End Grain Cutting Board

I'm going to make a cutting board that I saw on the Woodwhisperer site. It should be a good project that I can practice using my new table saw with as well as practicing glueing and routing techniques. I'm going to need a few things for the project though. First I'll need some basic tools. I don't have a router (may borrow one for this project), need more clamps, and some Tite bond 2 FDA approved glue. For flattening the board after glueing I'll either need a block plane, scraper, or a random orbital sander. Also, I'll need to buy the wood. Marc uses Hard Maple (Rock Maple) and Purple Hart. I think that will be my first part of the project: finding the wood. The dimenshions of the board is going to be 18" x 12" x 1 1/4". He starts with 2 pieces of wood that is 8/4 (2") thick milled to 1 5/8" thick and 15 1/2" long. Then the pieces are stripped to 2 1/4", 1 3/4", 1 1/4", and 3/4" wide. Then the pieces are glued, flattened, cut, cut and reglued.

Tools I need

I added a list of tools I need. As a beginning woodworker and handyman I don't have a large number of tools. I've consulted a few "must have" lists so see what I might be missing. The woodwhisper had a list of 10 general tools needed in every shop, fine woodworking had a list of essential hand tools, and popular mechanics had a list of 50 tools that every man should have. From that I've listed what I don't have which is most of them. I've denoted a few with question marks because I'm not sure I really need them in my house at this time. I'll update as I find more must have tools or as I obtain items from the list.

Shop Set up

To be a good woodworker I'm going to need an adequate shop. I don't have a lot of space or tools right now, so this should be interesting. And even though Marc at the Woodwhisperer.com doesn't have anything to say to guys who want to park in there garages, I do, so I'm going to need to make my workshop modular so that I can quickly set up and tear down when I'm in the middle of a project. So far I've created a basic workbench from so kitchen cabinets that a friend very kindly let me remove from and old run-down farmhouse of hers. I put it on wheels so that I can move it to the middle of the garage when needed. However I made this before watching the woodwhisperer and didn't pay close attention to it being perfectly flat or level. Therefore I'm going to need to make a proper assembly table at a later date. I think that is why my first project wasn't perfectly flat when I finished assembling. The other part of my workshop development involves getting proper tools. My parents gave me a table saw last Christmas but I have many more needs than tools right now. I'll try to post a tool inventory and wish list at a later date. I've come across a few lists of essential tools and I'll quite those as well.

Early Progress

To start my fineworking education I've joined a woodworking club at work. I think this will be a great resource as I hone my skills. I've probably the youngest in the group and many members have many years of experience and many tools that I could borrow. I've also started watching video blogs at the woodwhisperer.com This is a site dedicated to education regarding fine woodworking that has been around for about 2 years. I think the guy breaks this down quite well, is very skilled, and has good entertainment value. I'll continue to look for educational resources as I continue to develop.

Welcome!

I started this blog to chronicle my development as a woodworker. I enjoy working with my hands and I have some experience as I worked in concrete construction through high school and my siblings and I hand made gifts every year for Christmas. Now that I have a desk job and don't get to work with my hands as much I've been more interested in woodworking. Some friends of mine receive wonderful handcrafted furniture from a grandfather and I've thought it would be cool if I could do the same thing. So far I've done some minimal work to set up a workshop in my garage and completed one basic wood assemply project that include my first attempts at staining and finishing. Therefore this blog will track the progress of my garage set-up, tool accumulation, and skill development.