make the board and don’t forget about shipping transit time!

Be sure to check out my Testimonial page!

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Cheese Boards

 

Birds Eye Maple

I have added a new Cheese Board or it can also be used as a cutting board. Size I have available are 8 inch round, 10 inch round and 12 inch round. The handle adds another 4 inch plus to the length depending on the size board. You can find my new boards on this page, Cheese Boards

The first picture (above) is Birds Eye Maple, very beautiful and hard to find.

Walnut

Walnut is very popular and makes a beautiful board. Many times the walnut will have curly designs in the wood and cream color streaks that add character.

Quilted Flamed Maple

Quilted Flamed Maple is very beautiful, you can see the beautiful flame colors in the boards above.

All of my boards are hand sanded to a smooth finish then finished with numerous coats of food safe mineral oil then top coated with mineral oil and beeswax. All boards are shipped with a tin of my Wood Conditioner!

 

Makes a very nice gift for someone who likes to cook and entertain family and friends

Charcuterie boards, cheese boards and cutting boards make great Christmas gifts or a nice anytime gift for a friend that likes to cook or entertain! If you get them engraved it makes the gift more personal!!

Do you have a favorite cutting board that you use all the time? I would love to see pictures of your boards!

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