Archive for the ‘from Mr M’s Woodshop’ Tag
She must still be lazy, because people keep loving these Lazy Susans!
Lots of innovative wood selections here. I dug to the back of the rolling wood cart and found some Mahogany and some interesting Birdseye Maple. Woodworkers are pack rats, and hold on to interesting pieces of wood until they find just the right use for them.
I hope you’ll agree I used this wood for a good purpose.
Lazy Susan 15 – 026. Birdseye Maple (which is a uniquely figured Hard Maple) & Teak. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.
Lazy Susan # 15 – 027. Black Walnut, Mahogany, Yellowheart & Hard Maple. 17″ diameter x 3/4″. The Mahogany has a hint of turquoise in it!
Lazy Susan # 15 – 028. Cherry and Hard Maple. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.
Lazy Susan # 15 – 029. Goncalo Alves & Black Walnut. 17″ diameter x 3/4″. Sold in its first showing.
Lazy Susan # 15 – 030. Birdseye Maple (a uniquely figured Hard Maple) and Teak. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.
Lazy Susan # 15 – 031. Hard Maple, Black Walnut, Yellowheart, Padauk and Canarywood. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.
Lazy Susan # 15 – 032. Teak, Yellowheart and Birdseye Maple. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.
Lazy Suan 15 – 033. Cherry, Black Walnut, Jarrah … and the center piece of Black Walnut is quilted. 17″ diameter x 3/4″
Lazy Susan # 15 – 034. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Birdseye Maple and Cherry. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.
Lazy Susan # 15 – 035. Black Walnut. 17″ diameter x 3/4″.
Lazy Susan # 15 – 036. Jarrah & Canarywood. 17″ diameter x 3/4″. The colors are just about perfect in this photo: this piece is colorful!
Lazy Susan # 15 – 037. Black Walnut & Padauk. 17″ diameter x 3/4″. Please note that the Padauk will transition from this bright orange to a more warm brown color with UV exposure.
All boards are shaped, of course, but some have unusual ones.
Two of these boards are brand new ideas. One is the California bear, which shows a walking bear in the style of the bear on the California state flag. The second is the result of me finding a unique piece of quilted Black Walnut, and the perfect use of that wood was as an oval serving piece with a canted edge. That board sold on the first day it was shown.
Enjoy!
Bear # 15 – 01. Black Walnut. 12″ x 19″ x 3/4″.
Sous Chef # 15 – 40. Yellowheart, Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Teak. 12″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Sous Chef # 15 – 41. Hard Maple, Bloodwood & Honey Locust. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Sous Chef # 15 – 42. Black Walnut, Yellowheart, Hard Maple & Padauk. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Sous Chef # 15 – 43. Hard Maple, Black Walnut & Jatoba. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″.
Sous Chef # 15 – 44. Black Walnut, Yellowheart & Jatoba. 9″ x 16″ x 3/4″. Sold in its first showing.
Cheese Board 15 – 041. Quilted Walnut. 12″ x 8″ x 1-1/4″. Sold at its first showing.
Bread Board 09. Hard Maple & Canarywood. 6″ x 15″ x 3/4″.
Bread Board # 10. Black Walnut, Yellowheart & Hard Maple.
Bread Board # 11. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Padauk. 5″ x 15″ x 3/4″. Sold at its first showing.
Here’s the largest litter to date … meaning, yes, I’m back in the pig business!
Pig # 15 – 09. Hard Maple & Goncalo Alves. 19″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
Pig # 15 – 10. Hard Maple, Jatoba & Black Walnut. 19″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
Pig # 15 – 11. Yellowheart, Hard Maple and Black Walnut. 19″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
Pig # 15 – 12. Black Walnut & Teak.
Pig # 15 – 13. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Yellowheart and Jatoba. 19″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
Pig # 15 – 14. Black Walnut, Padauk & Hard Maple. 19″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
Pig # 15 – 15. Black Walnut, Bloodwood, Yellowheart & Hard Maple. 19″ x 12″ x 1-1/8″.
This is a magnificent, horrible idea. I started working on this new product about 6 months ago. I wanted to make a set of blocks for kids … but I wanted the artwork to be just right.
I found Alphabetimals, and knew that they would make good blocks. I contacted the artist, who come to find out lives in Denmark, and he agreed to license Mr M’s Woodshop to make a limited number of building block sets for this Christmas.
The first few sets are out of the shop, and the results are exactly what I had hoped for.
Each set has 26 alphabet Hard Maple blocks, and each block has an Alphabetimal for that letter, as well as the upper and lower case versions of the letter. There are also 10 numerical blocks, plus a bonus block. All are finished with mineral oil, which is baby safe. 37 Building Blocks.
To complete the sets, I asked the talented Sharon Collins to make drawstring bags. She came up with several fabric options for the lined bags, which are shown in the first and last photos below. A perfect way to store the blocks!
So, why is this a horrible idea? I am spending hours working on these blocks. Thirty minutes of finish shaping & sanding per set, for example. And that doesn’t include the time spent cutting, sanding and routing the blanks before they become blocks! I really love this project, and it’s eating my shop time.
In all humility, if you are interested in buying a set of these, you need to tell me quickly. Given the level of interest I got from just a couple of photos on Facebook … well, these will sell out quickly. And when they’re gone, they’re gone!
Here are the first few sets, bagged up!
37 Building Blocks. Hard Maple. 1.75″ x 1.75″ x 1.75″.
37 Building Blocks. Hard Maple. 1-3/4″ x 1-3/4″ x 1-3/4″.
Here are the different bag options. Limited quantities of each, so please give me at least 2x choices for your set.
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Alphabetimals, © Patrick O’Toole 2015.
My videographer complained that yesterday’s installment had too much of a cliff hanger (cliff hanger? on making a CUTTING BOARD? Ri-iiight).
Here’s a somewhat longer installment that explains many more steps to make this large end grain cutting board.
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Staycation: Large Cutting Board, Part 1
A little time to play in the shop can be a dangerous thing.
Because Mrs M came to visit and brought her smartphone Droid video camera.
Enjoy!
First glue up of the day: a pig. Back in the pig business.
Can’t glue up the pig because the boards need to be smoothed. Can’t do that because the drum sander needs the dust collector, which is full. So, I have to empty the dust collector first thing in the morning. Wow, and the bag is overfull. Total mess. Yuck.
Dust. Everywhere.
Is it bad to see daylight through the welds that hold my dust collector together?
Dust cleaned up, sort of. I need a new broom.
And a dust collector, for the record.
Back to business. Dust collector on, drum sander on. First board through … and the conveyor belt jams. Must be replaced … so I have to tear down the drum sander.
You see why I hate the pig business.
Welcome to the beginning of Day One of the Staycation, 2015 version.
The boards that I create are almost always symmetrical … because in my mind, they must be. I’m driven that way.
Velda, on the other hand, can see boards in an unbalanced, but pleasing way. That’s why she designs chaos boards.
Here’s some of both. Which do you prefer?
Cutting Board 15 – 080. Hard Maple, Padauk & Yellowheart. Edge Grain. 14″ x 11-1/4″ x 1″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 031. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Bloodwood, Red Oak, Yellowheart, Cherry, Purpleheart & Padauk. Edge grain. 9″ x 10″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 035. Black Walnut, Yellowheart, Bloodwood, Padauk, Hard Maple, Purpleheart, Canarywood & Honey Locust. Edge grain. 9-1/2″ x 9-1/2″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 032. Balck Walnut, Hard Maple, Yellowheart, Cherry & Padauk. Edge grain chaos board. 9-1/2″ x 9-1/8″ x 5/8″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 037. Black Walnut, Cherry, Yellowheart & Hard Maple. Edge grain. 10-3/4″ x 9-3/4″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 033. Hard Maple, Canarywood, Yellowheart & Black Walnut. Edge grain. 11-1/2″ x 9″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 040. Jatoba, Hard Maple, Canarywood, Purpleheart & Yellowheart. Edge grain. 11-1/2″ x 9-1/4″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board # 14 – 040. Hard Maple, Cherry, Black Walnut & Padauk. Edge grain chaos board. 11″ x 8-1/2″ x 3/4″.
Engraved board # 15 – 36. Black Walnut, Cherry & Hard Maple. Edge grain. 11″ x 8″ x 3/4″.
Small Board # 15 – 057. Purpleheart & Hard Maple. 12-1/2″ x 7″ x 1″.
Small board # 15 – 057. Hard Maple, Padauk & Yellowheart. Edge grain. 11-1/4″ x 8-1/4″ x 1″.
Velda’s cutting board is nearly 2 years old … and it still looks just like new when it’s treated well. This is the 2nd resurfacing I have done on this board that gets daily, heavy use.
I spent 5 minutes sanding (only 5 minutes!) and then re-applied a few coats of mineral oil over 24 hours. As with all of my boards, Velda’s cutting board was then finished with a topcoat of Velda’s own Mrs M’s Board Butter, which is locally-harvested beeswax mixed with mineral oil.
Velda’s Cutting Board. Goncalo Alves (Tigerwood), Black Walnut, Honey Locust, Jatoba & Cherry. Edge grain, and 2 years old as shown. 16″ x 21″ x 1-1/4″.
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The Cutting Board (12/26/2013)
KNX’s Melinda Lee On Beeswax & Cutting Boards
The end of the run. The rest of the batch.
Here are the remaining boards from my latest explosion of making.
These boards are not the largest, and they’re certainly not the roundest. They are a mix of end grain and edge grain, and sizes range from small cheese boards (that might be very small cutting boards for some people) to rather large cutting boards.
One of these boards was intended to be a third cutting board with bread board ends and a juice groove, just like those in the first photo labeled “Cutting Board # 15 – 101,” but that was not to be.
You see, I decided to reuse my double stick tape while routing the last juice groove of the day. I ignored those warnings in my head (“It’s never worked before!”) and tried to save about 5 minutes and 5′ of tape … and the result was a $100 board became a much smaller $60 board in an instant.
Perhaps I’ve learned that lesson, but time will tell. At this point, I can only hope.
Oh, and remember that board that I messed up? The one that got smaller in an instant? It was the first board sold from this batch. Not sure why I keep getting encouraged to make mistakes….
Cutting Board # 15 – 101. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Padauk. Edge Grain, Juice Groove. 12″ x 16″ x 1″. Commissioned pieces; part of a 3 board set.
Cutting Board # 15 – 102. Purpleheart & Hard Maple. Edge Grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 078. Black Walnut, Jatoba & Cherry. End Grain, Juice Groove. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/2″. Commissioned piece.
Cutting Board # 15 – 103. Cherry, Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Padauk & Yellowheart. Edge Grain. 13″ x 16″ x 1-1/4″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 080. Black Walnut. End Grain. 11″ x 12″ x 1″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 079. Black Walnut, Cherry & Hard Maple. End Grain. 13″ x 17″ x 1-1/4″.
Small Board # 15 – 052. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Padauk. 7″ x 12″ x 1″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 077. Black Walnut, Cherry, Canarywood, Teak, Hard Maple, Jatoba & Purpleheart. End Grain. 13″ x 18″ x 1-1/4″.
Small Board # 15 – 053. Black Walnut, Hard Maple & Padauk. Edge Grain. 9″ x 12″ x 1″.
Small Board # 15 – 054. Purpleheart & Hard Maple. Edge Grain. 7″ x 12″ x 1-1/4″.
Small Board # 15 – 055. Cherry, Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Yellowheart & Padauk. 6″ x 13″ x 1-1/4″.
