# I bought a plank of Oak



## cutting42 (27 Jan 2018)

A bit wet, needs drying out but it will be a font cover.


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## Droogs (27 Jan 2018)

should get a good looking bit of wood with purrddyyy grain when it dries out enough to be of use


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## AndyT (27 Jan 2018)

That's an unusual project!
I'd be interested to see some pictures when you get started on it.


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## custard (27 Jan 2018)

Is your board wide enough to get the font cover out of it without jointing two sections together? 

Jointing highly figured boards can be tricky, the joint line can become pretty glaring and the eye focuses just on the joint rather than the piece as a whole. One way around that is to let in 6mm wide "pinstripes" between the joints. It works well with Oak if made from a player timber like Sycamore or Sweet Chestnut.


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## Racers (28 Jan 2018)

Wow! That’s very nice. 

You will need a lot of epoxy and coffeee to fill the pips. 

Pete


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## AndyT (28 Jan 2018)

Btw, when you say font cover, I really hope you mean something like this - do say if you need more wood!


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## cutting42 (29 Jan 2018)

Jointing will be required as it is not wide enough in one piece and you are correct, it will be a challenge, thanks for the suggestions custard. The font and church are very old and very simple and this cover will be replacing an existing cover that looks a little like what Andy posted.

It is around 2 inch thick and 9'6" long and has been seasoned for around 7 years but has surface dampness so once I have finished a design and roughly cut to size it will need some more drying out in my workshop. Fortunately as its destination is a church it will not be in a centrally heated place so mega drying not required. 

Whole plank:


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## cutting42 (12 Sep 2019)

I thought I would follow up with the finished project as a series of pictures. It was for my parents church and sadly my mother died before it was completed but she knew the design and the wood that was to be used and I put a little plaque underneath it dedicating it to her memory as well.


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## Bm101 (12 Sep 2019)

That looks amazing. Well done. Should be there and in use for many years!


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## AndyT (12 Sep 2019)

I really like the contrast between the plain, straight grain and the wild quarters. Beautiful work.


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## woodbloke66 (12 Sep 2019)

Nice work, burr oak is stunning material. I bought a completely green, thick (50mm) slab of the stuff last year (about 2mx400mm) and it was so heavy it was as much as I could do to lift it. It's currently air drying at the bottom of the garden under a big tarp but I have a mind to do one of those Alan Peters coffee table things with a gouge carved bowl once it's dry enough. Unfortunately it's developed one or two shakes and splits so I guess there'll be some fancy 'butterflies' to hold the whole thing together...at the moment it's too wet although it appears to be drying quite well - Rob


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## cutting42 (12 Sep 2019)

Thanks chaps

The church has been given a major refit inside so the hand over was able to coincide with the Bishop coming down to re open and bless the changes and to my amazement they got him to bless the new font cover as well so my first blessed piece of work!


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## MusicMan (12 Sep 2019)

A nice design, well executed. Looks terrific.


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## Racers (13 Sep 2019)

Wow! just wow.

Pete


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## El Barto (13 Sep 2019)

Excellent work.


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## AJB Temple (13 Sep 2019)

Lovely piece of work. Top job.


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## Nick (13 Sep 2019)

Really inspiring work this, thank you for sharing!


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## xy mosian (13 Sep 2019)

Beautiful work.
xy


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## hurworth1967 (16 Sep 2019)

Looks stunning, lovely work & a great tribute to your mum. If you don’t mind my asking, what finish did you use on it ?

Dan


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## Jonathan S (16 Sep 2019)

Beautiful work!
Beautiful timber!

I could stare at pippy oaf for hours, for me its therapeutic, like the flames in a fire!

Jonathan


Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk


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## Yojevol (16 Sep 2019)

Jonathan S":1893bttv said:


> I could stare at pippy oaf for hours, for me its therapeutic, like the flames in a fire!
> 
> Jonathan
> 
> ...


How about combining the two?


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## cutting42 (16 Sep 2019)

hurworth1967":166crjjl said:


> Looks stunning, lovely work & a great tribute to your mum. If you don’t mind my asking, what finish did you use on it ?
> 
> Dan



Thank you very much, my dad was very happy with it as well and called it a fitting memorial to her.

The finish was around 8 - 10 very light coats of Osmo Polyx Oil in Satin finish. Initial coats were painted on with a brush and wiped off with a clean cloth. Later coats (3 onwards) were wiped on with a cloth as well. Gentle knock down with a worn 220 grit sanding pad between coats.


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## JimWoodwork1975 (1 Oct 2019)

That is beautiful, well done. Can I ask, how did you cut the big circular curves?


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## cutting42 (1 Oct 2019)

JimWoodwork1975":gvyq8lm9 said:


> That is beautiful, well done. Can I ask, how did you cut the big circular curves?



Thank you.

Very carefully!  

I did initial rough cuts with a jigsaw when I was doing the joinery. Once it was glued up I visited a friends workshop to use his large band saw and trimmed to within 2-3 mm of the final line. Definitely a two man job as it is heavy.

I then made a precise template out of 12mm mdf and used double sided tape to fasten it to the top of the piece and then used his spindle moulder to make the final cut. A router table would have worked fine but the finish is better on a spindle moulder and also his machine had a large support surface which helped with handling the piece


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## JimWoodwork1975 (1 Oct 2019)

Thanks err.. '42'.. 

I'm a bit of an information sponge at the moment (guess I always will be really) as I'm a beginner. I don't even have proper workshop yet, I've just got 2 sheds (better than 1)! A 'Spindle Moulder' eh!? That's a new one on me. I'll read up on those - I'm doing some self study and a topic I'll be on soon is 'Woodworking Tools' so I'm sure that will come up.


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## cutting42 (1 Oct 2019)

JimWoodwork1975":14gz2tga said:


> Thanks err.. '42'..
> 
> I'm a bit of an information sponge at the moment (guess I always will be really) as I'm a beginner. I don't even have proper workshop yet, I've just got 2 sheds (better than 1)! A 'Spindle Moulder' eh!? That's a new one on me. I'll read up on those - I'm doing some self study and a topic I'll be on soon is 'Woodworking Tools' so I'm sure that will come up.



A spindle moulder is is a router table on steroids really, much larger spinning bit with a lot more power. A pro workshop tool really as they are expensive. As I said before, the job would be fine with a decent router table which is what I would have used if I didn't know someone with one.

Good luck as you continue learning!


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## SamTheJarvis (24 Oct 2019)

That is absolutely lovely. Proof that complex form is not required for beauty.


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## Farm Labourer (25 Oct 2019)

That really is a thing of beauty!


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## cutting42 (26 Oct 2019)

Thanks Guys


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## ZippityNZ (26 Oct 2019)

Beautiful =D> =D>


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