The Process: How our lake boards are made It begins with the purchase of kiln dried solid cherry hardwood. It generally comes in random widths and lengths rough cut from the sawmill. I first cut it unto suitable lengths, flatten one edge on a joiner and rip into 2 inch or less wide strips. Then it’s back to the joiner to flatten one surface and the newly sawn edge.  Before glue up, the boards are flipped so their individual grains alternate to minimize warping. Then enough strips are put on the clamping table for the desired width and waterproof glue is applied and the clamps are tightened to ensure continuous glue squeeze out,      After overnight curing the resulting glue up is scraped to remove large glue drippings and then it’s run through a surface planer, both sides, to desired thickness. Then it’s  squared up on a crosscut miter saw and table saw to the desired dimension.      Now its ready to customize. I communicate with my client to determine the exact lake and lettering layout. I then use a computer design program to get a rendering on screen of exactly what the finished product will look like and usually get approval by my client of that screen picture.       Next the computer image is uploaded into and computer numerically controlled (CNC) router in g-code.  After mounting the glue up on the CNC cut table the appropriate series of bits and the router carve out the lake and lettering to form pockets about 3/16” deep into the wood.  The lake pockets are filled with blue epoxy and the lettering with black epoxy.  Typically, the pockets are overfilled to account for epoxy shrinkage during curing.  The wood now looks like a ruined mess! After several days of curing, the ‘mess’ is cleaned up by running the board through a surface planer and then a surface sander.  Next is the step most woodworkers dread: finish sanding.  Beginning with 120 grit and continuing through 150, 180 and finally 220 grit all the surfaces are sanded with a handheld random orbital sander. From here on the process differs depending on the choice of final product, be that a cutting board, charcuterie tray, a pontoon boat table or a wall hanging.      For a cutting board, finger holds are routed into the ends, juice groves are routed onto the back side, a bevel is routed onto the top surface edge and a small round over is routed onto the bottom edge.  After a little hand sanding of the routed areas a flood coat of ‘board butter’ is applied to all surfaces and wiped off.  This is a custom food safe mineral oil and bees wax finish which seals the wood’s pours.      If destined to become a charcuterie board, the sanded board is beveled, the edges sanded and then all surfaces are finished with a food safe finish.  Holes are then drilled to accept recessed screws which secure two black handles.      For wall art, a thinner board is used to reduce weight. A walnut frame is attached and then all surfaces and sprayed with a moisture resistant lacquer finish.      For the boat tables, 1 ½” thick wood is used, holes are formed with a 3 5/8” hole saw to later receive black weather resistant cup holders.  Most critically since these will be exposed to the elements outdoors, all surfaces are finished with a minimum of two coats of epoxy, a seal coat and pour coat and usually a second pour coat. This takes over a week since at least 24 hours of curing time is required between coats with a final 5-day final cure time after the last coat of finish.  This is a marine U.V. resistant epoxy, the same as that used to finish wooden boats and bar tops. The resulting tabletop is a beautiful, customized replacement for those cheap plastic ones usually included even in very expensive boats! Mounting is easy. Your existing boat’s pedestal has its top screwed on from underneath.  You simply remove those screws and reuse them to screw on your new top.       Some clients, especially those owning their own lake home, order all four items to enhance their lake life experience; cutting board for the kitchen, charcuterie board to serve snacks and drinks, wall art to enhance the gathering room and a table for their pontoon or deck boat.  To such clients I’m giving a 20% discount, resulting in a $170 savings over purchasing each individually.