Article - January 15, 2007
Gary writes, “Awesome job on the podcasts!! Had a question on the cauls used for the cutting boards. Are they flat, or do you put a curve. If curved, what’s the best way?”
And here’s my reply, “Hi Gary. The cauls I used in the video were simple and straight. The only time I use curved cauls is on a long glueup where I cant get a clamp in the middle. Fortunately, the small cutting board allowed me to place a clamp directly in the middle.
If you need to make a curved caul, I think the easiest and safest methods are with a belt sander or with a hand plane. To make it, simply mark the center of the caul, and draw straight lines out to each end, representing the material you want to remove. You don’t really need more than 1/8″ difference between the center and the edges. On longer cauls you may want to go as far as 1/4″. Once you have your lines drawn, just clamp up the piece of wood in your bench and start planing or sanding to the line. Once I get close to the line, I like to smooth everything out by carefully passing the caul over the jointer, one half at a time. Also note that I usually use 2×4 lumber for my cauls since they’re cheap, accessible, and also relatively soft and non-marring.”
Here is an article that pretty much says the same thing I said above, but with a picture:
Fine Woodworking Article
The Wood Whisperer is proudly sponsored by brands that Marc trusts. Thank you for making this possible.
Copyright © 2006-2020 The Wood Whisperer Inc. The Wood Whisperer, The Wood Whisperer Guild, TWW, and TWW Guild are trademarks of The Wood Whisperer Inc. All rights reserved. Designed and developed by Underscorefunk Design
This site uses affiliate links. Given this, please assume that any links leading you to products or services are affiliate links that we will receive compensation from. However, there are millions of products and services on the web, and I only promote those products or services that I would use personally. The Wood Whisperer abides by word of mouth marketing standards and holds integrity in the highest regard. Should I ever be compensated to write, I will make full disclosure. I always give honest opinions, findings, and experiences on products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely our own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. All content on The Wood Whisperer is copyrighted, and may not be reprinted in full form without my written consent.