Cheese board/Fruit Bowl

[Mike Stafford]

This is a dual purpose piece turned from a piece of 5/4 cherry. One side is flat and the other side is slightly dished out so fruit can be displayed without rolling off the surface.

About 12 1/2" in diameter. Gotta love the rich sun tanned color of the cherry. I tanned the piece before finishing by allowing it to sit in the sun for a day on each side. The curved/dished out side is pretty subtle as its depth is only about 3/8".

My wife requested this to use as a cheese board for book club. After I gave it to her she said she was not going to use it as it was too nice to cut on. So now it has become a dust collector.

 

[glenn bradley]

After I gave it to her she said she was not going to use it as it was too nice to cut on.

Beautiful piece Mike and a great dual purpose idea. I've found a couple of whacks with a meat cleaver can solve the "too nice to use" syndrome

 

[Ted Calver]

Mike, you need to start using it for it's intended purpose. Put some exotic sausage and a couple of pieces of cheese on that beauty and slice away. Women are always hesitant to cut the cheese, but once you demonstrate the process....

 

[Mike Stafford]

My wife has no issues with cutting the cheese.....She got over her fear of that years ago.

 

[David Johnson]

That is a very nice piece. Good patina alredy. Now it needs some knife marks to make it believable. Just cut the cheese already.
David

 

[Dave Hoskins]

Me likes that a lot! Cool design. And, multipurpose. Great work!

 

[Chas Jones]

Simple somewhat novel idea making a useful piece.

Mike , How long did you have to dry the wood for such a large diameter piece, or more accurately what was its moisture content when finished; and do you get much climate induced movement of solid wood pieces in your location.

 

[Mike Stafford]

Simple somewhat novel idea making a useful piece.

Mike , How long did you have to dry the wood for such a large diameter piece, or more accurately what was its moisture content when finished; and do you get much climate induced movement of solid wood pieces in your location.

Chas, I have no idea what the moisture content was but I do know it was bone dry. The chips coming off of it were as hot as a pistol.

A friend gave me several small platter blanks out of cherry.. They were all about 13" square and had been kiln dried. I have had the blanks for a long time. Dry cherry gets real hot while turning.

Yes, I live in a very humid area. It is not unusual for us to get many, many days with 90 degree temperatures and 90% humidity. I see it affecting the fit of my boxes more than I see its effect on bowls and platters although you would expect there is some cupping that will occur. Of course all wood reacts to humidity changes and it can be pronounced or very subtle with some species worse than others.

 

[Chas Jones]

Wood movement with atmospheric changes seems to come as a surprise to many new to turning, we get quite a lot of seasonal changes here being a small island surrounded by water, and recipients are not unknown to place items near radiators or in sunlit positions. I try to compensate with my simple segmenting or laminating.
I gave up on trying to produce decorative close fitting box lids some years ago and now chose a lid interface that hides the join clearance allowance.

On large diameter platters I suspect may move more than desirable I relieve the base bead a little to give a three point contact.

 

[Les Elm]

Nicely done.