How they do that then?

[stuckinthemud]

On tonight’s Great British Celebrity Bake Off there was a large display disk which looked like a 14 or 18” timber round with bark on My beloved now wants a chopping board “just like that one”: timber disk cut off a moderately large tree trunk, bark still on, no splits, cupping or warps. Any ideas?
I’m thinking the one on telly was a fake timber lookalike, but if my better half persists, what would be a good approach (if it is at all possible, that is)

 

[Stigmorgan]

I believe you would wait for a log to season and dry then cut your disc from that.

 

[adidat]

I believe you would wait for a log to season and dry then cut your disc from that.

If you waited for it to season the bark would have fallen off in places and heavily split?

A guess would be that it was dropped and cut not long before filming?

Adidat

 

[Ozi]

How you stop the disc splitting no idea other than very slow careful drying but the bark might be re-applied as done by the cleaver chap in the video attached. As a chopping board needs to be cleaned personally I would try to talk her out of the idea or look to cast / case the whole thing in resin, splits and all - let me know how that goes never tried so offering it as advise to see what happens!

 

[MF1000]

On tonight’s Great British Celebrity Bake Off there was a large display disk which looked like a 14 or 18” timber round with bark on My beloved now wants a chopping board “just like that one”: timber disk cut off a moderately large tree trunk, bark still on, no splits, cupping or warps. Any ideas?
I’m thinking the one on telly was a fake timber lookalike, but if my better half persists, what would be a good approach (if it is at all possible, that is)

splits in a cookie cut slab of timber are virtually inevitable. Warps & cups are easily dealt with using your router and a milling table setup.

From a food hygiene point of view a cookie disc isn’t ideal as it will contain softer sapwood around its edges which will damage quicker than the heartwood, with the cracks becoming bacteria traps. Bark on the outside is even more if an issue and best left as decorative on coffee tables etc rather than for food preparatio.

if she likes the style for a chopping board it is probably best done out of end grain blocks and then cut into an 18” disc imho.

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

I did something similar for my daughter's wedding. She wanted a dozen table decorations made from discs of silver birch cut from a tree felled in her garden. I soaked the discs in a product called Pentacryl Preservative. A bit expensive at £25 for 32oz but the discs have not split at all in the last 18 months and they hadn't been sealed in the 3 or 4 months prior to treatment with Pentacryl. Not sure if it's good for food surfaces though. Also I had to reattach some, not all, of the bark. Just tacked it in place with a long pin.
Hope this is useful info.
Have fun
Martin