End Grain Yew Cribbage Boards, Part 1

Earlier this week, I began work on a new cribbage board. The section of Pacific yew didn’t look like much at first.

I wanted to include this protrusion.

And wanted to exclude this chainsaw cut.

I screwed a straight piece of wood on to one end of the material and used a scrap of wood to angle it parallel to my desired cut line.

Since the screws bowed the once-straight piece of wood, I used a handplane to restraighten it.

I set my bandsaw to make the cut furthest from the screwed-on fence.

This was the result of the first cut.

And this was the result of the second cut after repositioning the fence.  At least the bottom cut was flat.

I sanded the top side smooth with 80-grit abrasive.

I mixed up some West Systems epoxy to fill some of the voids. After mixing, I set it aside for about half an hour to thicken.

Although most of the bark came off quite easily, a few stubborn pieces didn’t want to let go. I carefully used a block of wood and a mallet to remove them.

While waiting for the epoxy to further thicken, I decided to cut a second cribbage board from one of the off-cuts.

I then sanded the more attractive side smooth with 80-grit abrasive and placed the two pieces face side up on some brown paper to protect my bench from any drips of epoxy.

Using a spatula, I carefully applied the epoxy to the areas I wanted to solidify, focusing on small checks.

Then I waited for the epoxy to dry.

By the way, I shared my progress live on Twitter, using hashtag #FlairWW.  Follow me @FlairWoodworks.