About WYWoodworking
Our Origin Story
WYWoodworkings found its origins amongst the wreckage of the pandemic. Quarantined with nothing but a table saw, founder Wes Young was looking for a project. As the dutiful son he is, he decided to try his hand at making a cutting board for this father on Father's Day. Much to the neighbors delight he set up his saw in the backyard and went to work. Days later, his first cutting board was made. Much to his surprise, it had come out beautifully. So nice, in fact he thought he should make another. So he did it again. And it came out lovely too. So he did it again, and then again. By this point he felt bad for the neighbors listening to his table saw, so he made ones for them, and then he found he just couldn't stop. Wes continues to make cutting boards in his backyard, although his neighbors are now thankful that he has built himself a shed to work out of.
And what happened to the original cutting board he made for his father you ask? They abuse it, throw it the dishwasher, never oil it, and beat it up so badly that Wes has sworn not to make any more boards for his parents ever again!
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What started out as a hobby has become a passion. Wes is proud of the ever expanding list of happy customers and look forward to continuing growing the WYWoodworking family for years to come!s
The Process
From Start to Finish
Each board starts as rough cut lumber or slabs. Here at WYWoodworking, all our wood is either repurposed or acquired from local suppliers right here in Virginia. We focus on native Virginia hardwoods, in particular Walnut, Maple, & Cherry. Due to the size of our shop, we keep a limited inventory of wood at any given time. When building a new one-of-a-kind board, wood is selected based on what is available. From there, we will try to imagine what is possible. (The list of ideas for new designs is quite long in my head. I'll let you know if I ever need new inspiration.) Once a design has been settled on, wood is cut on the table saw to the proper length and width. Once all the wood is cut to length, the different pieces are glued and left overnight. The following day the assembled piece will be inspected for any issues. If it is an end-grain board or a unique design, then it will need to be cut and glued again to from a new pattern. This process may be repeated multiple times depending on the design. Once the final cut and glue-up is complete, we move on to planing and sanding. The boards will go through a planer to ensure they are flat on both sides.
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After planing, I will use a router to add character to the sides. This may be a roundover (a smooth quarter-circle) or a chamfer (a flat sloping cut like the side of a pyramid). Once our sides are routed, it's time for sanding.
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And then more sanding.
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And still more sanding.
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Until the board has a glass like finish. Somewhere between 220 grit and 1500 grit depending on the product. And finally, the best part of the process, the oil-up. Each board is soaked in mineral oil multiple times to give it water resistance. Its then finished with a "board butter" which is a combination of mineral oil and beeswax. At this point the board POPS into life, and heavenly music plays in the background of my mind.
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