Daryl Rosenblatt

Back when they did that, I had HTC actually custom make me a mobile base for my jointer, which weighs about 1000 pounds (it’s a 12 inch jointer with flip up tables for a thickness planer). I learned, you don’t want to come too close to the limit of the base, and you want 4 wheels if you can, two that move 360 degrees. A small foot brake to just hold it in place is nice also (helpful when you then have to bend down and lock the wheels). So take the weight of the heavier tool, then assume I think a 25% factor of safety and see what the bases are rated. The adjustable ones are pretty heavy duty (always get the heavier duty base). Yes, they are expensive, I don’t think there are many ways around it, it’s a big chunk of either welded or heavy bolted big pieces of steel. I’ve never used those “add your own wood” bases, but maybe someone else knows about them. You want it big and massive, not just to wheel it around, but to stay stable when you turn on the machine and actually use it.

The toughest part isn’t the clamping jig, it’s the platform with leveling screws. The idea is to let the rollers be level with the spinning discs. The best shot just might be to find one eventually on eBay.

I use mine, but you are welcome to come and measure it all up to copy it.

Almost any finish, once it cures, is “food safe.” It also has more meaning in things like salad bowls, with little cutting use. Cutting boards are used differently. Once you start chopping into a board, any finish you then reapply will amplify any damage. I recall Frank Klausz comments on cutting boards years ago (the guru of gurus), keep them simple. If you want a display board for cheeses and whatever else, then finish it, but if it’s for carving and cutting, then you are better off with nothing. Even if a product is food safe, you are still going to cut up small shards of it and put it in the food you are serving. So I still think the best finish for a cutting board is no finish at all.

I guess I would have noticed the darker glue line if I it was in maple, but I do much of my work in cherry. I prefer II for model building (that and Bob Urso keeping me stocked for life with CA), since II will bond many metals to wood, and neither I or III does.

The only maple I have a lot of is spalted, and I’m not going to use that for a cutting board, at least not for me. If you have any enemies though…….

Yes Roger, good to hear from you. The only thing I can add to Charlie’s excellent points, is what wood to use. Any closed pore hardwood, so that let’s out white oak, mahogany or walnut. Red oak is also opened pored and like birch, doesn’t like getting wet. My cutting boards are made of cherry, because I like it more than maple, which is the standard, probably because it’s cheaper than cherry. I made on from osage orange for my Aunt and Uncle years ago…it’s a great wood for cutting boards, but it’s a mess to work with, you get orange dust and shavings everywhere. Plus it was pretty expensive then, I haven’t even seen it mentioned in years.

We also just use soap and water on them. Mine are pretty thick, about 1 1/2″. One is a carving board I always use, and one is a cutting board with a built in removable little steel bowl (good for sweeping things like chopped garlic into it), which I think I use maybe once a year. Nice gimmick, but really not necessary. Neither has finish on it. The one time I used mineral spirits on a board, it lasted only a few days then I had to keep oiling it, so don’t bother doing that. I think they do that for store bought only because it looks so nice until you actually use it. I used Titebond III, but I happened to have it.

Mine haven’t cupped yet, but I also cut them into very small (maybe 1 inch wide) boards, the rotated the grain to get something with a good looking top surface (the Frank Klausz method, don’t alternate grain, just make the top surface the best looking), so if they cup, it’s not going to be apparent for a long time. But it does increase the number of glue joints a lot.

This all comes under the “nudge” category that Richard Thaler won a Nobel Prize for. We mostly don’t mind the stuff being touched, but there are exceptions. And things like creating a new category or segregating the touch only items is heavy handed, and creates a lot of work. The “nudge” is to simply put up a sign for those projects people don’t want to be touched. Then those projects will stand out as a no toucher and will likely mostly be complied with. Those who still touch it will simply think rules don’t apply to them and never did anyway.

Talk about perfect timing, Strother Purdy just posted on Facebook a wenge box he made, complete with dovetails. In truth, it’s dyed or colored so dark, it could easily have been a box joint. Nice box though, Stother’s work is really nice.