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"Chaos pattern" reminds me of a painting somehow .... it will come to me....
Picasso?


picasso-portrait-of-ambroise-vollard-1910.jpg
 
End grain boards are the project that transitioned me from an interest in carpentry to more fine woodworking. Ive made hundreds of boards over the years as well as very large end grain pieces for restaurants and homes. However, my tiny 1200 sf house has three wood surfaces. My wife(and her separate set of knives, obviously) has a 24"x24"x3" end grain walnut board to the left of the range. I think that was maybe the second board i ever made, and it is about a decade old now. My main board is a 32" x 22" x 3" and has a solid cherry field with a 1.5"+/- end grain ipe border. American cherry starts out kinda pink/orange, but over time it ages to a much more handsome dark red/burnt siena. It is exposure to UV that oxidizes the wood. A similar reaction happens to sapele and mahogany species. Finally, after making multiple large end grain commissions, i was overcome with jealousy and made myself a mobile island. My house is too small for a permanent island, unfortunately, but i made a 48"x24" walnut island with a drawer and lower cabinet on 4" polyurethane casters. They look like rollerblade wheels. The cabinet contains a few le creuset pieces, and itself weighs a lot, but it rolls very nicely over our wood floors. That walnut top is a hefty 5-6" thick, and i dream of the day i have a house with a decent sized permanent island. Because i need to roll it out and put it away to use it, it is only used on the weekends. I occasionally want for space on my 32"x22" board, but the 48"x24" is very rarely too small for chopping and prepping. Here it is with a quarter wheel of parmigiano. I usually break down 1-2 wheels a year for a group split, and this surface is a treat to work on. Those wheels weigh 75-80lbs, and are quite large.

I am relatively board rich, but knife poor. My set of knives are all shun. My wife has a hodge podge set of wustoff icons. Selectively upgraded my set from shun is the main reason i joined the forum.
 

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Finally got around to waxing this up so it looked presentable.
@Nemo thanks for the recommendation.
I’ve been really happy with my Chopa Block. I think any Aussie planning to get an end grain board ought to give them a look. Timbers are native and most are pretty hard but my rose gum board is approaching walnut.
 

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Finally got around to waxing this up so it looked presentable.
@Nemo thanks for the recommendation.
I’ve been really happy with my Chopa Block. I think any Aussie planning to get an end grain board ought to give them a look. Timbers are native and most are pretty hard but my rose gum board is approaching walnut in that regard.
Nice!
 
24x18 is the goldilock size for boards IMO... somehow yours looks so much bigger than mine with all that stuff on it, even though they're the same size 😆
Similar to computer monitors, I have always debated about 1 big vs 2 small. I eventually decided on 2 27inch monitors and 2 12 x 18 cutting boards. I put two 12 x 18 cutting boards side by side against each other. If I need to, I can wash it in the sink one at a time.
 
Similar to computer monitors, I have always debated about 1 big vs 2 small. I eventually decided on 2 27inch monitors and 2 12 x 18 cutting boards. I put two 12 x 18 cutting boards side by side against each other. If I need to, I can wash it in the sink one at a time.

I disagree. That’s like saying 2 twin size mattresses side by side are as good as a king. The seam will be a pain in both scenarios.

Edit - monitors I can see there being pros to having two separate
 
I disagree. That’s like saying 2 twin size mattresses side by side are as good as a king. The seam will be a pain in both scenarios.

Edit - monitors I can see there being pros to having two separate
I guess I never used an actual 18 x 24. Maybe I need to try one to see the difference. I imagine the seam is a bigger problem if I want to connect the 18 side to give me a 18 x 24 working surface. I normally connect the 12 side to give me a 12 x 36 working surface.
 
When you next going? Space in the suitcase for one for me?
Planning on next April, waiting to hear back about annual leave approval lol

Just come with me and we'll go have some fun visiting Shindo in person lol
 
Mine pales in comparison to the boards in this thread. I was gifted an Epicurean board which is made of composite wood.

I’m surprised how well it has performed despite its plain looks. Best features are its light weight which can easily washed in sink, dried vertically in dish rack without warping, has wood feel without staining, with only shallow scoring marks and doesn’t need oiling.
 
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It's hard to challenge the durability of paper fibers drenched in phenol formaldehyde resin... but they have little to do with actual wood.
 
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