New Cutting Board

   I like doing woodworking when I have the time. Usually I'm working on projects that are enormous and move very slowly. I'll go weeks or months without seeing anything change or improve or reach completion. So it's really nice to go into the woodshop and come out a few hours later with a finished product. I made this cutting board as a birthday present for my Mom. It's 12"x16"x1", made with cherry, black walnut, white oak, and padauk, and coated with mineral oil.


   When I clamped it together after gluing it, I tightened some of the clamps before positioning all the others, and the board popped apart after the glue was halfway dry. Rookie mistake. I had to quickly scrape off as much of the old glue as possible, reglue and reclamp it, then fill in a few air bubbles after the glue dried. I also wish I had used bloodwood instead of padauk, since bloodwood is harder and has a finer grain, but I think it will be fine. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.