I made the first handles by an ad-hoc method so it took relatively a lot of time. But since I intend to make a lot of boards this time, I decided to make jigs and make sixty handles in one batch.
Once the boards were glued up, it was time for flattening, which did not go smoothly this time, unfortunately.
Gluing the boards is a bit problematic step in the production.
As my next step in kitchen cutting board manufacturing, I decided to make ten small pieces from Jatoba. That should give me an adequate estimate of time for future reference.
After finishing my first kitchen cutting boards I decided to make a "maxiboard". Not for cooking but for leather work. Hopefully it will hold longer and better than any cutting mat from office supplies. I decided to use black locust wood because it is cheaper and more readily accessible than Jatoba. And it is hard enough for any work.
When working on my next board I decided to modify my drum sander a bit. And after the first change, the fate decided I have to make more.
I was so glad that the kitchen boards are finished already that I forgot to write a planned article about assembling the boards with handles. Thus I write it now.
First cutting boards are finished and today I took some pictures before giving them into our kitchens for testing. We shall see how they fare, however I have no reason to expect trouble. But there are two possible sources of problems nevertheless – hidden flaws in the wood, cracks that did not notice, and the glue that I used.
There are several possibilities for making a handle on a kitchen board. One is to cut/shape it directly into the body but that is not suitable for a board glued from blocks, as the handle would be fragile and prone to breaking. The second possibility is to make a simple metal handle from stainless steel or brass. The third possibility...
I bought a palette of firewood a few years ago, offcuts of hard tropical wood from furniture making, according to the description it was supposed to be a mix of black locust and jatoba. I was expecting mostly black locust and I hoped there might be a few nice pieces of jatoba fit for making knife handles in there too....
