Knife block

I made this knife block shortly after completing a course for learning how to handle all the big machinery commonly used for woodworking as I wanted to stay in the flow. However I only used the hand tools I owned myself to complete it. The whole process took me 2 days from start to finish.

I used two pieces of glued laminated oak that I got from a local hardware store. I cut them to size with a circular saw and cut out the slots for the knives with a router. I dimensioned them so that each knife I had in the house would find a home. I glued them together using all the clamps I had at my disposal and let the glue dry overnight.

However my clamping technique still leaves much to be desired and the pieces didn't stay exactly in place so the block wasn't flush after all. Gluing really seems to be an art form in of itself, I never seem to get it right. I tried my best to cut the worst parts flush with a japanese pull saw which worked somehow but still left some ugly scars. I then diagonally cut the lower part so that the knife block would stand inclined and not straight. My circular saw didn't actually cut deeply enough to go through the whole depth of the wood so I made two passes from opposite sides which miraculously worked ok.

The last step was sanding everything to get a smooth surface on all sides. This took quite some time as I had to even out the remaining irregularities from the previous steps. I added a chamfer on the edges with the router and lastly applied some natural oil for a nice finish. On the bottom I added some little rubber pads as feet.

All in all I'm very happy with how this project came out. Gluing (or clamping) still seems to be a weak point for me but it's really amazing how much you can even out by sanding, even if it takes some time. The glue bond itself worked fine however, there are no gaps and the block is a nice addition to my kitchen.