Crystal Star End Grain Cutting Board

[@clauderaasch624]

I love this video. Great ideas and beautiful board. I especially LOVE the fact that there is no irritating background noise (music)

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Well it took me a few videos to figure out that shop sounds are the music of woodworking. Thanks for watching and I’m so glad you enjoyed the video.

[@carybrown3192]

Beautiful boards, as for the borders, I like the maple because of the contrast, great job!

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Excellent choice! The maple is definitely the most popular. I’m partial to the padauk but only because it looks great in my kitchen. Thanks for watching!

[@markdecker8020]

I just found your channel and subscribed my wife is a quilter so you know what I am going to be making I have done woodworking all my life you are doing a great job and be safe

[@FireflyWoodworking]

She will ❤️ a board that celebrates her passion. I’m so glad you’ve joined the channel and I hope to bring some more unique items this year that you can try out in your shop. Thanks for watching!

[@WOODWORKVEGAN]

Really beautiful boards. Excellent work, thanks for posting.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!

[@RobWilliamsJr]

So good to see you back on YourTube! Best quality video yet!

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Hey thanks! I tried a new editing software and while it is a thousand times more complicated the end result is so much better. Just another part of the journey.

[@marklittlejohn1457]

Thankyou for the tips and video

[@FireflyWoodworking]

You’re welcome. Thanks for watching and for leaving a comment!

[@brianhmonks]

Got to be tough jointing on your knees ! Nice Board

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Thank you! These boards turned out even better than I thought and I’m excited to experiment more with this design. It’s funny I moved the jointer to the floor when I was trying to organize and I actually found it so much easier on my back. Wild!

[@rickpouley2857]

The boards are beautiful! I love all three of them!

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Thank you! Such a fun build and a great experiment. I’m excited to try some more quilt designs.

[@AXZ9340MB]

Good work, I liked very much

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Thank you! They were fun to make. I ended up keeping the padauk bordered one and it looks more beautiful every day. Thanks for watching.

[@lisaalbrecht7900]

Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Thank you for taking the time to watch and leave a comment. These boards were fun to make and I love the end result.

[@shednut2666]

Keep up the good work

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Thank you!

[@marcelocesar3281]

Excelente trabalho. A delicadeza com que trabalha e narra as etapas é cativante. Sua voz é gostosa de ouvir. Cuidado ao passar a cola para naonse ferir ❤.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Obrigado! Este projeto foi definitivamente uma experiencia de aprendizagem. Agradeco suas palavras de cautela e tentarei me manter seguro na loja.

[@barbrabrown9997]

Great looking boards. New to woodworking only made one board. How do you get the pattern to come together in your board?

[@FireflyWoodworking]

The best way is to be precise in cuts. The length or width doesn’t always matter as long as they are the same board to board. Example, once you setup your table saw fence, don’t move it and make every cut you need to make. Once you move it it will never really go back exactly the same. And then I just take my time lining things up. Don’t be afraid to wipe glue off and try again or wipe it from the surface if you can’t see the pattern. It’s a lot of fun to try new things and sometimes they don’t work out and then I just investigate what went wrong. Happy creating!

[@SmDJeremy]

How you haven't lost a finger yet amazes me.. haha nice boards though! Impressive.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

I’m glad you like the board. It was fun to play with the design and color options. I’ll keep working on technique because as much as it amazes you, I’d prefer to keep all my digits. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@SmDJeremy]

@@FireflyWoodworking Well the best technique, i think, is using push blocks/sticks when you have small pieces ;) but hey that's just me. You're clearly more confident than I. =)

[@Dta1996]

This is an awesome build, well done! Is there a diagram of the cutiing and layout? My wife is a quilter and it would be fun to make it for her or her quilting buddies 🙂Thanks Doug

[@FireflyWoodworking]

There isn’t but I have been wanting to make some plans. Wanna be my plan guinea pig? Pop over to my website and send me an email.

[@1927Scavengers]

Nice to see the saw upgrade. Why not use the drum sander? Great looking boards. I’m need to upgrade my table saw. Currently have a 10” craftsmen with 15” on each side. Maybe less. Is the sawstop worth it. I was thinking delta or rigid as the next step.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

After so many years without the drum sander, I’m just starting to get used to it. Also I wanted to make sure the build felt accessible. Drum sanders are definitely a luxury. I’m going to have to incorporate it more in future builds and I have been using it for bulk cutting board builds - super efficient. The sawstop is a dream. I feel like I made a huge leap from the dewalt job site to a higher end cabinet saw. So can’t really compare the two. So much power and no vibration. Plus the table space makes it so much safer when I build cabinets. Still getting used to using the sawstop and I haven’t even started making jigs for it. I’ve heard really great reviews on the delta.

[@markryan5493]

Hi, very nice boards. I have just started making cutting boards. I have problems with them warping after a few weeks. What could cause this? Thanks, Mark.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

It sort of depends on if they are end grain versus face or edge grain. For face/edge grain the most likely culprit is moisture. Make sure your boards are nice and dry before you start milling. As you mill and expose the center of the board which holds moisture you may find the board warps. I like to start milling, let the boards rest for 1-3 days and then finish milling. The next thing that causes warping is boards that aren’t straight being forced to be straight. With tight enough clamps any amount of warp can be forced out of a board. But it will come back. Clamps are there to provide enough pressure for apposition. If you are using clamps to correct something that isn’t flat it will come back to haunt you. Hope that helps! Feel free to send me an email through my website if you have more questions or need guidance! Happy woodworking!!!

[@markryan5493]

@@FireflyWoodworking Ok, thanks for the advice. I have been doing end grain mostly & cut the timber up & glue it pretty much straight away. I will leave it for a few days & see how that goes. One particular board I made I thought the timber was quite damp & it warped really bad. Thanks again I will see how that goes. I do have a problem with patience & want to do it all straight away.

[@unclebob8746]

I've found that the dust, either sawing or sanding, from padouk always gets into the very small pores of the maple. I have yet to find a way to get the red out of the maple.... Beautiful boards.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Interesting. I just saw a post about this on a woodworking forum and someone suggested wiping the padauk with a small amount of acetone. I haven’t had issues on most boards but it might be worth a try. Thanks for watching!

[@unclebob8746]

@@FireflyWoodworking I always wipe any surface of padauk that gets glue with acetone; oily wood. Never tried it before sanding. Have used acetone to get the red dust out of hard maple - no joy.

[@scottlandb6579]

May I ask what type of jointer you use?

[@FireflyWoodworking]

It’s a 10” wahuda bench top jointer. A great little machine.

[@barbrabrown9997]

My second question...where do you get your lumber? I am finding it difficult to find where I can secure 8 quarter wood. thanks.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

I go to a local place called C.P. Johnson. The owner is great and I never have issues finding 8/4 lumber. They carry domestic and some exotics. If I need something super special I’ll travel farther to Frederick Lumber Company. They carry everything and I mean everything. I’ve found the best way to find your local dealers is to ask the local clubs. I’m in a woodworking and woodturning club. They are a gold mine of information and camaraderie.

[@richardmiqueli2385]

Wish you were close to show me all you know

[@FireflyWoodworking]

It’s not easy getting started without a mentor close by when things get tough, especially with woodworking because it’s such a physical art form. I’m happy to answer any questions you have and maybe someday I’ll offer classes or live tutorials. We’re all learning together!

[@richardmiqueli2385]

@@FireflyWoodworking one mistake and boom start over

[@FireflyWoodworking]

I’m a perfectionist at heart, so I totally get what you are talking about. I’ve been working on embracing mistakes and either leaving them or learning how to fix them. I spent a lot of time and $$$$$ just throwing things out or never finishing them when I first started. Even now, when some new mistake hits me, I have to walk away. But, now I come back, maybe after doing something I know I’m good at, and try again.

[@richardmiqueli2385]

@@FireflyWoodworking o I won’t quit I’ll figure things out. Slow and steady. Rich

[@jackhealy6166]

I made your pinwheel board...yours is much nicer! For this board, how many square strips are you making. I found this part very confusing on the pinwheel instructions. Did you start with 8/4? What size (length and width) padauk, maple, walnut and sapele boards did you start with?

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Great job! I started with 8/4 maple, 8/4 sapele, 8/4 walnut, 8/4 Padauk and these were all cut to 24”. I made 6 angled pieces of each type - so 6 Padauk/maple, 6 walnut/maple and 6 sapele/maple. I also made 2 maple squares and 2 maple rectangles (basically 2 double squares). This is best seen at minute 7:03. For the borders I used 8/4 Padauk, 4/4 walnut and 8/4 maple. Good luck and happy building!!!

[@jackhealy6166]

@@FireflyWoodworking thank you, I will give this one a try!

[@scottgloster3601]

Maybe try using a quality rip blade. It looks like you have a cross cut blade, which could explain the problem

[@FireflyWoodworking]

🤔 I’ll have to look into that. I’ve had it for a while and I think it’s one of those combo blades which I know are not as good as blades that are designed for specific purposes. I’m sure it was the best blade I could find at the big box store. This is exactly the type of tip that I need! Thanks!

[@scottgloster3601]

@FireflyWoodworking I promise you'll be amazed. $60ish for a Frued Glue line rip or $25ish for a CMT rip blade. There made for clean rips through hardwood. 24-30 teeth

[@BarbraBrown-c9c]

why no juice grove

[@FireflyWoodworking]

I don’t typically put them on my boards unless a client requests it. I usually recommend they have 2 boards, one for fruits/veggies and one for meat. Only a meat board would really need a juice groove. These boards are sort of a prototype to try out new patterns and experiment with different woods so they weren’t made for a specific client. I show my juice groove technique on my instagram if you want to see it in action.

[@carybrown3192]

I take it you enjoy peeling glue off of your fingers, because you always spread the glue with your fingers!

[@FireflyWoodworking]

I mean, doesn’t everyone 😂 To be honest it’s probably because I can’t find the fancy silicone glue spreaders I bought. Much like my pencil they tend to wander off.

[@johnv2035]

Nice process you used. If your blades are getting dull, just soak them in Fantastic or some other regular household cleaner and then give them a scrub, rinse, dry. No sense in spending big bucks on "purpose made" cleaners that do the same thing.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Thanks!!!!! It’s so great to know that I can use something I already have. Thank you for leaving a helpful tip and for watching.

[@LarsGalbraith]

Climb feed

[@FireflyWoodworking]

.

[@scottgloster3601]

Don't need a new blade, You just need the correct blade. When you're ripping hardwood or any lumber for that matter, You need a ripping blade. 24-32 teeth. Even your miter saw Would work a lot better if you had a forty eight or sixty tooth blade

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Great tip! Actually ended up just cleaning all my blades and they worked like new. I tend to get combo blades but really need to consider the benefits of ripping blades for fast work. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.

[@scottgloster3601]

@FireflyWoodworking I actually have the exact same equipment as you. The first blade I bought for the mitersaw was a 100 tooth makita blade. At first I thought something was wrong with the saw. I didn't realize the blade was the problem. I switched to a 48 tooth frued blade and it was like a new saw. Especially cutting 8/4 stock. If somebody was walking buy while you were at the mitersaw and saw your silhouette, the might think O.J. was attacking you. Also, you can use 7 1/4 or 8 1/4 rip blades on your tablesaw too. The difference is amazing. The only issue is the blade is so thin you can't use your riving knife. Those blades are only around ten dollars.

[@FireflyWoodworking]

I’m headed to woodcraft today for various stuff. I’ll definitely be checking out some new blade options!

[@scottgloster3601]

Your planer can handle 13"

[@FireflyWoodworking]

You are totally right! I always think of it as being 12” but it is the 13” model. Thanks!

[@LarsGalbraith]

If you climb feet, the router, it will have less tear out

[@FireflyWoodworking]

Great tip!!! Thanks for taking the time to watch and leave a comment