# New Butcher Blocks Gluing Up



## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Relaxing project in between finishing and all the other stuff going on.

Been breaking down scraps into cutting boards. Wanted to make this style for a while. I got that cutting board designer which actually helped me to visualize the board layouts and clarify some things. So, wound up being worth the $10. 

For some reason, I just don't visualize patterns broken down very well. Weird.


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## Paarker (Mar 20, 2013)

Can't wait to see it finished.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Looks good! I actually just finished one with that same pattern. My final product was a mix of end and face grain which made sanding a little tricky. If yours is the same, make sure you don't focus the sander in one spot to long or the surface will start to form valleys where the face grain is.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Yeah, I went over the glue up very carefully and cut the face grain maple a little proud of the end grain walnut. I went over those with a low angle block and now just some light belt sanding and ROS.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

gideon, maybe you are JUST TO YOUNG, hehehe, or need some of dim dare 3-D glasses. 

Can't wait to seeeeeee it finished!

Dale in Indy


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Done. Got em good on my first try.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Very nice, really like the angled edge,.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

thanks. i'm not a fan of external or routed handles so i bevel cut to make handling easy. makes for a nicer look too.

already sold the two smaller ones.


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Nice work :thumbsup:

I'm really liking the beveled edges.


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

Those turned out AWESOME!!!! I really like that brick pattern. I'd like to make some more cutting boards myself but I wouldn't know what to do with them. I've already given one to everyone I like :yes:


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## jbwhitford (Jan 28, 2014)

Out f curiosity How did you make that pattern?


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

two panels with different spacing of maple pieces. then I used face grain maple to separate the end grain sections.

not overly difficult but tedious with a whole lot of cuts.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Burb said:


> Those turned out AWESOME!!!! I really like that brick pattern. I'd like to make some more cutting boards myself but I wouldn't know what to do with them. I've already given one to everyone I like :yes:


yeah, i know. many of my friends have received the edge grain boards as gifts, they've bought edge grain too before I had my planer. Then I started making the end grain boards and lots of people have bought those, friends got gifts and bought gifts for other people too.

My wife likes a smaller board so she has an end and edge, I have a large end and good size edge. So, my wife and have four boards total.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

I get a lot of custom requests for these but I don't really want to buy material dedicated only to boards. Too much labor. So its not too often that I make them.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

I have NOT done any EDGE cutting on my planner, HOW WELL DOES THAT WORK, AND ANY SAFETY ISSUES I NEED TO BE AWARE OF?

Do you hit the high spots with a belt sander first?

Just a wondering,

Dale in Indy


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Smith Brother said:


> I have NOT done any EDGE cutting on my planner, HOW WELL DOES THAT WORK, AND ANY SAFETY ISSUES I NEED TO BE AWARE OF?
> 
> Do you hit the high spots with a belt sander first?
> 
> ...


No, i never do that! I got my planer and used it on the edge grain which made end grain possible. 

I dont want to think what would happen if i planed end grain... especially with a dewalt 735


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

gideon said:


> I dont want to think what would happen if i planed end grain... especially with a dewalt 735


This was ONE of the reasons I used to "justify" the purchase of my drum sander. The OTHER reason being I just had to have it cause I didn't have one yet!!!


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

I'm NOT understanding your statement, " No, i never do that! I got my planer and used it on the edge grain which made end grain possible".

Thanks,

Dale in Indy


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Smith Brother said:


> I'm NOT understanding your statement, " No, i never do that! I got my planer and used it on the edge grain which made end grain possible".
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dale in Indy



planing edge grain glue ups flattens them so they can be made into end grain. I never run end grain thru the planer... never.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Burb said:


> This was ONE of the reasons I used to "justify" the purchase of my drum sander. The OTHER reason being I just had to have it cause I didn't have one yet!!!


oh, if i had enough orders for boards, i'd have a drum sander in a heartbeat. i assume thats how they are mass produced by koors and companies like that.


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## jbwhitford (Jan 28, 2014)

I saw a drum sander being used for the first time today. A friend made a table in welding and the top is a 2.5-3 inch piece of solid cherry cut from a log. We took it to our wood shop at school and man was that ever cool.


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## Smith Brother (Dec 9, 2012)

OK, understand. I had always thought running END GRAIN through the planer was a NO NO, but thought maybe I was missing something in your comment. 

Thank You, I was thinking right.

Dale in Indy


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## Midlandbob (Sep 5, 2011)

Those look really good. Is the dark part end grain and the light part face grain??
What is the oldest completed board you have.? I wouldn't have thought glue would last many season changes with cross grain glue ups or is there something I am missing?
The beveled edge does give a nice contemporary look.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Midlandbob said:


> Those look really good. Is the dark part end grain and the light part face grain??
> What is the oldest completed board you have.? I wouldn't have thought glue would last many season changes with cross grain glue ups or is there something I am missing?
> The beveled edge does give a nice contemporary look.


dark is end grain. 

this is first board I've made this way so we'll see what it does movementwise. I can't imagine that there would be a problem - there's no end grain to end grain joins.


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## Midlandbob (Sep 5, 2011)

End grain at a glue line is a problem as glues sticks poorly to end grain.
Wood object design tries to avoid cross grain that is long grain glued or fixed at 90 degrees to each other as the side grain board needs to move/ change dimension with humidity changes but the long grain does not. A few moisture cycles can pop the glue line. Hope I'm wrong & they work out as they look good.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Gideon, do you still have any of these boards or did you sell them all? I was curious as to how the surfaces felt now since some time has passed. I made one almost identical to yours a while back, and when I took it out last night to take some pictures, I could really feel the glue lines between the end grain and long grain. I sighted down the board and you can't see the difference, but I could definitely feel it. The board was coated, and then sat unused for about a month. Have you noticed this?


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

captainawesome said:


> Gideon, do you still have any of these boards or did you sell them all? I was curious as to how the surfaces felt now since some time has passed. I made one almost identical to yours a while back, and when I took it out last night to take some pictures, I could really feel the glue lines between the end grain and long grain. I sighted down the board and you can't see the difference, but I could definitely feel it. The board was coated, and then sat unused for about a month. Have you noticed this?


I held back selling the large one so I could watch it. I can feel many of the seams but there's no indication of splitting or failure. The people who bought the other two use them nearly daily and love them - no failures.

It is common to be able to feel the seams after a short period of time. Using an oil with wax in it seems to provide more of a "finished" surface and covers up that feel. But, as people begin to use the boards and they are exposed to moisture and water, they will feel the seams. It just is what it is. But it's nothing to worry about unless they put the board in the sink and let it sit in water. That would be a problem.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

I was never too worried about failure, but didn't like how much I could feel the lines.

The way I do all my boards is to sand them through 220 and then wipe them down with a wet rag. I mean really wipe them down and raise the grain everywhere. Then I'll do a final sanding of 220 the following day. I use a mineral oil/paraffin wax coating (Kenbo's recipe) and get a finish that looks like glass. That's usually what all of the recipients compliment on first is how smooth it is.

Keep me posted on how yours holds up and I'll do the same.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

I never thought of wetting the boards down. Great idea. I'll do that next time


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

gideon said:


> I never thought of wetting the boards down. Great idea. I'll do that next time


Works like a charm. Just DON'T use a spray bottle or you'll end up with little mold spots everywhere the next day...


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