FOOD PLATTERS (Purple Heart and White Oak)

You can use many different types of wood for this project.

I had scraps of Purple Heart and White Oak left over from another project and they turned out very nicely.

Make your own shaped handle and board for that matter.

2 x Strips of Purple Heart 650mm long, 120mm wide.

1 strip of White Oak, 750 Long, 180mm wide.

Food grade mineral oil

Lay materials out in the order you would like.

In the photos i am making 3 boards in one go.

The White Oak is in the middle, and is longer as it will make the handle part.

Use a food safe glue, PVA or something similar.

Clamp together using sash clamps or what ever you have.

Wipe off any glue that squeezes out with a damp cloth.

I left these platters clamped for 24 hours.

Create a template and mark it on your handle,

Use a square to make sure the ends are even and have 90 degree corners.

Cut using a saw. I used a band saw but you could use a hand saw or mitre saw.

I used a thicknesser to make sure my boards were nice and evenly flat.

This could be done with a hand plane and orbital sander... or whatever you have.

I made sure I taped the underside of my drill hole to avoid blowout.

I used a 30mm drill bit.

I used a round off routing bit to give the edges a nice feel.

I also routed the handle and the hole.

It would be safer to use a routing table but I don't have one!!

You could just do this with sandpaper...it would just take you longer.

I started sanding using an orbital sander with 100 grit.

I then moved to 240 grit and hand sanded.

You could go to 400 grit and higher if wanted...

I wiped the boards down with a damp cloth and waited for them to dry.

I then used a food grade mineral oil and oiled them 3 times over a week, allowing each coat to soak in well.