cutting board juice grooves...

Art Mulder

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Location
London, Ontario
Anyone got any advice on how to neatly put in a groove around the inside edge of a cutting board to catch the meat juices?

I tried one method on a piece of scrap (router w/edge guide) then tried another on the router table (using stop+start marks) which seemed like it would work... but.... fixing that means I now have a 1/2" thick cutting board instead of a 3/4" cutting board. :bang::bang::pullhair::pullhair:

I'd like a neat, continuous, groove that runs around the inside edge, and does NOT connect to the edge of the cutting board!

...art
 
cut out a template from some 1/2" mdf and use a top bearing round nose bit.
Cut the template in two pieces 1 for the outside 1 for the inside just to give support to both sides of the router but only run the bearing along the outside template. Put them on the cutting board with 2 sided tape
 
Make a template out of plywood or mdf. Double-face tape it to the cutting board, and use a core-box bit and guide bushing to cut the groove.

You'll need a different template for each size of cutting board, of course.
 
I've not done it on any of my cutting boards, but the way I always figured I'd do it would be to use a template to guide the router along. You'd have to size the template for a specific size of cutting board, but in the end you could have the radiused corners and make it a single continuous groove.
 
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl: ^^^^^^^^
All three of us at the same time said the same thing :rofl:

Yeah, Jim and I were lagging by a minute. That's still a pretty epic simulpost. :D And within 20 minutes of the question being asked. :thumb:

You got questions? We've got answers. We don't mess around here at Family Woodworking. :p

Oh, has anyone mentioned the template idea yet? :whistling:
 
use a core-box bit and guide bushing to cut the groove.

Thanks, Jim... don't know why the guide bushing didn't occur to me yesterday when I was in the thick of it! :doh: Tunnel vision, I guess. :huh:

cut out a template from some 1/2" mdf and use a top bearing round nose bit.

Ummm, got a link to one of those? I looked through the LVT website and there is no top-bearing bit that digs a groove like a core-box bit that I could find!

And within 20 minutes of the question being asked. :thumb:

Yeah... wow. I must have just hit that sweet spot on a lazy Sunday afternoon where a lot of you folks were hitting the forum.

Oh, has anyone mentioned the template idea yet? :whistling:

:eek: Wow, that's a great idea, Vaughn. Why don't you tell me all about it! :headbang:
 
Now if only we had a cnc to cut the template so the corners are nice and proper.

I have found in all this "routing with a template" its the template thats the issue. :eek:

Fine if its straight edges. but what to do with a curve. Concave curve not so bad drum sander helps there but convex curve well i have yet to get two the same.


While you guys are on the subject of templates and routing dont go away please throw in your tips on what to do when you need to rout down a narrow path of a template with a hairpin bend on the end.

canada_flag.gif


Imagine a template of the maple leaf here. How do i deal with those sharp "v's" on either side. I am wanting to inlay this symbol. I have cut an MDF template about 8 inch square and refined it with files etc to get edges all smooth. But how to cut the inlay now.

I was thinking of cutting up the template through the v's and doing it in three pieces so there are no tight points to deal with. But i dunno thats pretty scary as far as correlation of each rout is concerned.

Sorry for the hi jack Art just thought i would get these boys while they on the right wavelength.

Just in case you wanted a maple leaf juice track.:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
My BIL and I used to put a bowl bit...like 3/8" or 1/2" in the router table flip it upside down and run it with a 1" border.
 
Now if only we had a cnc to cut the template so the corners are nice and proper.

I have found in all this "routing with a template" its the template thats the issue. :eek:

Fine if its straight edges. but what to do with a curve. Concave curve not so bad drum sander helps there but convex curve well i have yet to get two the same.


While you guys are on the subject of templates and routing dont go away please throw in your tips on what to do when you need to rout down a narrow path of a template with a hairpin bend on the end.

canada_flag.gif


Imagine a template of the maple leaf here. How do i deal with those sharp "v's" on either side. I am wanting to inlay this symbol. I have cut an MDF template about 8 inch square and refined it with files etc to get edges all smooth. But how to cut the inlay now.

I was thinking of cutting up the template through the v's and doing it in three pieces so there are no tight points to deal with. But i dunno thats pretty scary as far as correlation of each rout is concerned.

Sorry for the hi jack Art just thought i would get these boys while they on the right wavelength.

Just in case you wanted a maple leaf juice track.:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Get yourself an inlay set for your router. Easier to use a laminate router than a full size. Works with an 1/8" plunge bit and special bearing.
http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=WoktTtu-C6ne0QHZrqXkDg&ved=0CFwQ8wIwAQ#
 
Now if only we had a cnc to cut the template so the corners are nice and proper....How do i deal with those sharp "v's" on either side...I was thinking of cutting up the template through the v's and doing it in three pieces so there are no tight points to deal with...

No matter how you cut the template up, you still won't get truly sharp corners. They'll always show the radius of the router bit you use. You can minimize the effect by using a 1/8" or even a 1/16" bit, but the round corners will still be there.

If you want sharp points, then you'll have to break out the chisels or carving knives and touch them up.
 
Thanks Jim you confirmed exactly what i been thinking. I just dont see how to do this without the chisels and carving.

Been thinking might as well use chisels all around and just use the router to hog out the middle ground.

Bit like cutting a lock mortise in a thin piece of wood. Gotta take care of the edges i guess. ;)
 
do all of the roughing out with the template bit and then use chisel for corners rob..and then you can make your plug the same way or can cut out with a scroll saw and place in cavity..
 
actually the link for the inlay kit you make your cut out with the large bearing then remove it and use the same template to cut your insert. All you would have to do as you said is crisp out the points with a chisel.
 
Here is some thinking out side the box Rob. I have never seen a maple lefe with sharp crisp inside corners. they all have rounded ones. :thumb:

maple-leaf-1.jpg
 
Oh, has anyone mentioned the template idea yet? :whistling:

As I was readying the bbq tonight, I thought I should revisit this topic...

All of you were right about the template being the way to go. It did the trick, though I'm still not 100% happy with the result. It was also a royal pain in the neck. Making, fiddling with, and using, the template was more work and hassle than the rest of the project combined.

Next time I think I'll just mail it to Stu and have him program his carver to take a nice oval pass for me. One of those CNC router gizmos has got to be easier! ;)

But all kidding and complaining aside, it sure does the trick. I'm actually glad that I had to plane it down to just a half inch thick, since that makes it much lighter and manageable.

Here we are, one lovely marinated porterhouse steak, fresh off the grill and I was cutting into it about 2 minutes after taking this photo. Lovely pink in the middle, hot and melt in your mouth. And then I poured the juice off onto my (and my wife's) perogies.

steak.jpg

And for the curious, it is soft maple, oak, cherry, redheart or paduak (I forget which), yellowheart and I think that is a strip of lacewood in the center.
 
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