Milling a Oak Log

Milling a oak log into two inch slabs in the woods of western North Carolina.

 So I mill all of my own lumber, so anything that i make is all made out of lumber I have milled. This is a ten foot piece of a huge oak tree that came down in a huge snow storm about two years ago.  The log I am milling here is right where the tree split from the weight of the snow.  Needless to say all of the stresses in this log have made it really hard to flat saw.  The oak keeps pinching my chain. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to get it loose for a min.  I do have to say this log has some amazing grain patterns. I will share the rest of the milling of this log in future videos. As always please offer any and all comments, advice, and criticisms.  All you haters help me grow so give me your best. lol

Caleb Lewis of Appalachian Woodshop

Oiling black walnut and cherry end grain cutting board.

Third end grain cutting board project.

This was my third end grain  cutting board project, and by far the most beautiful one I have ever made.  When I started it I was just messing around with a bunch of scrap black walnut, I had seen this design on  a Youtube and thought I would give it a try.  I had a small block of cherry and I thought the cherry would contrast well with the black walnut.  I was right, this cutting board looked absolutely amazing.  I usually not one to brag on my work.  I can always find something wrong with the stuff I make, but this project turned out really well.  The only thing wrong with it was the thickness.  I made a mistake when I was trying to flatten the cutting board, I didn't have it secured and needless to say it wasn't flat so I fixed the problem and tried again.  After the second one I almost just threw it away because I thought it was so thin, but I didn't and went on through with sanding it.  The more I sanded this thing the prettier it got.  Then I added the oil and it almost took your breath it was so beautiful.  I have to say I am really glad I went through with completing it.  Please offer any advice comments and cridisisams that you will.   Thank you to everyone who has offered advice,  like I have said, I am new to all this and I want to learn any and all the tricks of the trade.  So that I can avoid any mistakes in the future.   

Caleb  Lewis of Appalachian Woodshop

Black Walnut River Table With Green Accent and Tinted Black Epoxy Resin.

 Black Walnut River Table With Green Accent/Smokey Black Epoxy Resin.

This was my very first river table, as well as the first time I had ever used any kind of epoxy. I must say it was quite a learning experience. I made several pretty big mistakes which resulted in losing a considerable amount of the epoxy. I also made a mistake by using a really bowed board. Now I'm going to have to do another pour to level everything out. I'm not finished with it yet but I will post up dates once I finish everything. I think its going to be pretty sweet once I get everything finished up. Let me hear any ideas you might have and definitely any suggestions of how to make the process easier and faster.

Poured a green accent with epoxy resin.

First river table epoxy resin pour.

First river table epoxy pour.

Different angle shot of river table.

Prepping for river table pour of epoxy. 

River table pour prepping.

Form built for epoxy river table pour.

Form for epoxy river table.

Form for epoxy river table.

My second cutting board project.

 This is my second cutting board project I completed. I tried doing a checkerboard design on this one. I used poplar and black walnut to achieve the light and dark contrast.  I think it turned out pretty well I just didnt get everything to match in measurement and you can tell by everything not lining up properly. Other than that I think it turned out pretty good considering its my second one.

Most Recent Projects

 I'm going to open with some photos of my most recent projects. I have a few photos of some end grain  cutting boards. These are also my very first projects, so I'm sure they are not perfect and would love any feedback I can get. Tips and tricks to make the process easier and (or) faster. I'm looking to start mass producing cutting boards like these, to sell online and locally. Too eventually start building custom workbenches. So any and all advise will be greatly appreciated.

My very first cutting board.

My very first cutting board.

My first cutting board.