Cutting boards...

Ned Bulken

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Lakeport NY and/or the nearest hotel
So the LOML and I went to a local craft show yesterday:
crowd 1.jpg

they had a pretty decent turn out for a relatively small show.

A couple of the booths had wood items, one was virtually sold out of strip cutting boards (vs end grain), and while their boards were 'nice', Lori remarked that mine were nicer and that I should get busy and make a Bunch of boards.

How much is a bunch you ask? I wondered this as well, and on the way home I pondered this aloud...

oh 25 or so of each.

'each' turned out to be sizes... 3/4 thick 8x8, 10x12, 4/5 to 5/4 12x18 and a few show pieces at 8/4 20x30 (which was what the nearly sold out booth was selling)... it seems she has this grand plan to enter a couple of shows in a month or so. I've already got several boards in the clamps now (had some stock already planed to thickness). I've got a make a lumber run and invest in some more chocolate & lyptus. I have 'enough' maple and cherry on hand to get started however, so I've got a bunch of work to do.

I'm scouring CL and wracking my brain for mom&pop saw mills where I can find some cheaper walnut, the only source I have off the top of my head is charging $7/bf for it... I'm going to bite the bullet and buy 40 or 50 bf of it, but I'd love to find it cheaper if I can manage it.

I tossed and turned last night and somewhere in the midst of all of that, I decided that if she can pull this off, I'm getting at Least a new DC and possibly a new jointer out of the deal. Especially if she intends to sign up for several shows. I'll be pushing my little DC to handle all of those chips, and the jointer I have 'works', but I want a modern one as an upgrade.

I don't mind making them, but she's going to do the lions share of the marketing.

Since I only have 'so many' clamps I'm also going go be working on some other items for the booth... spoons, knife blocks, cheese boards (non-end grain) and the like.
 
Jonathan,
I'll see what he can do, but I'm also going to pick some up local. I've got a Bunch of maple and cherry on the racks, so the walnut is more of an accent wood in this case, so I don't need as much of it. I'm definitely going for 'production' as much as my tiny shop can manage it. To my mind that means longer blanks glued up so I can get as much done as quickly as I can. I won't save a LOT of time planing, as the feed rate is the same no matter what, but feeding one long board or glued up blank is less work than two smaller ones.
 
I used to order wood from a place that did 'ups bundles' Basically, boards banded together to just be under the length and weight limits for UPS. Might be worth looking into.
 
I used to order wood from a place that did 'ups bundles' Basically, boards banded together to just be under the length and weight limits for UPS. Might be worth looking into.
There's another option. See my reply to Jonathan too, though. There are mills around, the question is do they have what I want cheaper than where I know I can get it now.

looks like someone's going to be a busy boy!
Thankfully I have loads of time on my hands right now.
 
It' wood' be good to find a local supplier for sure...
yep. It sure wood at that.

my 'favorite' local wood supplier sells cherry 'shorts' various lengths by the pallet for under $2 per bf on occasion, definitely under $4/bf. I've got plenty on hand for round 1, but if this does well and I need to do more, I'll be picking up a skid for future batches.

Definitely going to be getting our tax ID etc... so that I can at least save paying that out on the materials.
 
well, I do remember I offered to schlep back any wood from larry and was willing to meet, and ned, you I would have driven right up 90 all the way, too bad you didnt ask, for sure I would have made a pit stop on the way home, and michigan walnut is alot cheaper than what we pay in NY.

ofcourse, if you are downstate anytime in the near future, or want to drive to harriman the weekend of oct 6 and 7th, Ill be there with the wife and daughter for 2 days on a shopping spree(not for me ofcourse, I only need teeshirts and a few pair of shorts every few years), so let me know, Ill bring up some walnut.
 
well, I do remember I offered to schlep back any wood from larry and was willing to meet, and ned, you I would have driven right up 90 all the way, too bad you didnt ask, for sure I would have made a pit stop on the way home, and michigan walnut is alot cheaper than what we pay in NY.

ofcourse, if you are downstate anytime in the near future, or want to drive to harriman the weekend of oct 6 and 7th, Ill be there with the wife and daughter for 2 days on a shopping spree(not for me ofcourse, I only need teeshirts and a few pair of shorts every few years), so let me know, Ill bring up some walnut.

Allen, I have No doubt you would have, and I do recall your kind offer. The 'Plan' however was not even on the horizon at that point. I'll find a source, I just have to plug back into the local network again. I know where a couple are, but last I knew they only did softwoods.
There is a larger supplier who likely has what I need, price wise, but their minimum order is absolutely out of my price range at the moment, and they only deal wholesale.
 
Projects like that are one reason I miss Ohio. I had "choclate", Cherry and Maple locally available for a song... comparatively. Down here it's quite the different story except for Mesquite and Pecan. But those can still be rather spendy. I hope you find what you need without going broke, Ned.
 
Projects like that are one reason I miss Ohio. I had "choclate", Cherry and Maple locally available for a song... comparatively. Down here it's quite the different story except for Mesquite and Pecan. But those can still be rather spendy. I hope you find what you need without going broke, Ned.
Thanks Billy,
I'm sure I will, I'm doing this the 'right' way, keeping track of time and materials, and the project will 'pay' me for each. I don't mind 'investing' 'on hand materials' plus my time in the project so long as I get the new tools and a bit of spending cash out of the deal. (Yes I'm granting that sales will happen. I'm confident my wife will be able to sell them, wouldn't be doing this at all if I weren't)
 
I picked up about 15 bf of chocolate yesterday, and today I'm ripping it plus a ton of maple and cherry to width. (I need to 'mine' some more cherry from the racks). Later on today I'll start jointing and planing it to thickness, and get some blanks glued up.
 
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