I made a friend of mine an end grain ash and walnut cutting board. This was my first large cutting board. It's roughly 24"x16"x3/4". This was 28 individual pieces of ash and 12 pieces of walnut that were glued up. The pieces started out over 1" thick and I drum sanded them down to under 3/4" once it was all glued up. The ash was glued up first and then the walnut. The border was going to be maple but I thought that was ugly. I could not be happier with how the cutting board looks but upon closer inspection, I'm not happy (the old 'Looks good from afar but far from good'). The board will warp when left flat but if I flip it over, it gets close to flat again.
I will get paid for the cutting board and I just don't feel great about it. If he's not happy with the board - I will make a new one. But I'd like to know how to avoid this in the future. I don't have a true shop - just my garage. The wood has been in the shop for a while so time to acclimate. I did wet the board to raise the grain and re-sand. Clearly (according to the majority of my posts) - glue up is a challenge for me. I don't believe I over-tighten the clamps.
And next board I make - I will glue up edge pieces first and then cut a strip of end grain. That may help.
Thoughts? Thanks...
I will get paid for the cutting board and I just don't feel great about it. If he's not happy with the board - I will make a new one. But I'd like to know how to avoid this in the future. I don't have a true shop - just my garage. The wood has been in the shop for a while so time to acclimate. I did wet the board to raise the grain and re-sand. Clearly (according to the majority of my posts) - glue up is a challenge for me. I don't believe I over-tighten the clamps.
And next board I make - I will glue up edge pieces first and then cut a strip of end grain. That may help.
Thoughts? Thanks...