# Cut-off cutting boards



## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Not wanting to hijack JFPNCM (Jon) thread on his cutting board...thought I'd post a few of the ones I did over the winter after the holidays. I had a ton of cut-off's and found this is the best way to go about using up the wood. That and the fact that the wife and kid were all about me making these and selling them. Not much of a salesman, so I have made other arrangements  These were all finished in a food grade mineral oil and bee's wax

Hope you guys like em.. I found to my surprise they were actually alot of fun to make and a couple of them were quite the challenge both in terms of cutting accuracy and in glue-ups..Kinda pic heavy.. I have another dozen sitting on my router table this afternoon, waiting for an oil bath and wax.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

and if that wasn't annoying enough, here are a few more. This bath of pics, the boards were just wet down for the pics...need to be oiled up and waxed yet...Then there are another dozen like I said long grain bread boards waiting in line..


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

@TwoSkies57

Bill: Excellent boards, I really appreciate the posts! I have no doubt there were some very challenging cuts and glue ups involved in those. It will take some time to reason through how one would layout those pieces to achieve the really dramatic 3D effect, particularly as seen in the 1st and 2nd images in your 2nd post. 

What "maple" did you use for the white keys on the keyboard? I just randomly picked a few pieces but they certainly don't stand out as well as yours do.

Again, amazing boards, thanks for the post.


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## billyjim (Feb 11, 2012)

Bill you have some beautiful boards there. I like to make boards so I can appreciate how challenging some of those are.


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Bill, those boards are quite handsome. A couple of the pics in your first thread made my eyes go cross-eyed - they were amazing.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Fantastic!!!! But who would want to chop on them??? Set em out for display!!!!


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Very , very impressive Bill ! 
Wow you are very creative with your ideas . I love the ones that darn near look 3D , and the differant thicknesses look fantastic too


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Bill those are fantastic, like I said awhile ago it becomes addictive they are so much fun to make. If you are giving them away, you will have no trouble finding people who want them. Most of the ones I made were given to charity auctions and some went for $125. and they were not as creative as yours. I never got into the 3D stuff. 

Be sure to show the next set of pictures. You are sure doing a nice job on those. I hope the people who get them appreciate them as much as we do here.
Herb


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

show o9ff!!!...
and you have every reason to be...


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Those are great, Bill, just great!! We've been making cutting boards for a while but not that creative. Fun to make, for sure. Every time I get a handful of Walnut, Maple, and Cherry scraps I start gluing up for another cutting board although the pattern is random, if that qualifies as a pattern. I need to try one of those 3D versions. 

David


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

You were a busy boy this winter! Excellent work.


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## jj777746 (Jan 17, 2015)

Hi Bill,some of your designs are hypnotic to look at.Absolutely beautiful & so well made.Congratulations.Jamesjj777746


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Bill you are an expert. I don't think I have seen better quality cutting boards.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

All are great, but the round ones really caught my eye. Fantastic work!


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## Bob Adams (Jul 5, 2014)

Outstanding!


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## chessnut2 (Sep 15, 2011)

They are all stunning, Bill. Do you have any advice for where to learn how to do that?


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## Outside The Box (Apr 13, 2015)

So very, very cool! You should listen to the women in your life and sell those! A farmer's market perhaps? 
Or an online website...
Kathleen


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## Arcola60 (Jul 4, 2009)

Wow! Bill those boards look fantastic! Great attention to detail, first class quality craftsmanship!
Thank you for posting your work.

Ellery "Bud" Becnel


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

JFPNCM said:


> @TwoSkies57
> 
> Bill: Excellent boards, I really appreciate the posts! I have no doubt there were some very challenging cuts and glue ups involved in those. It will take some time to reason through how one would layout those pieces to achieve the really dramatic 3D effect, particularly as seen in the 1st and 2nd images in your 2nd post.
> 
> ...


 @JFPNCM Thanks for the kind words Jon. Perhaps surprisingly enough, the actual cuts were not so much challenging as there was a absolute need for accuracy of angles and dimensional precision. Particularly on the boards that were fitted together, namely the 3D boards. The 1st and 2nd boards in post #2 are good examples, board #4 in 2nd post was a pain in the butt. My 1st attempt at it got scrapped out of frustration. In all 3 of those boards, never has "accumulated error" been so evident. 

I used hard (sugar) maple on the piano board. All from the same board. Last fall I picked up about 150bf of 5/4 hard maple. 90% of it was just beautiful once milled up. The walnut I used was from a couple cutoff boards. mistake on my part. While a blind man runnin' would never notice it, I can see the difference between colors. Then instead of using ebony veneer (I save that stuff for special occasions) I just used some black dyed popular. nobody will know the difference but us *L*. Next time I do one of those (just enjoyed making it) I will pay particular attention to the grain direction in the dark keys. straight grain for the tops and something with a consistent angle for the sides and a horizontal grain for the front. It may seem like a little thing, but some experiment after the fact reveal that it adds tremendously to the 3D effect. My pictures as I'm sure yours, really don't do the piece justice. Its really kind of a cool project. Those little details that I mention, are sure to take it to another level altogether.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

billyjim said:


> Bill you have some beautiful boards there. I like to make boards so I can appreciate how challenging some of those are.


 @billyjim That you sir...  appreciate the kind words. I do enjoy a challenge. To be honest, not really my cup of tea so-to-speak, but dang, they are kind of addicting once you get going. And really an enjoyable process/build


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

vchiarelli said:


> Bill, those boards are quite handsome. A couple of the pics in your first thread made my eyes go cross-eyed - they were amazing.


 @vchiarelli Thanks Vince...appreciate it  you think looking at em makes ya crossed eye, you ought to try farting around with them for a while. I can't say how many times while piecing things together, I got it wrong just cuz things start to run together. The pics really don't do em justice though. As you circle around any of the 3D boards, the patterns shift just a little. really pretty cool stuff.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

honesttjohn said:


> Fantastic!!!! But who would want to chop on them??? Set em out for display!!!!


 @honesttjohn
Thank you John, much appreciated. I have to agree with ya. some of them are kinda too pretty to be slicing up on...


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Very nice work. N


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> Very , very impressive Bill !
> Wow you are very creative with your ideas . I love the ones that darn near look 3D , and the differant thicknesses look fantastic too


 @Rainman Thanks Rick... 

To be honest, the majority of the boards are original in so much as that I picked the species and combinations to be used. The design aspect of them all, especially the 3D boards were found on the net. The thickness of each was due to the available materials (remember, all of these were made from the cut-off bin) as much as anything else. From what I could gather, true cutting boards begin at around 2"s thick and up. Bread boards and cheese boards and the like are half that. What you will find is that thickness's are all over the map regardless of intended use.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Herb Stoops said:


> Bill those are fantastic, like I said awhile ago it becomes addictive they are so much fun to make. If you are giving them away, you will have no trouble finding people who want them. Most of the ones I made were given to charity auctions and some went for $125. and they were not as creative as yours. I never got into the 3D stuff.
> 
> Be sure to show the next set of pictures. You are sure doing a nice job on those. I hope the people who get them appreciate them as much as we do here.
> Herb


 @Herb Stoops 
Thank you Herb, very much appreciate the kind words. You're absolutely right, it can become addictive. I found myself really enjoying it. Typically I enjoy furniture and larger kind of projects, but dang, these were fun, quick and with a few exceptions, relatively easy to do. These were all ment for sale. I made a couple of the 3d squares and sold them both for 200 in a heartbeat. This is what got the Mrs. and the kid of the make em and sell em bandwagon. *LOL* The 3D stuff was the most fun, yet most challenging as well. I would say you have to give 1 or 2 a try just to see how important accuracy is. 

I'll try to make it a point to get the rest of em posted. Folks seem to enjoy seeing these.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> show o9ff!!!...
> and you have every reason to be...


 @Stick486 Thank you sir...

Maybe just a little >


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Wow...just wow!!! 
You've set a pretty high benchmark for the rest of us.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

difalkner said:


> Those are great, Bill, just great!! We've been making cutting boards for a while but not that creative. Fun to make, for sure. Every time I get a handful of Walnut, Maple, and Cherry scraps I start gluing up for another cutting board although the pattern is random, if that qualifies as a pattern. I need to try one of those 3D versions.
> 
> David


 @difalkner Thank you sir... kind words indeed  

Those are my top 3 choices as well...but throw in some Paduk or some Purpleheart or Mahogany and it just kinda throws in a whole new element. Yes sir, give the 3D a go..I would think that since you have made your share of boards, you'll find the 3D's quite enjoyable to build, however, beware the potential for frustration at first. Trust me on that *L*


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> You were a busy boy this winter! Excellent work.


 @Cherryville Chuck

Thanks Chucks, yes, it was a busy winter...almost too busy in some regards. I guess the good news was that I had alot of cut-off's that for a change, I didn't take out to the firepit...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

jj777746 said:


> Hi Bill,some of your designs are hypnotic to look at.Absolutely beautiful & so well made.Congratulations.Jamesjj777746


 @jj777746 

Thank you James for the kind words. I wish I could take credit for the "designs" There are obviously some guys out there with WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY to much time on their hands :wink: They did turn out well for the most part, however some took a little trial and error.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

hawkeye10 said:


> Bill you are an expert. I don't think I have seen better quality cutting boards.


 @hawkeye10

Thank you sir... perhaps just a tad over rated, but I'll take it anyways :grin: I'll let everyone in on a little secret. For the most part (no so much the 3D's) these boards are relatively straight forward and I wouldn't say easy, but not out of the skillset for most to do and do well.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

kp91 said:


> All are great, but the round ones really caught my eye. Fantastic work!


 @kp91 thank you for the kind words Doug...

seems you and I are in the minority. I prefer the round ones myself. One thing for certain, there is no one size or shape that fits all for any of em...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Bob Adams said:


> Outstanding!


 @Bob Adams

thank you sir! I'm glad you enjoyed em


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

chessnut2 said:


> They are all stunning, Bill. Do you have any advice for where to learn how to do that?


 @chessnut2

Thank you for the kind words Jim..

Advise.. well, YouTube is where I garnished alot of ideas from. If you do a google on cutting boards there is a ton of free info available. Aside from the 3D boards, none are bang your head against the wall difficult to make. Decent wood for starters. A decent tablesaw and lots of clamps. Some guys like to use their planers to thickness down the boards, I used my drum sander, taking care beforehand to get things as close as I could. Everything can be hand sanded, but man, I'm here to warn ya, that will be alot like work.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Outside The Box said:


> So very, very cool! You should listen to the women in your life and sell those! A farmer's market perhaps?
> Or an online website...
> Kathleen


 @Outside The Box

Thank you Kathleen. Glad you like em. I am listening *L*..as the wife would say, "For a change"..


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Arcola60 said:


> Wow! Bill those boards look fantastic! Great attention to detail, first class quality craftsmanship!
> Thank you for posting your work.
> 
> Ellery "Bud" Becnel


 @Arcola60

Kind words indeed, thank you Ellery,,, I'm most pleased to see you enjoyed em.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

neville9999 said:


> Very nice work. N


 @neville9999

Thank you sir...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

DaninVan said:


> Wow...just wow!!!
> You've set a pretty high benchmark for the rest of us.


 @DaninVan

 Thanks Dan... glad you liked em. 

AS far as that benchmark goes, you're the guy building the darn thing in the first place :x


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Like them Bill, but you need plan your project better way to much left wood left if you make that many boards


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Semipro said:


> Like them Bill, but you need plan your project better way to much left wood left if you make that many boards


Thanks John..

Actually I think the problem is becoming way too many projects *L*


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi, Bill. 
I am envious. I´d never use one of them as cutting board!!!


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

@TwoSkies57

Bill: Appreciate the overview on the maple for the keys and the clue on the dyed poplar. That would certainly be a LOT cheaper. 

I agree with all the comments offered by others those boards are magnificent. Amazing what one can pick up firm the net these days. I'll need to take a look around there and you are quite right, these boards can be addictive.


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## HHJ (Mar 27, 2017)

Bill, would you mind providing me lessons for making such boards? I would really love to learn the method and techniques!


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Beautiful boards Bill.

Looks like you are staying busy in the shop.


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## comp56 (Mar 30, 2017)

nice stuff, much cutting with these boards...no pun intended...


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## rrrun (Jun 17, 2014)

Wonderful work. My only quibble is that they were "made from scrap." I respectfully decline to use that description: nothing of such beauty comes from scrap. A lot of love went into these boards.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

papasombre said:


> Hi, Bill.
> I am envious. I´d never use one of them as cutting board!!!


Alexis,,, its always good to see your still posting!!! Thank you sir, always appreciate your feedback...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

HHJ said:


> Bill, would you mind providing me lessons for making such boards? I would really love to learn the method and techniques!



HHJ, 

I don't have any more of these in the works right now, but I may just do a 'how-to' next time around. In the mean time,,, YouTube has a life times worth of information on how to make em...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

MEBCWD said:


> Beautiful boards Bill.
> 
> Looks like you are staying busy in the shop.


Thank you Mike... appreciate it very much...

yeah, busy alright,,,and these were all done with what was left of all that being busy. Then I came up with coasters made from the cutoffs, of the cut offs :grin: does it ever end.....*L*


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

comp56 said:


> nice stuff, much cutting with these boards...no pun intended...



Thanks Tony !!! I hope alot of cutting..


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

rrrun said:


> Wonderful work. My only quibble is that they were "made from scrap." I respectfully decline to use that description: nothing of such beauty comes from scrap. A lot of love went into these boards.


Thank you Henry....appreciate it...

I guess you might say, one man's scrap is another man's treasure


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