The old walnut board was my mothers. It was old when I was a kid. I've been using it for over 40 years. It's time it gets passed on. Someone I love very much gets both of these. I have this one I made 15 years ago. It's looking dry.
It's just the right size. I used it as a pattern to make the new board, and used some more of my Uncle Henry's walnut and hemlock.
It's different than the old board. I hollowed it out and made a plug to fit. On the counter it looks like a cutting board with feet, and I will never make a cutting board with feet.
I don't have or want CNC. I have a piece of plywood and mdf scraps to fill that function around here. I like keeping everything on center when I do this. Cutouts are so I can see the crosshairs. This is when I decided to use as much space as possible, and made the cutout bigger. The mdf is almost 1/4" below the walnut. I put on some 1/4" bb ply scraps and I'm a little higher, that's a good thing. I sanded smooth where the bb ply comes together, and cut a chamfer on the aux. router base plate for easy riding. The mdf strips are stops, to keep all the action in between the lines. It's a nice day to make a mess outside. This is the secret compartment. I used a straight bit in 4 passes. 5/16" deep This is for the plug. One trip with a rabbet bit. 5/16" deep, according to my carburetor float gauge.
This is how I store it. Just screwed together.. The hemlock was handcut with a Japanese saw, thicknessed on the drum sander, jointed on the tablesaw, cut into strips, rotated 90 degrees and glued up into a small panel. I fit the plug into the board with a block plane and sandpaper. I planed a slight taper onto the side. It's a snug fit and stays together well, tap the board on the counter to remove it.
It has a nice curl to it, if I can make it pop. It holds enough to be worth it. Nobody's going to look in here.
8" x 16" x 1" Tried and True Original and Trewax
There's roosters laying chickens,and chickens laying eggs... John Prine
