While a bit off topic,  there have not been any foundation benefit auctions in awhile so I thought what the heck.  I have just finished up 5 cherry end grain cutting boards that I make and my wife donates to Hospice for their annual auction.  I had enough cherry left over for a couple more so figured why not help out the fig cause. 

Last time I donated something and had an auction Aaron and DesertDance pitched a fit against it for some reason that still mystifies me so I am hoping this time they remain silent.   I make NO MONEY from this, I LOSE money since I bought the lumber.....hope that clears things up.  

The auction will be run in another thread and will start as soon as I finish the board.  Thought maybe some would like to see how they are made?  A bit of preadvertising for the auction:)

The boards are big, about 18" long by 16" wide and 2" thick, very heavy.  End grain boards are what the professionals use as they are self healing, have anti microbial properties and the knife literally bounces up off the board aiding in cutting while protecting and preserving the knives sharpness.  The board will have feet under it to hold it up off the counter and those feet are NOT counted as part of the thickness.   Not to be confused with the cheaper boards that are edge grain or flat grain. 

The board starts out as 2 6-10" wide and 8' long pieces of raw lumber.  This is not Lowes type lumber this is raw lumber right from a sawmill.  

 

 
 
As you can see it isn't straight so the first thing you do is hook it to a jig that has a straight edge and run it through a tablesaw to get one straight edge.  


You can see the wood a lot of times is not flat either.  So I cut it in half lengthwise and you can still see how cupped it is in the picture below.

 
It is then run through a jointer to flatten one face and one edge.

 

See if anyone spots the anomaly in the pic above:)  

We then put the pieces through the planer which flattens the other side and takes the lumber to the thickness you want.

 

So once cut up it went from that cupped unstraight board to this.....pretty lumber.

 

You then cut it into random width strips and glue them together.  

 

You need two of the glued up panels to make one end grain board.  At this stage if you were making a regular flat grain cutting board you would be done and have two 24"x18" cutting boards.

 

That is the stage they are at now. .....will add pictures as the process moves along.  

I should say....some may be wondering is that really cherry?  Yes.  Cherry when raw is lighter colored but as it ages and is exposed to the light it turns that rich dark red we are use to seeing in furniture.  

To be continued......

Can't wait. This should be a good auction. All positives.

Very cool that you are doing this. Bobby Flay might wanna join us now just so he can bid on this board!

Willis, a very nice project and for an excellent cause. I would think only positive comments.

The panels being cut to width on a sled on the tablesaw. 



 


Standing the cut pieces on their sides just to have a look.  
 

And the board.  Alternated a strip out of each panel.  The edges all need cleaned up so it fits together tightly then glue and trim and lots of sanding.  

 

You're an awesome guy, Wills!

Wills, surly your mistaken. No one would have even a slight problem with money being raised to benefit the foundation now would they? And further more if any one mistakenly did so don't you think they would apologize. Although I do remember one member posting that I had earned a free cutting as a new member but I never received it. Oh well others have certainly made up for it, there are some great folks here.

Willis The cutting board is looking awesome using the end grain for the surface is the way to go reminds me of the old time butcher blocks , can't wait to see the finished product cherry wood is one of my favorites as you said it darkens with age , just gets better looking as time goes on!

Way to go Willis good job and should be a beauty.  Just reminded me I have a pile of Cherry wood in the barn.  I need to come up with some projects and time.  Thank you for doing this work at your own expense for the foundation.

blessings

Sorry Wills, I only purchase cutting boards made out of FIG WOOD. Just send the leftover small branches to me for proper disposal.





Just kidding, I definitely will bid.

Looks like great progress so far, I miss having access to jointers and planers, so much work you can get done with them.  If you include shipping I will bid hahah.

That's gonna look really purdy!  Mahalo, Wills.

Very generous of you, I hope it works out for the best.

Very nice work!  And very generous of you as well.

Would love to have a shop like yours!

Am I missing something?!?

From all the little woodworking I know;
and after all that hard work,
I would have cut the 'final' boards
along-the-grain (not across).

Gorgi Thats how all the old butcher blocks were constructed the end grain is much tougher 

Could you image how many T-bones were cut on this baby? 

 

Dave, I was going to show the same. I remember the butcher block at the neighborhood meat market during my growing years. It looked almost like the photo only larger. I remember a lady neighbor who had a smaller bloc and loved the wearing because she could put certain foods on it (eggs, etc..) while cooking and not worry about them rolling onto the floor. I love butcher blocs.

Gorgi,

Cut the way you describe,   along the grain and stood up would be a edge grain board.  Edge grain is what they use most commonly for roll out boards or pastry boards.  For that purpose they are ideal as they are slick.  End grain is across the grain then stood on end so the end grain is up.  Picture it as a fist full of drinking straws all pointed up.  Those tubes allow the knife to fall between the tubes and not cut them which makes the board long wearing.  On edge grain picture the same hand full of straws held lengthwise so the ends are side to side you would be cutting straight across the fibers which causes much more damage and faster wear.  

Here are a couple boards I made recently that were gifts.  The smaller ones are cheese boards and are edged in live oak.  They are soaking in mineral oil which is what makes them resist water and protects the wood.

 

 

 

Beautiful!

That looks nice Wills.
I'll have to get with you about making some coffee tables.

OK.
Wood is one of the most natural resources we have on this planet earth.
And it can be used in many different ways.
Thanks for the explanation.

Looks good wills, wish I had the know how to do things like this.

Looks good wills, wish I had the know how to do things like this.