The birth of a free-form cutting board

[DaveO]

After making the last one of these, and attempting to stump y'all with the production method. I was asked by some to show the process in more detail, and I said that I would take pictures of the next one I made.
So here you go:

Ripped and jointed stock ready to be planed- Padauk and Purpleheart



After planing I glued the boards back together and trimmed to a uniform size.





Taped together and ready for the first set of cuts on the bandsaw.



After cutting and ready to have the Maple pinstripe strips added



A bunch of Maple strips ripped on the bandsaw and drum sanded to 1/16" thickness ready to be glued in place.



The first glue up



Stacked and taped and ready for the next set of cuts on the bandsaw



The final glue up.



Trimmed, planed and sanded. Still determining the finish to use, and waiting for the Purpleheart to turn purple (hopefully before the Padauk turns brown )



As usual I am not trilled with the outcome of the project. Somehow my first set of cuts didn't line up well on one of the boards and I had to scribe and recut the curves and that is why my horizontal lines don't line up. And I had a few issues with gaps not closing up fully, so they got filled with epoxy. But if I did everything perfect then I wouldn't be learning anything and that wouldn't be fun and challenging.
Dave

[sapwood]

Wunnerful DaveO! Your seminar answered several questions I pondered about the process.

Alas, I have one more . . . sorta along the lines Alan was heading.

How do you get a smooth enough cut on bandsaw to enable seamless looking glueups???

Roger

[DaveO]

Originally Posted by sapwood

How do you get a smooth enough cut on bandsaw to enable seamless looking glueups???

Roger

Shop elves

Luck I guess, I use a fast and smooth feed rate, and my bandsaw is tuned pretty well. I have always got smooth cuts off the bandsaw, not like off the table saw smooth, but good enough for this aplication. Possibly the force required to bend the Maple strips might compress the wood a little making a nice tight glue line
Dave

[woodguy1975]

Dave,

Nice job there dude! I really like the concept and can see applying that to other applications. Can you imagine that as a raised panel in a Figured maple frame. It would really be cool.

I do have a couple suggestions comments for ya to help you get error free if you don't mine. First of all your maple strips need to match the kerf of the balde you are cuttign exactly. 1/16" is pretty close, but doest that match your bandsaw keft exactly?

A second thought on cutting them. I know you have a scroll saw (for some reason)... why not use it with a thick blade like a No. 9. You'll get an even smoother cut with it.

It really is great stuff. I can definitely see doing a pair of panels for a set of doors like this.

John

[chris99z71]

As to John's comment above-
I would imagine that the kerf of the cut vs the thickness of the maple doesn't matter at all. After the cut, the two sides should be perfectly parallel and therefore any thickness of strip (provided it will bend) would be able to be placed inbetween.

[DaveO]

John, the last batch I did I used 3/32" thick strips, this time I got to aggressive with the drum sander. That could have contributed to some of my fit problems. And I think a little thicker pinstripe looks better also, like on my first batch.
Dave

[DaveO]

Originally Posted by chris99z71

As to John's comment above-
I would imagine that the kerf of the cut vs the thickness of the maple doesn't matter at all. After the cut, the two sides should be perfectly parallel and therefore any thickness of strip (provided it will bend) would be able to be placed inbetween.

Chris I think that I would agree with you, except if the strip is less than the thickness of the blade kerf.
Dave

[woodguy1975]

Originally Posted by DaveO

Chris I think that I would agree with you, except if the strip is less than the thickness of the blade kerf.
Dave

For the best result the strips should match the kerf exactly. The edges will be exactly paralell, but only the kerf distance away from each other. Greater or less and you will have problems. Cut a circle with a jig saw. Does the circle line right back up with the cutoff or is it off the thickness of the blade?

John

[DavidF]

Originally Posted by chris99z71

As to John's comment above-
I would imagine that the kerf of the cut vs the thickness of the maple doesn't matter at all. After the cut, the two sides should be perfectly parallel and therefore any thickness of strip (provided it will bend) would be able to be placed inbetween.

I think John is right. Lets say that the Radius of one of the curves is 5" to the inside of the blade. the other side of the piece has a radius of 5" + the blade thickness say 1/16th so that would be 5 1/16th Rad. Now suppose you add an 1/8th maple strip to the first 5" rad cut. the outside of the maple is now at 5 1/8" Rad and the second piece is at 5 1/16th so there will not be a truely tight match. The smaller the original radius the more accute the problem gets as the mismatch becomes a larger proportion of the radius. slight but possible important point. So the nearer the inlay is to the kerf the better.

[woodguy1975]

I think that is a good way to explain it Dave!

[chris99z71]

OK, I see what you guys are talking about now. I couldn't wrap my brain around it at first.

[michaelgarner]

daveO,
those are awesome,,I second the idea about using those in panel,,that would be awesome,,or a hall table, that would be waaaay cool. Good job bro. be blessed

[cpowell]

That looks awesome DaveO.

The math guy in me agrees with WGs thinking...and DavidF's translation to English.

FWIW the piece looks great with the slight offset. I never liked coloring inside the lines!

Great demo, DaveO!!!

Chuck

[NCPete]

Originally Posted by rcorne01

I agree. You might also want to consider a "weekend workshop" for a limited number of people. Wouldn't have to be as formal as a class.

Of course there is one more option - HOLLYWOOD! Either set up a video camera or find a friend willing to spend some time with you in your shop to record the process! Then make the video available.

Hey - that gives me an idea for a whole new cottage industry - Weekend project videos! Create a tape/DVD of about 4 or 5 projects that would take about a weekend to complete! If you want an agent, let me know! You could do your cutting board, Cathy some trivets,...

The Woodworking Channel is looking for just that kind of thing.

[DaveO]

But, then I would have to clean up my shop. It isn't fit to be shown to anyone. And get a body double, 'cause I ain't fit to be shown to no one either.

Dave

[michaelgarner]

you crack me up!!