Making a “Woven” Cutting Board w/ Randy Acker

Woven cutting boards, while not actually woven, usually refer to cutting boards that feature lots of curves which often overlap each other in complex patterns.  When combined with a variety of woods, the patterns created can be visually striking and often evoke questions about how the work was done.  Making a woven cutting board is, in fact, a relatively simple process that is open to anyone with access to a band saw.  Randy’s presentation will cover wood selection, design approaches, band saw blade selection, cutting matching curves on the bandsaw, glue-up and finishing.

Randy Acker began his career as a wildlife biologist but transitioned to working in Washington state government when he became more interested in public policy development.  He worked initially as both a policy and budget analyst in the House of Representatives and later held numerous management positions in the Department of Natural Resources.  Throughout his life he enjoyed building or making things, but it wasn’t until he retired in 2013 that he had significant time to devote to woodworking.  Randy has made a wide variety of items including tables, clocks, lamps, carved bowls, mirror frames, boxes, cabinets and cutting boards.  Much of what he makes is often inspired by the wood he finds and
what he thinks it can best become.  He likes the natural complexity and seemingly infinite variety that wood offers, and he enjoys finding ways to show wood off through his work. He also enjoys using the color and grain variability in wood in various combinations to create visually appealing patterns, most
often in cutting boards.

Randy is a largely self-taught woodworker (meaning he’s made lots of mistakes) but he has also taken several hand-tool classes at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking. He currently shows his work at two galleries: Childhood’s End Gallery in Olympia and Rectangle Gallery in Centralia.