Kristy’s colleague approached her about a cutting board cut to the silhouette of a penguin. I had never done a cutting board outside of the complicated geometry of a rectangle.
We found a stencil that had enough meat between the wings and body to prevent it from breaking or cracking. We needed a fatter penguin. I bulked up the beak, feet, and wings without making it unrecognizable. For visualization, I transferred the 2d image to a 3d model for approval.
It was decided to use oak, which I like because I can get 2×2 red oak at the big box hardware stores. This cut down the cost of materials because oak and because I didn’t need to thickness plane the boards.
I had plans to meet up with my woodworking pal who has a CNS to mill the penguin shape, however his machine is in a state of disassembly. I muscled up and did it the old fashion way: a projector and the bandsaw.
I positioned the board on a stack of books and traced the shape of the penguin on it. Note the precision.
The bandsaw work went pretty fast. If fact, I probably got it done in a similar amount of time as a CNC. Oak can be a pleasure to work with.
I sanded and sanded some more. For the crevices, I used a Dremel and an assortment of other techniques.
Bees wax and mineral oil and it’s done. Perfect for sushi.
Now that I’ve done one, other animals will be relatively easy. A hippo? A buffalo? Maybe a whale?
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