# Got a ton of wood, a free weekend, any ideas ?



## LarryS. (29 May 2009)

So I've built up quite a stockpile of odds and ends of wood which are starting to take over the workshop and the house.....

worktop offcuts from our new kitchen :






plus a pile of odds and ends behind that :





one thing that does need building is a new bench : 




but I don't suppose that walnut is any good for that ?

then in the house got odds and sods aswell : 










anyone got some ideas of odds and ends I could make out of this lot ? Otherwise I'm going to end up binning it which would be a real waste.

Here are some pictures of the kitchen I've built / fitted which shows two gaps I have about 15cm wide which I am trying to think of something that I could fill in with :








and some other pictures of the kitchen, quite proud of how its turned out..












and yes that is 2 ovens you can see, don't even ask me to try and explain why, i can't work it out either


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## wizer (29 May 2009)

2 ovens is extremely useful.

What I think you should do is send the walnut worktop to me, it'd make some lovely platters


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## motownmartin (29 May 2009)

Hi Paul, I have seen someone turning these wooden worktops into chopping boards by cross cutting and re-joining with the end grain facing upward then selling them at a very good price.


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## OPJ (29 May 2009)

Paul, that kitchen looks excellent! Very well done mate! 

As Martin has already suggested, you could make a couple of simple breadboards. A bread _bin_ is another thought for the kitchen.

Spice racks? Knife blocks?

Beech is usually your best bet for a workbench, due to cost and availability. I bought a load of 3" from Interesting Timbers the other week... Almost ruined my car carrying it home but, don't worry, there should still be _some _left at their yard!! :wink:

I'd save the walnut for furniture, if I were you. :shock: Whatever you do, *DO NOT THROW ANY OF IT AWAY!!!* At the very least, offer it to members of the forum if you start thinking that way - I don't have any room myself  but, I can think of a couple of people who may be interested. 

Two ovens? Well, that's just your girlfriend's way of having a table saw and mitre saw in her 'workshop'!


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## wizer (29 May 2009)

In all seriousness Paul, I'd be happy to turn you up a couple of platters out of the worktop. Postage shouldn't be restrictive. Or you could do it the hard way with a router.


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## LarryS. (29 May 2009)

wizer":34i43sai said:


> In all seriousness Paul, I'd be happy to turn you up a couple of platters out of the worktop. Postage shouldn't be restrictive. Or you could do it the hard way with a router.



appreciate the offer wizer, how big a platter could you do ? (just want to run it past the management)


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## LarryS. (29 May 2009)

motownmartin":3qa6cz4d said:


> Hi Paul, I have seen someone turning these wooden worktops into chopping boards by cross cutting and re-joining with the end grain facing upward then selling them at a very good price.



not a bad idea, should be relatively simple job, again will be checking with the management  
only problem is I have so much of it it would make a lot of breadboards !! maybe some enforced presents for family


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## LarryS. (29 May 2009)

OPJ":brdovuzq said:


> Spice racks? Knife blocks?


SWMBO is after a spice rack, just can't think of a design for it out of something so thick (my lack of imagination being the major stumbling block) will do a search on the forum


OPJ":brdovuzq said:


> Beech is usually your best bet for a workbench, due to cost and availability. I bought a load of 3" from Interesting Timbers the other week... Almost ruined my car carrying it home but, don't worry, there should still be _some _left at their yard!! :wink:


i've actually started putting together a sketchup design for a workbench with integrated drawers (as I'm sadly lacking in storage for screws, nuts and bolts e.t.c.) Lets just hope there is some beech left !  



OPJ":brdovuzq said:


> Two ovens? Well, that's just your girlfriend's way of having a table saw and mitre saw in her 'workshop'!


thats the only argument she hasn't used....yet.


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## wizer (30 May 2009)

12-14" Paul. 18 at a push


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## LarryS. (30 May 2009)

wizer":3pgsq67h said:


> 12-14" Paul. 18 at a push


sounds good wizer but would the wood hold together ? just wondering because its lots of individual pieces

guess it depends on how well they glued them up :? :?


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## wizer (30 May 2009)

have a look at the platters in this thread:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... hp?t=32713

Made from kitchen worktop. Obviously I can't guarantee they'll stay together but I very much doubt they'd fall apart.


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## wizer (30 May 2009)

Paul, what about making a trolley type thing for the kitchen, using the worktop. Like a butchers block on wheels. Frame it with some Oak, some nice sturdy legs, wheels at one end and handle at the other.


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## LarryS. (30 May 2009)

wizer":2p5ld9j0 said:


> have a look at the platters in this thread:
> 
> https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... hp?t=32713
> 
> Made from kitchen worktop. Obviously I can't guarantee they'll stay together but I very much doubt they'd fall apart.




wizer, the management is sold on the idea of platters, pm me your address and I'll send a couple of pieces over (14" square ?). Once again, I really appreciate the offer


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## Night Train (31 May 2009)

LarryS":d6af3wof said:


> anyone got some ideas of odds and ends I could make out of this lot ? Otherwise I'm going to end up binning it which would be a real waste.


Nah, there is nothing you can really do with those bits at all. You should just chuck it out and get some proper stuff from B&Q. I have a trailer if you want to save on the cost of a skip and I can come over anytime to pick up. :wink:


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## OPJ (1 Jun 2009)

So then, Paul, the weekend is over... What have you accomplished???


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## LarryS. (4 Jun 2009)

well it was a lovely sunny weekend, so drank lager, eat bbq and generally did not much at all.

however last thing on sunday night decided to try the simplest job - a breadboard :
cut the pieces :




set up the clamps :




glued them up :




then clamped them up :






Anyone got an idea of how you level it off at this point, there are some slight lips plus the reside of the glue (which I forgot to clean off!) :


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## wizer (4 Jun 2009)

Mr WoodWhisperer advises that you don't put it through the P/T, favouring the drum sander. I used the P/T with a very light touch and got away with it. Make sure you get rid of all that glue first tho. A scraper or old chisel will get most of it, then a bit of power sanding.


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## OPJ (4 Jun 2009)

Pleased to see you didn't end up throwing it all away. :wink:

If you have some scrapers then, as wizer suggests, that should scrape the glue off nicely. Then, I'd probably start with a belt sander, working diagonally, as you would when flattening a wide board with a hand plane. After that, you should be able to remove all the scratches with a random orbit sander.

Next, you'll be asking about the best finish to use - but, I think that was recently covered by another thread in the General Woodworking forum! 

I wouldn't try it on your planer unless your knives were _dead-sharp_, freshly fitted and it was set to the bare minimal of cuts! :shock: :?


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## LarryS. (4 Jun 2009)

thanks both, will use my scrapers and then go nuts with the belt sander ! 

as for the finish i've seen that post, ta


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## big soft moose (4 Jun 2009)

Paul

swimbo suggest that you could make a spice rack out of one of the slabs of worktop by drilling some angled holes with "one of those big round bits" (she means a forstner i think) for the jars to sit in

I may try this design for size if i can lay hands on some suitable timber, will post pictures if anything transpires.

with regard to the rest of your wood - joking aside any you dont want of it i'd be happy to take it off you hands in exchange for beer vouchers - or to go swapsies on bits out of my equally big pile - i'm only a littleway down the road from bath


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