JR's Wood Shop

This past month wasn’t much on profit but it was long on production. I made a lot of different Christmas gifts for family and friends to include; 3-D carvings, cutting boards, cheese cutting boards, coasters, signs, a tortilla press, and a few coaster sets. It was a pretty productive six or so weeks. But now it’s time to start cranking out some for-profit stuff so I can pay for all that wood. 😀

Last year my son got me a t-shirt that I love. It says "There's no such thing as scrap wood, just pieces that have yet to be used." That's kind of how I see my "scrap" pile. I have a burn barrel but I don't use it very often because I have a really hard time burning lumber that still has potential. This is the time of year when I really try and find that potential in all those little bits and pieces stashed around my shop. Where some people see scrap, I see Christmas gifts. Through a little creativity and glue, I'm able to create something from all that wood that has "yet to be used" For those who are wondering, this is a tortilla press. It is comprised of Walnut, Oak, Maple, and Sapele, all combined to make something kind of cool and useful. It's not time to light that burn barrel quite yet.

I finally got this massive beast of a cutting board completed and delivered. This is absolutely my largest one to date. It’s 19x14 and a full 3” thick. The final weight was 15.2 pounds. That’s a whole lot of Walnut.

That’s a whole lot of strip gluing going on.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday. It’s figured Purple Heart. The photo on the left is the wood fresh off the planer so it loses a bit of its characteristic purple color. The photo on the right is the other side, which has been exposed to air and has started getting that deep rich color. I have something special planned for this board.

Made a run to my wood guy today. Time to get those holiday items rolling.