# WIP Redux



## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

Dave suggested I use the manage attachments section for the photos so here goes.

View attachment 9929


This is a load of lumber I showed previously. Maple, mahogany, cherry and walnut, rough on all four sides, 10 to 12' in length. The next step will be to cut each piece to a working length that will yield the most pieces with the less waste possible. However, I still manage to fill up a 4 yard dumpster every two weeks with short cut offs, chips and saw dust.


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## Zwiefel (Sep 14, 2012)

yay! Photos look great.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

View attachment 9940


Once the stock has been cut to length, then I have to assemble the stock into a pattern. Here it is laid out for a customers special order before I cut it to a working width and then joint one edge.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

View attachment 9941


After jointing an edge then a face it is off to the planer to have the last face planer parallel to the first face. Once that has been completed and the faces are smooth then I take it back to the jointer to square an edge, to the rip saw to rip to the final width and one last pass on the jointer to clean up and square the last sawn edge. BTW I have invested in a 5 head molder with another shop that will dramatically cut down on the steps. Rough saw a piece to the width, run it through the moulder and out comes a piece of stock with four squared faces ready for glue. The moulder was $40k.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

View attachment 9942


After the stock has been cut to length it has to be stacked and labeled for the maximum width yield. I go to each piece and measure then markm its intended width for future use. Normally a stacklike this only lasts a week or two with maple being the most used.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

Yes, I was a SeaBee in the military. I fly the flag proudly. After all, there are fewer SeaBees than Marines.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

Once the stock has been squared and labeled as to its placement, it is then glued. After wood, glue is my second biggest expense. There are 30 Jorgensen bar clamps in the photo and I could actually use about 30 more.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

Here is a stack of cherry that will become 10 boards with some extra pieces being used in other combination boards. The stack is ready for glue.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

After removal from the clamps the boards look rather rough. Uneven surfaces and glue drips. Actually the glue drips tell me I have enough glue in the joints and that all the joints have been evenly glued. The three boards pictured here are from one of the first photos. I was lucky to get three out of the stock thinking I would only get two. The back two are identical and one will go to a customer.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

I just finished this big walnut board. 18 x 49 destined today for a customer in CA. This is after sanding and before final sanding and oiling. The colors are drab with no highlights. The oil bath takes care of that.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

Here is another large board just completed. This is after sanding and before final sanding and oiling. 23 x 28 and weighs a ton.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

So, here I sit waiting on UPS to pick up. There are fewer today than in past weeks. Ususlly I have 25 or more for UPS and some for the postman.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

This is a brief overview of the process from the rough stock as it enters the shop until it goes out the door to UPS. Yes, I have left out a lot of small details which would bore you to death.


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## kalaeb (Sep 14, 2012)

Very cool. Thanks for the wip.


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## Eamon Burke (Sep 14, 2012)

I think small details are the interesting part!

How long does it take you to sand a board, from gluey and terrible up to finished?

That 4' Walnut board is the bomb.


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## DWSmith (Sep 14, 2012)

BurkeCutlery said:


> I think small details are the interesting part!
> 
> How long does it take you to sand a board, from gluey and terrible up to finished?
> 
> That 4' Walnut board is the bomb.



Come on up for a week and I will be glad to let you see all the small details. It's those small details that will make or break a board. 

I have no idea how long each board takes. Normally I can make 10 to 15 per week with a very busy week at 20 to 35 so the time needed varies. Then there is the normal maintenance and random problems that foul up the schedule. Once the 5 head moulder is up and running, the time needed will be much less and the accuracy will be increased dramatically. 

The 4' walnut is a great looking board, one I'm proud of. The customer asked specifically for no lighter highlights so it took me a while to get the wood sorted out to suit the detail. I hope she likes it.


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## GlassEye (Sep 14, 2012)

The BoardSMITH said:


> Yes, I have left out a lot of small details which would bore you to death.


The small details are the kind we love around here.

It is amazing how much lumber you go through.


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## Mr.Magnus (Sep 14, 2012)

The BoardSMITH said:


> View attachment 9945
> 
> 
> After removal from the clamps the boards look rather rough. Uneven surfaces and glue drips. Actually the glue drips tell me I have enough glue in the joints and that all the joints have been evenly glued. The three boards pictured here are from one of the first photos. I was lucky to get three out of the stock thinking I would only get two. The back two are identical and one will go to a customer.




kinda looks like my design


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## Ratton (Sep 14, 2012)

Thanks for the WIP David, your shop is looking great!! :goodpost:


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## WildBoar (Sep 14, 2012)

Very nice -- thanks for the write-up/ pics!


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## Eamon Burke (Sep 14, 2012)

That molder sounds like a dream machine.


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## knyfeknerd (Sep 14, 2012)

Great to finally get the pics. 
Looks great David, I've still got to get up there and visit one day. I'm slack for not doing it yet.


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## Taz575 (Sep 14, 2012)

Man, that was a great read!!!


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## brainsausage (Sep 14, 2012)

Thanks greatly for taking the time to share this aspect of your work with the forum. Seeing the process accentuates the appreciation of the end result that much more. Thanks Dave.


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## chinacats (Sep 16, 2012)

The BoardSMITH said:


> View attachment 9946
> 
> 
> I just finished this big walnut board. 18 x 49 destined today for a customer in CA. This is after sanding and before final sanding and oiling. The colors are drab with no highlights. The oil bath takes care of that.



That is beautiful! Any pictures of the final finished product with oil?


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## Mr.Magnus (Sep 19, 2012)

The BoardSMITH said:


> View attachment 9946
> 
> 
> I just finished this big walnut board. 18 x 49 destined today for a customer in CA. This is after sanding and before final sanding and oiling. The colors are drab with no highlights. The oil bath takes care of that.



i haf to see this one with oil  looks like its going to be a great board.


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## pkb (Oct 6, 2012)

Great stuff, many thanks for posting. I'd love to see how you handle flattening and finishing the final end grain board, since there's been discussion about the dangers of running end grain stock through a planer. Also, could you burn a lot of that 4 yards of dumpster waste for heat?


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## DWSmith (Oct 7, 2012)

pkb said:


> Great stuff, many thanks for posting. I'd love to see how you handle flattening and finishing the final end grain board, since there's been discussion about the dangers of running end grain stock through a planer. Also, could you burn a lot of that 4 yards of dumpster waste for heat?



Flattening is accomplished with a 42" wide belt sander I rent time on. The shop owner gives me a great deal and I can go there almost anytime to run a batch through. Last Friday I had 21, on Wed of this coming week I will have another 29 or so. They come out dead flat and have been sanded down to 120 grit which is pretty good but I still have a lot left to do in the shop before oiling. Maybe I can take a photo or two of the wide belt in use and some before and after photos.

The 18 x 49 that went to CA was a pretty board. I do have a photo or two and will have to search them out to post later this afternoon.

The dumpster does get quite full in two weeks. I wish I could use the scraps for heat but my insurance carrier would probably freak out at the sight of a wood stove in the shop. It was bad enough when during their inspection this year they found a 40 pound propane tank attached to a burner for a turkey frier. (I use that when I make Board Butter.) If I get civic minded I may post a sign at the street for free wood for heating and see if I can get some takers. The planer and jointer chips would be good for animal bedding but when I tried that no one seemed interested. The maple and cherry chips would be ideal for a smoker as well as the left over chunks. But, when I offered that for smokers, I receivied no interest.


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## sachem allison (Oct 7, 2012)

Hey, David
Do you ever consider turning your blemmed or returned cutting boards into shelving? The wide ones you could split in half. I know, I for one would buy one if I had a home of my own. A lot of guys here have custom kitchens and I bet they would make cool shelves or cut them into 4's and make trivets.lol
Just thinking out loud here.


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## sachem allison (Oct 7, 2012)

Find a mushroom farmer and offer the wood chips to him, or have a local garden supply or landscaper pick it up for mulch.


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## DWSmith (Oct 11, 2012)

I thought it might be of interest to post more WIP photos so here goes.





Here is one just clamped with the excess glue oozing out and dripping down. Even if I limit the amount of glue used, I still get a large amount of squeeze out. At least I know the glue fills the joint.




After allowing the board to cure in the clamps for 12 hours, this is what I am left with. Theses drips will have to be sanded off prior to taking to the wide belt.




After just a few passes with a belt sander and 60 grit paper I have removed all the major drips and this one is ready to go to the wide belt.




Once back for the wide belt, this is what I have. Clean, flat and ready for trimming. (This one will be a round board.)


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## chinacats (Oct 11, 2012)

Nice,

How do you cut the round?

Thanks


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## DWSmith (Oct 11, 2012)

chinacats said:


> Nice,
> 
> How do you cut the round?
> 
> Thanks



Mark the center and draw a large circle with a trammel then cut the board rough on a band saw. Final rounding and smoothing is done on a 12" disc sander.

I never get far from a sander.


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