Episode 7- A Cut Above (Pt. 1)

16 Responses to “Episode 7- A Cut Above (Pt. 1)”

1. Stan on December 23rd, 2006 8:14 pm

   Nice podcast. Too bad they aren’t a bit longer.

   Speaking of planes, I’d like to see a future show on planes: sharpening and using them to create flat surfaces on something large like a tabletop.

2. Doug Hicks on December 28th, 2006 1:17 pm

   Did anybody but me notice that at the end of Marc’s latest show (A Cut Above, Part I) that TheWoodWhisperer.com was misspelled as TheWoodWhsiperer.com and the same mistake was on the e-mail address. Now, if I know Marc, he will blame this on the Missus. I enjoyed the show anyway!

3. tom on December 28th, 2006 3:47 pm

   minor spelling error on your last podcast about the cutting board.
   The wood whsiperer is shown on the email address
   good episode cant wait for the next!

4. The Wood Whisperer on December 28th, 2006 8:24 pm

   Well, that was actually a test to see who was paying attention. You guys win!! :)

   Marc

5. Richard on December 29th, 2006 6:51 pm

   I subscribe to your podcast through iTunes and enjoy them. But …

   The cut you made today on the glued up layers of the cutting board is very dangerous. In every table saw book of safety procedures the tell you never to do this.

   ‘Never cut cross grain against the fence.’ (Try that on Google and see how many hits you get.)

   Having said that, I done it a number of times. I always realize that it is not a safe cut and I brace myself and use a good push stick. The push stick you were using could only be described as ‘weenie’.

   I’ve placed a crude picture here. ( http://www.americankestrel.com.....hstick.jpg ) I make a couple of these a year and usually embed a magnet in the side to that it is easily attached to the table saw. It is usually made out of plywood and I’ve seen guys that make the sacrificial notch so that it is replaceable.

   I can cut one out on the bandsaw in under a minute so I don’t go to that kind of trouble. Drilling and placing the magnet takes a little longer.

   Like you and ‘Norm’ I don’t use a blade guard although if I was making a video I would that was because it is easier for the camera to see the cut. I have a splitter on one table saw and think it is a good idea for ‘rough’ or green wood.

   Thanks for the show.

6. The Wood Whisperer on December 29th, 2006 11:46 pm

   Hey Richard. I am flattered by your concern for my safety. ;)

   I will address a few of your points though. The general rule about cross-cutting end-grain against the fence stems primarily from the fact that most lumber is much longer than it is wide. So cross-cutting a 6″ wide board that is 36″ long is very dangerous against the fence. In general, you never want to cross-cut anything that is longer than it is wide. But when your end-grain surface is sufficiently wide enough to support the piece through the entire cut,  the cut is permissible (at least in my shop). The cut is definitely on the more “challenging” side, but I honestly don’t think its all that dangerous with the proper precautions.

   Now I have to defend my weenie push stick. lol. As far as Im concerned, the push stick that gives you the best control over the cut is the best push stick for the job. I actually have several push sticks like yours and I used them on the first few cuts. But I really wasnt happy with the quality of the cut and to make matters worse, the stick would get jammed between my anti-kickback prawls and the fence which is obviously no good. So I opted for my trusty skinny push stick, which yielded a cleaner cut and easily passed between the fence and the splitter. But for many people, a forward-pressure push-stick like yours might be the best option.

   And finally, a few words about the splitter/blade guard. I actually DO have a blade guard AND a splitter.  And unlike Norm, I dont remove my blade guard and splitter “for clarity”, as I have hear Norm say.  My blade guard was pushed out of the way so that I could make the cut safely. There are many cuts where a blade guard actually makes things more difficult and more dangerous. From your last few comments, it actually sounds like you favor a blade guard over a splitter (forgive me if I misunderstood). But do yourself a favor and make sure you have a splitter on your tablesaw whenever possible. The blade guard is a nice feature, but it won’t do a darn thing to protect you against the most dangerous and common tablesaw mishap, Kickback.

   It makes me feel good that you are safety conscious. Like I said in my videos, I will always do what I feel is the safest method for me. But if you know of a safer method, by all means use it, and be sure to post it here for everyone’s benefit.

   Thanks Richard. Have a good New Year!

   Marc

7. Charles on January 1st, 2007 1:05 pm

   Great video again.

   Always entertaining. Keep them coming as there are plenty of us that need to see something to know what is going on.

8. John Rezz on March 18th, 2007 7:33 pm

   Marc,

   I found a huge piece of purpleheart at woodcraft in Loveland CO. for less per board foot than oak…. in other words my cheap ass bought it. I decided to make one of your cutting boards since I have a huge stockpile of maple at the house….

   So you perform a sneaky little trick in your podcast :) You changed from one glue up pattern to another after you make your 1 1/4 cross cuts, no big deal I just could not figure out what was differetn beteween mine and yours. I will make the next one with the 3/4 cuts inside…

   Thanks for the project… I have made several cutting boards in the past but I really like the contrast between the purpleheart and the maple….

   Keep up the good work and I hope to see you on TV soon…

   John

9. Karl B on May 5th, 2007 1:30 pm

   My wife and I love your Cutting Board Vid, especially the “….cuttinnnnnnnnng boarrrrrrd” part. The phrase is repeated many times a week around our house.

   Thanks for the awsome episode and keep up that sense of humor.

   KB

10. Jonathan on September 2nd, 2007 6:28 pm

    Marc, I just ordered the wood so I can get cracking on a couple of these cutting boards. I’ve only just bought a table saw so I think that this will be a great second project (the first was a birdhouse. :-) )

    Thanks for putting this podcast together. I’ve watched this particular episode many times dreaming about the day I’ll FINALLY get the stuff together to give it a try.

    Jonathan

11. Jerry Marshall on November 7th, 2007 7:04 am

    I’ve tried to level the surface of the first glue-up by sanding it with 80 grit on my random orbit sander and my belt sander. Bad idea. It looks good, but when I cut the board into 1 1/4″ strips and alternate them for the second glue up, things tend to get a little gappy between the strips. to the point that I could throw a cat through some of the gaps. So I go back to the table saw and shave the strips on bothe sides to achieve a perfect fit. After I do this, everything lines up dead on. I suppose I could avoid all of this by using my planer, but it seems awfully abusive to the machine and makes a heck of a racket. It scorches the wood too
    Love the Podcasts–they’re lots of fun. Keep “em coming!

12. Steve on November 26th, 2007 3:47 pm

    Marc — A friend of mine tells me that he thinks plastic cutting boards are less likely to harbor microbes than wood. I’ve read dozens of articles that address this issue but have found nothing definitive. I KNOW that you have an opinion about this… and I think I can guess what you will say. Anyone who is concerned about milk carton safety definitely has an opinion on cutting boards. A reply from a microbiologist will definitely help settle the argument. Thanks!

13. thewoodwhisperer on November 26th, 2007 9:21 pm

    Well Steve. If you do a little digging you will find numerous articles with conflicting claims. Some say plastic is more sanitary and some say wood is. The claim for wood is that it has a natural anti-microbial properties not found in plastic.
    So what do I believe? I believe that bacteria will grow on anything that is not kept clean or properly cared for. I sanitize my boards with a little white vinegar and some folks like to rub salt on the surface. And I never cut meat on my boards. I know it sounds crazy, but I reserve my fine boards for vegetables only. The meat is cut on plastic. And the primary reason is because I can spray that sucker with bleach and throw it in the dishwasher if I want to. Thats the safest bet as far as Im concerned.
    Unfortunately I have never done any testing and Im not sure what to believe from the conflicting studies I’ve read. So the best bet is to have safe practices and good habits.

14. Kent Follmer on November 29th, 2007 9:58 pm

    I am sorry Marc, there is just something NOT right about the Wood Whisperer cutting anything on plastic. I can understand keeping one a really nice board from being damaged by heavy use in order to keep it looking new, but can’t you find an old (wood) end grain board to cut on? I have read enough on the plastic v. wood debate to conclude, Wood Wins. Wood always wins. I am sure you can figure out a way to clean a wood board after cutting meat. Don’t you think so WW?

    Kent Follmer
    Champaign IL

15. Kent Follmer on December 3rd, 2007 8:15 pm

    I apologize Marc for my previous post above. After reading it again, I see now it may have been inappropriate. I enjoyed watching you throw the plastic board over your shoulder in your video and I was surprised to hear that you use one for meat.

    Here is an article written by an unbiased Phd that did an in deptch study on the subject.

    http://www.alladd.com/cutting_board_study.htm

    This article concludes as follows:

    In addition to our laboratory research on this subject, we learned after arriving in California in June of 1995 that a case-control study of sporadic salmonellosis had been done in this region and included cutting boards among many risk factors assessed (Kass, P.H., et al., Disease determinants of sporadic salmonellosis in four northern California counties: a case control study of older children and adults. Ann. Epidemiol. 2:683-696, 1992.). The project had been conducted before our work began. It revealed that those using wooden cutting boards in their home kitchens were less than half as likely as average to contract salmonellosis (odds ratio 0.42, 95% confidence interval 0.22-0.81), those using synthetic (plastic or glass) cutting boards were about twice as likely as average to contract salmonellosis (O.R. 1.99, C.I. 1.03-3.85); and the effect of cleaning the board regularly after preparing meat on it was not statistically significant (O.R. 1.20, C.I. 0.54-2.68). We know of no similar research that has been done anywhere, so we regard it as the best epidemiological evidence available to date that wooden cutting boards are not a hazard to human health, but plastic cutting boards may be

16. Kent Follmer on December 20th, 2007 11:24 pm

    a knowledgable work worker recently wrote in a post:

    After the legislators declared wood cutting boards unsafe, and required all commercial joints to switch to plastic cutting boards, a University did a study of bacteria on used cutting boards. The found the plastic boards were very unsafe… that the tiny scratches left by the knives were a great incubator for bacteria. The old fashioned wood cutting boards were practically germ free. When I read the study they had not (yet) proved their theory that the moist wood expanded to squeeze the moisture out of the scratches, then dried, killing the bacteria. Whatever the mechanism, the wooden boards were safe, and the plastic boards not only dulled the knives (making them dangerous) but they contaminated the food.

    I no longer use my plastic cutting board. I enjoy my wood prep counter and my wooden cutting boards (occasionally treated with mineral oil, or previously with vegetable oil).

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