Charcuterie Board with iron handles

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In 2020 my son made a serving tray for his teacher.   Two years later, his former teacher contacted him to commission him to create another.  So we got to work.

The major difference in this one is that in the first one, we had only a piece of railroad iron for an anvil.  While on the second, we had an actual anvil.  The result was that our handles were more uniform, however on the first one they were a bit more free-form / organic.
  • wood: Bald Cypress from our backyard, cut down in 2019
  • handles: forged from barn spikes
  • finish: Pure Tung oil 10-12 light coats

Original source with more photos and explanation:

For me the best part was my son's excitement for making this.  It has been a while since he willingly joined me in the shop without a bit of pleading from me.  He's a teenager now... so spending time with Dad is not always a priority for him.

13 Comments

Swirt, those look very nice. and that would have been a good time with your son. It's sad when they get a little older, the interest fads away, as you said other things on their minds.

Main Street to the Mountains

great board swirt. the sad thing for me was my son was wanting to make projects more and more. he got into turning also. but sadly he moved to texas, a little too far for getting together and making projects ! hopefully your will get the wood bug and join you more.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Very nice!

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

Good looking board. The square on an undulating edge is an artistic feel thing. :)

Darrel

Nice project for the two of you.  You're really getting good with the hand-forging!  And it sounds like his former teacher has the gift of encouragement.
L/W

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin

It's beautiful cypress! I think cypress has antibacterial thing (Hinokitiol) so it's perfect for this use, too:)

No name noobie here

Great looking, I like the shape and the wild looking grain. Good job.   Mike
The square on an undulating edge is an artistic feel thing. :)
@Foghorn Too true, I paused and watched his face as he came to the realization that there was no reference edge, then I taught him about how to chalk a center line and use that.
@YRTI  That is very interesting.  Thank you for bringing it to my arrention. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinokitiol
And it sounds like his former teacher has the gift of encouragement.

@Lightweightladylefty  That is very true.  he was a great teacher that we would have honored with a build withoug commission payment.  Though it also made a great lesson.  I had my son keep track of the hours and watch the hourly rate calculation turn to  under a few dollars per hour as we put time into it.  Despite having nearly no expenses, (free wood, existing materials and tools) the time for custom work quickly turned into a low figure.  As I said the money was not important, but still created a great lesson for my son.
Nice board, Swirt!! Lots of character!!

 Cheers, Jim 

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

Nice work swift. With the price of cured meats those iron handles with keep your snacks secure. 

You’ll have great memories of your time with your son in the shop. I have the opposite situation with one of my sons. He loved shop time when he lived here. 

Your lucky to have a piece of great lumber from you backyard.  Have you heard back from Teacher yet?

James McIntyre

Thanks @James McIntyre.   The teacher has not received it yet.  Will be delivered to him this week.