DIY SERVING PLATTER/CHEESE BOARD

Welcome back!

You’re looking good, nice to see you, are you ready to get FOXY again??

Remember my first FOXY MAKE? – I built a kitchen trolley/utility cart from some 3×3 timber and a salvaged section of beech worktop
Well, after trimming the worktop to size, I was left with several off-cuts. One of these off-cuts gave me an idea for FOXY MAKE 2, so, here we are (I don’t think I will be able to throw anything away ever again!)

Hand me the world on a silver platter, and what good would that be?

– Alicia Keys

SERVING PLATTER/CHEESE BOARD
I’ve been shopping again and searching for a decent serving platter/sharing platter (I don’t like sharing!) /cheese board type thing.

The only solid beech one I saw was retailing at £85.

Now, I don’t have a section of solid beech, but what I do have are lots of laminated, solid wood, beech blocks – close enough!

GETTING FOXY – WHAT I USED:
There’s nothing fancy about this project. To make it you only require a few tools, an off-cut and a little imagination.

The long, narrow off-cut determined the shape that I would make my board. I’ve seen some with handles and inserts cut in to them, but I wanted to keep this simple.

HERE WE GO: LET’S GET FOXY
The offcut was chunky and heavy, this was great for the trolley top, but not so good as a serving platter. The first step was to reduce the thickness of the piece:
1. I ran the off-cut through my thickness planer until it ‘felt right’, I’ve discovered that a lot of making doesn’t come down to technicalities or specifics, often it’s just about what looks or feels good.

 

2. You can see how much material I removed here, it got super messy!!

3. To maximise the surface area of the wood I had, I kept the design simple and just rounded off the corners of the board. I simply drew around this mason jar lid to ensure the corners were all the same.

4. Again, to maximise the surface area, I didn’t cut out a handle shape, instead I cut a hole out of the board. The size of the hole was determined by the diameter of the section of oak doweling I had left over from FOXY MAKE 1. Here I am using a inexpensive set of digital callipers to measure the dowel.

 

5. I used a hole saw in my drill press, but you could use a regular power drill too, just ensure you camp the workpiece down.

6. Time to sand the board, both sides. I did this with my orbital sander, starting off with 80 grit sanding sheets and working up to 120 grit.

7. I finished sanding the board by hand up to 240 grit. This left it silky smooth and ready for the next stage.

8. The next stage – oiling. I added several coats of food safe finishing oil and allowed it to soak in overnight. The following morning, I buffed it to a fine finish with a lint free cloth. I always find this stage really satisfying, it is amazing to see the wood transform as you apply it.

 

9. One step left, to hang it on the oak peg I made for the kitchen trolley. It’s a large board and this is a perfect place to stow it away when not in use.

10. Oh, and by the way, I saved the shavings from the thicknesser to spruce up some of these final shots – told you I don’t think I’m going to be able to throw anything away – so if you want some free hamster bedding – shout me!

 

FOXY MAKES SERVING PLATTER/CHEESE BOARD IS COMPLETE
I really hope you enjoyed following me as I made this platter. You can watch the entire build in more detail over on my YouTube channel, Making It Out Of The Woods.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe over on YouTube and please feel free to leave me a comment on this blog – do you have any ideas for a foxy make you’d like to see me build?

FOXY TIPS:
*I could have re-sawn the offcut on a table saw, band saw or planed it to thickness with a hand plane. I use the tools I’ve shown because I have them and they save time, but there are always other ways to achieve similar results.
*When the board begins to dry out after a while, simply add another coat of oil and it will as good as new.

See you soon for another FOXY MAKE and remember folks,
STAY FOXY!!! Claire x