Project Information
I will start this off by saying I HATE the average live edge cutting board. Nothing says hard work like a sanded and oiled slab of wood. To me, that's just cheating. Anyone can make one. I swore I would never make one.
But then…
Our local Woodcraft got some walnut slabs in and I was convinced by one of the awesome employees to buy one. It sat around the house and then moved into the garage where it sat for a few days.
Today, while my husband was out with the little one, I decided to play around with it.
I used the jig saw to cut off a piece that was a manageable length (About 16"). Removed the bark (by far, my favorite part). Ran it through the planer since it was rough cut. Then off to the cross cut sled it went. Trimmed the end up a bit and flipped it around to saw the piece in half (roughly). I used pieces of wood left over from other projects for the stripes. Glued and clamped… popped out of the clamps once and then clamped again. Once the glue had set it was hand planed and sanded.
It looked so nice that I decided to make a second one before I even finished the first. This one was made with a better design (photo #1). I used the same procedure to make this one, but I added an awesome center stripe of birdseye maple, canarywood, and wenge.
Once planed, I finished both boards at the same time. I drilled a 1 1/2" in the upper left corner of both boards and routed the hole. I rounded the corners of each board on the band saw. Sanded the end grain down and rounded over the edges with the sander a bit. I sanded the remainder of the bark off by hand. Oiled, but not yet waxed since somehow my wax mix has disappeared and I will have to make another batch tomorrow.
After making these, I actually love "live edge"... my live edge. I had fun making them too and that's what really matters.
Looking forward to making a few more.
But then…
Our local Woodcraft got some walnut slabs in and I was convinced by one of the awesome employees to buy one. It sat around the house and then moved into the garage where it sat for a few days.
Today, while my husband was out with the little one, I decided to play around with it.
I used the jig saw to cut off a piece that was a manageable length (About 16"). Removed the bark (by far, my favorite part). Ran it through the planer since it was rough cut. Then off to the cross cut sled it went. Trimmed the end up a bit and flipped it around to saw the piece in half (roughly). I used pieces of wood left over from other projects for the stripes. Glued and clamped… popped out of the clamps once and then clamped again. Once the glue had set it was hand planed and sanded.
It looked so nice that I decided to make a second one before I even finished the first. This one was made with a better design (photo #1). I used the same procedure to make this one, but I added an awesome center stripe of birdseye maple, canarywood, and wenge.
Once planed, I finished both boards at the same time. I drilled a 1 1/2" in the upper left corner of both boards and routed the hole. I rounded the corners of each board on the band saw. Sanded the end grain down and rounded over the edges with the sander a bit. I sanded the remainder of the bark off by hand. Oiled, but not yet waxed since somehow my wax mix has disappeared and I will have to make another batch tomorrow.
After making these, I actually love "live edge"... my live edge. I had fun making them too and that's what really matters.
Looking forward to making a few more.