Discussion
Classic Hand Tools stock Brusso Hardware. Reassuringly expensive, have a look at their quadrant hinges with a built in lid stay.
https://www.classichandtools.com/shop-by-brand/bru...
Then there's the guy who supplied Viscount Linley with his excellent box hinges until Linley startedcopying re-imagining the design and stopped taking his phone calls...
Andrew Crawford ! He makes really nice hinges if you can get past the ire. They have a built in lid stay.
https://www.smartboxmaker.com/linley-facts/
As for me, I'm spending the rest of the afternoon jointing 7 boards of 1 1/2" walnut for a 1400mm circular tabletop. This is a late addition to a kitchen order destined for the Channel Islands, so although jointing like this turns the workshop into an oasis of calm, the boat leaves soon... so I have to hurry up.
https://www.classichandtools.com/shop-by-brand/bru...
Then there's the guy who supplied Viscount Linley with his excellent box hinges until Linley started
Andrew Crawford ! He makes really nice hinges if you can get past the ire. They have a built in lid stay.
https://www.smartboxmaker.com/linley-facts/
As for me, I'm spending the rest of the afternoon jointing 7 boards of 1 1/2" walnut for a 1400mm circular tabletop. This is a late addition to a kitchen order destined for the Channel Islands, so although jointing like this turns the workshop into an oasis of calm, the boat leaves soon... so I have to hurry up.
loughran said:
Got to be at least £50.00s worth of timber there
Will you use dominoes/ biscuits on the Joints, or just glue? Mr M, I have been using these hinges for my boxes, not Brusso or FineBoxHardware quality but better than some I bought on Amazon and they’re reasonable value for money, though the screws are a bit crap: they have a stop and a square end so no faffing with gouges to radius the housing Prokraft
wolfracesonic said:
Mr M, I have been using these hinges for my boxes, not Brusso or FineBoxHardware quality but better than some I bought on Amazon and they’re reasonable value for money, though the screws are a bit crap: they have a stop and a square end so no faffing with gouges to radius the housing Prokraft
Thanks for those; I see they also do quadrant jobs; I've ordered some to replace the existing ones. Over the last 18 months I’ve built a sideboard, side table and an occasional table. All of these have been topped with Oakblock. The side table was used Oakblock from Ebay (Brand New). The other two items were Dining Room tables cut to fit.
The result of this is I suddenly had a fair amount of Oakblock offcuts. What to do??
Well, one day, I was bored and I cut a bit off, routered the edges, screwed a handle on, added some mineral oil and hey presto, a chopping board.
I then drafted a list of all the people I wanted to give chopping boards out as gifts. This list may never be complete but I’m now at approximately 18 boards and here they all are.
I even used the cross support pieces for the tables. No idea if they are even Oak. I still have the legs which I plan to cut up and use for something else.
Some of the last ones benefited from a cheap and cheerful bench planer.
Early joining methods were dowels, but getting those to line up was quite hard, so moved to square timber, Sash Clamps and Ultimate Titebond 3. This glue is considered to be the go to for chopping board makers the world over!
Filling any holes in the boards was also quite challenging. Dowels were the go to, then moved to glue/sawdust mix and finally, resin.
Resin created the cleanest look. I really struggled with the sawdust glue mix. Always came out dirty. I know the dowels will eventually fall out.
Even bought myself a stamp from Etsy, so all the boards are branded. Each board even received a little one pager telling its new owners about how it was made and where along with care instructions. I was very clear in my ‘no warranty’ statement
This was given to my Brother In Law. Painted stainless steel bar threaded through the end and then plugged using dowels.
The holes on these two were filled using Epodex resin. This was much more time consuming that I expected. Four pours due to leaking!
Made this one for my mum. Probably the most modern looking one out of all of them
This was quite tough joining the two pieces together. One side of it has a 45 degree edge which acts as a handle.
This went to my Auntie and was made up from smaller offcuts. Must confess that I had to send this off to my mate for him to put through his planer and of course it split to I ended up re-joining using dowels and had to sand it flat. This was was quite weighty.
The Z- pattern board was quite challenging....Should have used resin on that one,
Pre oiled state. Some of them didn't make it to their new custodians like that. I had to chop one smaller as the handle was just a mess.
Edges on this one were end grain from the Oak block. Was a pain to plane that one. Looked good though.
Better group shot
Sadly, I am missing some photos of other boards. I have a few more in the pipeline. Two for Mrs B as our own chopping boards have split and she has been asking me for ages.
I have also started another large furniture piece and will do a seperate post on that.
The result of this is I suddenly had a fair amount of Oakblock offcuts. What to do??
Well, one day, I was bored and I cut a bit off, routered the edges, screwed a handle on, added some mineral oil and hey presto, a chopping board.
I then drafted a list of all the people I wanted to give chopping boards out as gifts. This list may never be complete but I’m now at approximately 18 boards and here they all are.
I even used the cross support pieces for the tables. No idea if they are even Oak. I still have the legs which I plan to cut up and use for something else.
Some of the last ones benefited from a cheap and cheerful bench planer.
Early joining methods were dowels, but getting those to line up was quite hard, so moved to square timber, Sash Clamps and Ultimate Titebond 3. This glue is considered to be the go to for chopping board makers the world over!
Filling any holes in the boards was also quite challenging. Dowels were the go to, then moved to glue/sawdust mix and finally, resin.
Resin created the cleanest look. I really struggled with the sawdust glue mix. Always came out dirty. I know the dowels will eventually fall out.
Even bought myself a stamp from Etsy, so all the boards are branded. Each board even received a little one pager telling its new owners about how it was made and where along with care instructions. I was very clear in my ‘no warranty’ statement
This was given to my Brother In Law. Painted stainless steel bar threaded through the end and then plugged using dowels.
The holes on these two were filled using Epodex resin. This was much more time consuming that I expected. Four pours due to leaking!
Made this one for my mum. Probably the most modern looking one out of all of them
This was quite tough joining the two pieces together. One side of it has a 45 degree edge which acts as a handle.
This went to my Auntie and was made up from smaller offcuts. Must confess that I had to send this off to my mate for him to put through his planer and of course it split to I ended up re-joining using dowels and had to sand it flat. This was was quite weighty.
The Z- pattern board was quite challenging....Should have used resin on that one,
Pre oiled state. Some of them didn't make it to their new custodians like that. I had to chop one smaller as the handle was just a mess.
Edges on this one were end grain from the Oak block. Was a pain to plane that one. Looked good though.
Better group shot
Sadly, I am missing some photos of other boards. I have a few more in the pipeline. Two for Mrs B as our own chopping boards have split and she has been asking me for ages.
I have also started another large furniture piece and will do a seperate post on that.
Edited by bakerstreet on Thursday 22 February 17:28
akirk said:
I think a lot of people making chopping boards put them through drum sanders rather than thicknessers as it is a lot more delicate, so if you know anyone with one...
Yeah, I am heading over to a small cabinet shop tomorrow morning to run my latest creation through their planer and then drum sander. I might buy larger planer one day, but a drum sander just won't happen due to their size, power requirements and cost! I keep saying these will be my last boards, but I still have some scraps to use up, so might make a few more.
bakerstreet said:
Yeah, I am heading over to a small cabinet shop tomorrow morning to run my latest creation through their planer and then drum sander. I might buy larger planer one day, but a drum sander just won't happen due to their size, power requirements and cost!
I keep saying these will be my last boards, but I still have some scraps to use up, so might make a few more.
I am collecting a drum sander on Monday - cost was £400 (second hand) - 600mm x 840mm footprint (bit larger with the in-feed and out-feed tables) and runs off a 13A plug... has a 16/32 capacity (16" or turn around and do 32") 400mm is pretty wide for a chopping board - 800mm is pretty much a table!I keep saying these will be my last boards, but I still have some scraps to use up, so might make a few more.
now I know that £400 is a lot of money - especially if playing / hobby woodworking rather than as a business, but selling a few chopping boards would soon pay that back and the process is much simpler...
akirk said:
I am collecting a drum sander on Monday - cost was £400 (second hand) - 600mm x 840mm footprint (bit larger with the in-feed and out-feed tables) and runs off a 13A plug... has a 16/32 capacity (16" or turn around and do 32") 400mm is pretty wide for a chopping board - 800mm is pretty much a table!
now I know that £400 is a lot of money - especially if playing / hobby woodworking rather than as a business, but selling a few chopping boards would soon pay that back and the process is much simpler...
£400 is good. I've not seen anything that cheap. What make/model is that? Several of my friends have said I should be selling on Etsy of FBM, but the reality is I take too long to make them and quite frankly there are loads on there. Some are literally Oak block worktops cut, routered and oil and they call them 'handcrafted' and 'rustic'. the strip boards with intricate patterns are where its at and some makers will sell them for hundreds of pounds/dollars and rightly so. now I know that £400 is a lot of money - especially if playing / hobby woodworking rather than as a business, but selling a few chopping boards would soon pay that back and the process is much simpler...
At it stands, I just make them for pleasure and will keep doing that for a while. Also my workshop is such a mess, none of family want to venture in it
EmBe said:
I like those chopping boards. I volunteer in our village community shop on a Saturday morning, I might use some offcuts to make a few to sell in the shop to raise funds (we're always skint, but a lot of the oldies in the village rely on us).
I go to a local group meeting in a cafe and a local carpenter has his boards for sale in there. £50 a board and they are serving boards. Single timber construction, but still look smart. I've been told that they have been in there for months. This is a a donation cafe though, so tough audience. getting the timber is the hard part though. Being eagle eyed on FBM is key there and also having a van would help too,. My Range Rover is big but each 20 mile journey probably costs me £12 in fuel (5.0 V8 Supercharged!)
bakerstreet said:
akirk said:
I am collecting a drum sander on Monday - cost was £400 (second hand) - 600mm x 840mm footprint (bit larger with the in-feed and out-feed tables) and runs off a 13A plug... has a 16/32 capacity (16" or turn around and do 32") 400mm is pretty wide for a chopping board - 800mm is pretty much a table!
now I know that £400 is a lot of money - especially if playing / hobby woodworking rather than as a business, but selling a few chopping boards would soon pay that back and the process is much simpler...
£400 is good. I've not seen anything that cheap. What make/model is that? Several of my friends have said I should be selling on Etsy of FBM, but the reality is I take too long to make them and quite frankly there are loads on there. Some are literally Oak block worktops cut, routered and oil and they call them 'handcrafted' and 'rustic'. the strip boards with intricate patterns are where its at and some makers will sell them for hundreds of pounds/dollars and rightly so. now I know that £400 is a lot of money - especially if playing / hobby woodworking rather than as a business, but selling a few chopping boards would soon pay that back and the process is much simpler...
At it stands, I just make them for pleasure and will keep doing that for a while. Also my workshop is such a mess, none of family want to venture in it
yes, it is good value - though is is coming up to 20 years old, but has been looked after by the previous owner - a friend local to me and I are sharing the cost so it starts to become not that much more expensive than the sandpaper!
buying second-hand online if you can trust the seller can be a good way to do it - sellers seem to either fall into the camp of wanting 95% of as new cost - or selling quite cheaply...
bakerstreet said:
EmBe said:
I like those chopping boards. I volunteer in our village community shop on a Saturday morning, I might use some offcuts to make a few to sell in the shop to raise funds (we're always skint, but a lot of the oldies in the village rely on us).
I go to a local group meeting in a cafe and a local carpenter has his boards for sale in there. £50 a board and they are serving boards. Single timber construction, but still look smart. I've been told that they have been in there for months. This is a a donation cafe though, so tough audience. getting the timber is the hard part though. Being eagle eyed on FBM is key there and also having a van would help too,. My Range Rover is big but each 20 mile journey probably costs me £12 in fuel (5.0 V8 Supercharged!)
Not sure I could justify £50 in a village shop, regardless of how nicely I routed the edges....
I spent a happy Saturday afternoon making airing cupboard shelves. Did it with pocket holes and dowels on the bigger cross pieces. (If using metal screws means this shouldn’t be in woodwork 101 please scroll past…)
If you don’t zoom in too much it looks ok:
The point of the post though is that although pocket holes were quite fun to do, it was pretty easy to over tighten and knacker the wood.
Would dowel joints for all have been better? And would this little dowel jig be a good start
https://www.rutlands.com/products/dowel-jig-and-bi...
I like the fact it is easy to see the centre line mark. Anything better for beginners?
If you don’t zoom in too much it looks ok:
The point of the post though is that although pocket holes were quite fun to do, it was pretty easy to over tighten and knacker the wood.
Would dowel joints for all have been better? And would this little dowel jig be a good start
https://www.rutlands.com/products/dowel-jig-and-bi...
I like the fact it is easy to see the centre line mark. Anything better for beginners?
Austin_Metro said:
I spent a happy Saturday afternoon making airing cupboard shelves. Did it with pocket holes and dowels on the bigger cross pieces. (If using metal screws means this shouldn’t be in woodwork 101 please scroll past…)
If you don’t zoom in too much it looks ok:
The point of the post though is that although pocket holes were quite fun to do, it was pretty easy to over tighten and knacker the wood.
Would dowel joints for all have been better? And would this little dowel jig be a good start
https://www.rutlands.com/products/dowel-jig-and-bi...
I like the fact it is easy to see the centre line mark. Anything better for beginners?
Those pocket holes look very neat...unlike mine which look like I a severe case of the shakes. Must have another go at it at some point. If you don’t zoom in too much it looks ok:
The point of the post though is that although pocket holes were quite fun to do, it was pretty easy to over tighten and knacker the wood.
Would dowel joints for all have been better? And would this little dowel jig be a good start
https://www.rutlands.com/products/dowel-jig-and-bi...
I like the fact it is easy to see the centre line mark. Anything better for beginners?
Straight in at the deep end with the Japanese joints. I like your style.
I replaced those crappy hinges on my box. I decided that I'd make a template as it would make it easier to cut the new ones in where the existing had been.
So out with a bit of perspex which in its previous life had been a covid screen on a reception desk. Onto the CNC with it and measured out the hinges and then added boundary offset by the size of my template following bit, and the size of the router bit I was going to use (2.5mm). Took a little bit of dialling in, and I also found out that the template needed to be thicker due to the depth of the template follower on my trim router. So I just used another bit of perspex and CA glued them together. There's a circle on one side so I can flip the template to use for the opposite side of the box and use the one template rather than having two.
The two lines either side were for lining up with the edge of the box to where the end of the hinge was.
Rather than recutting on the CNC; I sneaked up on it over a couple of samples on a bit of scrap and just widened the template using a file till I was happy with it, then I committed it to the box and lid.
Worked well I think.
Drilling the holes for the guides to fall down into was a bit of a faff.
I replaced those crappy hinges on my box. I decided that I'd make a template as it would make it easier to cut the new ones in where the existing had been.
So out with a bit of perspex which in its previous life had been a covid screen on a reception desk. Onto the CNC with it and measured out the hinges and then added boundary offset by the size of my template following bit, and the size of the router bit I was going to use (2.5mm). Took a little bit of dialling in, and I also found out that the template needed to be thicker due to the depth of the template follower on my trim router. So I just used another bit of perspex and CA glued them together. There's a circle on one side so I can flip the template to use for the opposite side of the box and use the one template rather than having two.
The two lines either side were for lining up with the edge of the box to where the end of the hinge was.
Rather than recutting on the CNC; I sneaked up on it over a couple of samples on a bit of scrap and just widened the template using a file till I was happy with it, then I committed it to the box and lid.
Worked well I think.
Drilling the holes for the guides to fall down into was a bit of a faff.
As always, some lovely stuff here. This is definitely one of my favourite corners of PH. As Loughran said earlier; an oasis of calm. Perhaps it's a natural requirement for hand tool woodworking.
Here's a cutting board for Mrs 404 upcycled from part of a table top from a shop that was being refitted. I'm fairly sure its beech. It was rather stained and well bowed so it took a fair bit of flattening with the trusty #5 plane. It lost slightly over three eighths of an inch in thickness in the process but its still almost three quarters thick.
The Customer is pleased anyway!
Here's a cutting board for Mrs 404 upcycled from part of a table top from a shop that was being refitted. I'm fairly sure its beech. It was rather stained and well bowed so it took a fair bit of flattening with the trusty #5 plane. It lost slightly over three eighths of an inch in thickness in the process but its still almost three quarters thick.
The Customer is pleased anyway!
Continuing the upcycling theme, this is mahogany from a bar top from a local pub that closed down and was reinvented as a launderette. I put it under the bench about twenty years ago and promptly forgot about it until last week when I was looking for something else entirely.
Reasonably straight and flat but a bit battle scarred and stained, so here it is getting a preliminary doing with the cabinet scraper. Between that and the #5 it's cleaning up very nicely.
A couple of friends are nearing completion of a new kitchen which has a servery hatch to the dining room. This bit of timber is destined to become the shelf/cill in the hatch. At ten and a quarter inches it's wide enough for the plates and other assorted crockery.
If I remember I'll show you when I'm finished.
Note the bits of 3/8" scrap ply screwed to the bench to stop the board wandering about. I've no other way to clamp it without the clamps getting in the way.
Reasonably straight and flat but a bit battle scarred and stained, so here it is getting a preliminary doing with the cabinet scraper. Between that and the #5 it's cleaning up very nicely.
A couple of friends are nearing completion of a new kitchen which has a servery hatch to the dining room. This bit of timber is destined to become the shelf/cill in the hatch. At ten and a quarter inches it's wide enough for the plates and other assorted crockery.
If I remember I'll show you when I'm finished.
Note the bits of 3/8" scrap ply screwed to the bench to stop the board wandering about. I've no other way to clamp it without the clamps getting in the way.
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