Archive for January 2017
Any board can be engraved … indeed, I engrave my logo onto the back of everything I make.
As people have warmed to the idea, I’ve begun doing more and more personalizations on just about every kind of board that I make.
My only recommendation is that personalizations be done on light-colored wood; engraving on dark woods tends to get lost. Further, engraving across different species/colors of woods makes for poor legibility. The best engravings, in my opinion, are done on a single color of wood. Hard Maple is the lightest color and works best, but Cherry and even Yellowheart engravings work very well.
On cutting boards, engraving on the work surface is not recommended. Engraving on the very edge is possible, but any engraving on the face of the board results in a small workspace as well as a decorative element that you have to remember to avoid … because who wants to cut up their name? The better option for cutting boards, I feel, is to engrave the board on the back.
Yes, a board can be personalized after it’s oiled & waxed, though most of my engraving is done before the board is oiled. Here’s a collection of cutting boards, serving pieces and even Magic Bottle Openers that I’ve personalized for people in the past several months.
Engraved 16 – 46. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Canarywood. End grain. 14″ x 18″ x 1-1/2″.
Engraving detail on back of board.
Engraved 16 – 46. Jatoba & Hard Maple. edge grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″.
Engraving detail on back of board.
Engraving detail on back of board.
Engraved 16 – 42. Purpleheart & Hard Maple. Edge grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″.
Engraving detail on back of board.
Purpleheart & Hard Maple. Edge grain. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Engraving detail on back of board.
Engraved 16 – 40. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Cherry. Edge grain. 9″ x 11″ x 1″.
Engraved 16 – 41. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Cherry. Edge grain. 9″ x 11″ x 1″.
Engraved 16 – 37. Hard Maple, Cherry & Black Walnut. Cheese & Cracker Server, personalized. 20″ x 12″ x 1-1/4″.
Engraving detail on edge of board.
Engraved 16 – 38. Hard Maple, Cherry & Black Walnut. Cheese & Cracker Server, personalized. 20″ x 12″ x 1-1/4″.
Engraving detail on edge of board.
Engraved 16 – 44. Magic Bottle Opener, double magic. Jatoba, Cherry & Black Walnut.
Engraved 16 – 45. Magic Bottle Opener, double magic. Purpleheart, Cherry, Teak & Hard Maple.
Engraved 16 – 47. Magic Bottle Opener, double magic. Hard Maple, Cherry, Canarywood, Yellowheart & Purpleheart.
Engraved 16 – 48. Magic Bottle Opener, double magic. Black Walnut, Purpleheart, Cherry, Canarywood & Yellowheart.
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It’s January, when everything feels new. Well, except for those scratched-up cutting boards that need help recovering from those holiday fêtes.
Once a year, I restore Mrs M’s cutting board to pristine condition. This year, I got 2 other boards from the family. The pictures below show the results, which, quite frankly, are easily attained. Here’s what I do:
- Clean the board to get as much oil & such off of it. That will make the sanding easier.
- Remove the non-skid rubber feet so you don’t have to sand around them.
- If the board has any cracks (as one of these boards did), then those have to be cut apart and re-glued before sanding begins. Cracks are not good on a cutting board; they will harbor bits of food and bacteria.
- Use a random orbital sander to sand each board through 5 grits (just as I do with new boards): 80, 120, 180, 220, 320. The oily, damaged wood that you’re removing will clog up the sanding disk rather quickly but that’s OK: you only need about 1 minute per grit per board.
- Honest.
- Saturate the smooth board with mineral oil. I typically apply about 3 or 4 coats; one every couple of hours. I always let it soak overnight, and then apply one more coat of mineral oil in the morning.
- After the oil has soaked in, apply a top coat of board butter, and then remove the excess.
- You’re done … in about 24 hours, start to finish.
Here’s a photo gallery that shows all of the boards, the damage that they came to the shop with, and the result of my restoration. Click on the photos to open them and read the photo captions, if you’re unable to see them automatically on your screen.
This is Velda’s board, which is now 4 years old. It was among the first cutting boards that I made.
It gets daily, furious use. I restore it once each year.
Daily, furious use.
The stain comes out easily with cleaning.
Daily use wreaks havoc on this board. At least she stopped using the electric knife on it….
5 disks to sand it smooth.
Sanded smooth. It really did take about 5 minutes.
Ready for oiling.
The surface is once again perfect. Smooth as glass.
This is MrsMowry’s board, which is also 4 years old. I believe this is the second time that I’ve restored this one, though.
Definite knife damage after 4 years.
The back shows the exotic wood colors with less UV exposure.
This board still has old-style rubber-only feet held on with regular phillips head screws. Corrosion was there … which is wny I now use different screws and feet.
How old is this board? It has an actual brand put on with my electric branding iron.
After oiling, the colors of these exotics really pop. Glass smooth, once again.
All knife damage removed, even after 4 years of use.
This is an heirloom board from Eric’s mother. It’s about 30 years old, and has never been restored.
There’s noticable knife damage, of course. That will be removed almost entirely.
There were a coupld of divets in the board, too deep to remove.
The edges of the board were cracked & the boards had a growing separation through the juice groove.
For some reason, the bread hook for this large board was made of red oak, but the work surface was maple. No clue why a different species was used … probably just what the craftsman had.
The worst crack. This corner had also been dropped & the wood had split for about 4″. I had to glue that up as best I could.
Pieces were carefully numbered before I cut the board apart. Each board was then sanded smooth prior to regluing.
Sanded, oiled & waxed. 30 years of use is still visible, but the board is now ready for another 30 years of work.
The bread hook was replaced with a maple board, but there was no way for me to match the 30-year old patina on the original maple boards.
Instead of attaching the bread hook with wood screws, I used dowel joinery … black walnut dowels and glue are all that hold the bread hook onto the board.
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Cutting Boards: Restoration
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One of President Obama’s final acts in January was to expand the California Coastal National Monument. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/12/17.
In January, a 22-acre section of a lava delta in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park broke apart and sank into the ocean causing the closing of a viewing area. Now, from the new viewing area, visitors can witness a “fire hose” of lava streaming into the ocean. The molten rock sends huge clouds of steam and gas into the air as it hits the Pacific. It’s a sight you’ll never forget. Photos by National Park Service. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 1/13/17.
California’s Channel Islands National Park. Photo by George H.H. Huey. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/10/17.
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Sunset over Ruby Beach. Olympic National Park. Photo by Doug Day. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 12/16/16.
The Northern Lights create mesmerizing swirls over Denali National Park. Photo by Carl Johnson. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/5/17.
Sometimes, the most remarkable moments in life are the simple ones. There will be 365 sunsets at Glacier National Park in Montana this year. Don’t you think you should see at least one? Photo by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 1/8/17.
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Frozen winter waterfalls transform Shenandoah National Park. Photo by Howard Wu. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/6/17.
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Shenandoah National Park
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An unforgettable night sky – with a tinge of color from the Northern Lights – stretches over Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. America’s national parks hold some of the last remaining harbors of darkness where visitors can enjoy the splendor of these protected dark skies. Photographer Matthew Newman says his nighttime adventure forever changed the way he experiences nature: “Making a seven-mile snowshoe hike round trip in the middle of the night to try and capture the Aurora Borealis and Milky Way from this location was amazing.” Photo by Matthew Newman. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 1/15/17.
Arches National Park in Utah is the perfect place to snuggle into your sleeping bag and spend the night counting stars. Towering rock formations reach for the Milky Way as the magnificent landscape surrounds you in silence. Photo by Allen Utzig. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 11/26/16.
It doesn’t get any more beautiful than this: the Milky Way as seen from Observation Point in Utah’s Zion National Park. Photo by Joshua Snow. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 12/9/16.
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Yellowstone National Park. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/3/17.
Moonlight brightens snowy dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado. Photo by Patrick Myers, National Park Service. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 1/2/17.
Along the Mississippi River Flyway in Iowa, Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge provides important habitat for migratory birds. Floodplains and forests are used by many wildlife species including migratory songbirds, waterfowl, hawks and eagles, deer, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. After a recent snowstorm, it’s also a stunning winter sight. Photo by Jessica Bolser, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 1/5/17.
Bring skis, snowshoes or sleds to enjoy snowy winters at Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. From January through April, ranger-led snowshoe walks are a great way to explore this volcanic landscape. Over 75 percent of the park is designated as wilderness, offering unparalleled opportunities for solitude and adventure. Photo by National Park Service. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 1/3/17.
Badlands National Park in South Dakota can seem like a formidable and forbidding landscape, but with proper planning and a sense of adventure, the park is a nature lover’s paradise year round. The spires, pinnacles and ravines, which frustrated earlier travelers, provide a visual “gateway to forever” with views that can stretch over 50 miles. Photo by Mike Pflaum, National Park Service. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 12/29/16.
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Mother Nature shows her power with this dramatic lightning storm over the Needles District at Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Photo by Claudia Castillo. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 12/31/16.
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Canyonlands National Park
The Color Of Summer
Utah’s Beauty
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Nothing compares to staying up all night, watching the stars twinkle overhead. Derek Culver captured this amazing pic at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. The lights on the mountain: A few climbers getting an early start to the summit under the Milky Way. Photo by Derek Culver. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 12/26/16.
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For spectacular views of the Grand Canyon, take Desert View Drive – a scenic 25-mile route on the South Rim of Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park. Photo from Pipe Creek Vista by Jeremy Evans. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 12/23/16.
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Grand Canyon National Park
A Grand Sunset
Above The Rainbow
Bright Angel Trail
Inversion
It’s Really Big
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Any board can be engraved … indeed, I engrave my logo onto the back of everything I make.
