Any woodworkers?

Agree and X2

 

Makes sense. The "cutting board kits" seem to all have maple, walnut, cherry instead of more colorful options. I knew about "open pore" but had not played with such a markedly-open sample as padauk before (or probably cared as much ... based on previous needs). Also explains why a "wood wax" is sold in a package with an oil.

Thanks for the input.

 

Most food safe waxes are blended with oil to make them Soft and easier to apply. I make my own with a blend of mineral oil and bees wax and some carnauba wax. You can also use tongue oil, boiled linseed oil, etc. I try and use oils that won't go rancid.

 

Some times the direction of the grains relative to planer head helps. By that i mean if its tearing out grains rotate the boards 180° and lighter passes. Same with sanding.

 

Yeah ... was reading a few days ago (cannot remember exactly where) about "natural oil" instead of "mineral oil". My brother was told about the padauk pores and he said he trusts my judgement. So rebuild with maple/whiteoak/cherry/maybe-walnut but personal enhancements is in line.

So ... new wood, more patience and application of "epoxy carefully". Oil and wax will be the next step after the board is setting up.

Thanks for the advice and (some) confirmation that I was able to evaluate correctly based on the build.

 

Even the end of the padauk cut off for squaring show this rice-grain with little or no sanding. I have no planer but will take your advice about sanding direction.

 

A coat of pure oil and then a coat of oil and wax. I like to submerge my boards in a tub of oil so it can soak up as much as it wants. Be very careful with oily rags, lay them out flat on a concrete surface to avoid spontaneous combustion and a fire. Not so much of a problem with mineral oil because it doesn't cure. But blo and tung oil can and will combust if not handled properly.

 

Thats a lot of the complaints of using paduk for cutting boards

 

Oily rags ... read that too but thanks for the reminder.

I made too many errors on this first board. Lined up one side flat for gluing but used the OTHER side for appearance after heavy sanding. Epoxy pour was too quick instead of super-slow-steady and the board not EXACTLY PERFECTLY level. So left set-epoxy to sand off the wood, which makes depressions.

Basically, too damned fast and reckless.

 

What mix do you prefer for mixing wax and oil? 50:50, or a visual consistency? Some other measurement?

 

I .ake failures too, Lol. I. Making this cross for one of my mentors at church. This is his favorite scripture quote.
I used a Drexel with a fine point cone and then filled it in with a paint pen. But when I sanded the excess of the letters where too thin.

So I changed to a ball bit and carved it all out and started over on the Roman word. PaInted it again and I'll sand it when dry. This will get a polycrylic finish when I get the letters done.

Carving is not a skill I'm very good at, this is my first attempt at something like this.

 

4 parts mineral oil to one part wax. I make it on a hot plate, melt the wax and then slowly add the oil andd let it heat up and stir it as it melts. You can adjust the wax to your liking, more wax makes a thicker paste. I like it a little on the thinner oily side so it soaks into the wood when applied. I give a small container to the recipient of my boards. You can use this mixture on any wooden utensil.

 

Here's my process for making a mineral oil and wax blend for cutting boards and wooden utensils.
I start with bees wax that I get from a bee keeper

I melt the wax in a double boiler that I purchased just for this task. Don't use your wife's pans! Lol.

A slow water boil. I melt it in the measuring cup first so I can measure the proprtions

I add a little carnauba wax that I get off Amazon. It makes the wax part a little harder and longer lasting.

Melting the carnauba wax on top of the bees wax.

Wax transfered to the pot.

Add the mineral oil and allow it to heat up again. When you add the oil the wax will harden so you have to re melt it with the oil.

All blended.

I poured it back into the measuring cup to make it easier to fill the small containers.

Then let it cool and harden. It's a soft creamy paste that is easy to apply with just a paper towel. Apply it, set it someplace warm, and then wipe off the excess a few hours later.

I do the same thing with turpentine and blo and wax for a workbench finish. I use more wax for that. Write down how much you use in your batches so you can duplicate it later. 4 to 1 is a good starting point.

 

Thanks. Will keep that in mind.

Back from the woodstore. New selection from one side to other: White oak, Figured Maple, Walnut, (no special cut) Maple, Cherry, Hickory. Walnut crossbeam ... purpleheart just seems crude. Wood wax should cover opengrain issues.

 

I was always under the impression that ‘nut’ oils don’t putrefy… almond, coconut, peanut, sunflower, etc.

 

Probably the last project before I start breaking down and packing the shop for the move.

Ash, walnut, and sapeli cutting board for a neighbors charity to be auctioned in the fall for an annual fund raiser. I may make two slices at the ends and reverse the inside cut at the juice groove. We'll see how ambitious I get.

 

I hear that you cannot keep nut oils around too long. Cashews (a favorite snack!) will go bad over time, I hear.

 

They’ve never lasted long enough in my house for me to find out if that’s true.

 

Used to be for me. Now there are times. But I keep them in a plastic drinking glass because I do not want to get my fingers greasy ... "drinking food".

Be sure you buy the pre-processed ones. A Boy Scout troop once got their hands on raw cashes and sold them for their supplies. But they did not heat-steam the shells and genuinely reaction-inducing oils away ...

 

Pour epoxy is tricky. First board (as an experiment, a "success", as a usable product a "failure") it overflowed in larger puddles and sanding overflow off was impossible. A "letter shaped hole" filled with just-mixed epoxy has enough liquid to fluid-dynamically force it over the sides and through capillaries at the edge of the hole.

Being slow and careful, hoping it does not soak through wood pores surrounding the letters. Turns out I at least need to thin-coat the inside surface of the letter, let it set up hard even if it takes a couple of days. Maybe that will block incrementally-added layers (in drops, not much more) from capillary-forcing to get to the point where the top-most "pour" is just a couple more drops on top of firm-enough set-base.

Wood-cutting is easy. Epoxy is not.

In hopes that someone considering filling small spaces in wood with epoxy can benefit from my blunders.