Here is Johnny's Video: https://youtu.be/x7iwLQllgds
When it comes to woodworking, I know just enough to get into trouble. Still it’s something I want to do more of, so when Johnny from Crafted workshop contacted me to collaborate, I was all for it.
He’s a mountain biker too, and actually made a pretty cool bike rack on his channel. He builds seats, tables, and even equipment for his shop. Johnny’s builds are contemporary and aesthetically stunning, but above all they’re functional. Today I hope to corrupt him.
My idea was to build a kicker ramp out of a solid block of wood, sort of like a butcher’s block, or wood cutting board. Johnny didn’t flinch. All he’d need from me was some consulting on the transition. The transition would be 18 inches long and 4 inches high. More than enough to prove the concept without going through all of Johnny’s lumber.
Experienced woodworkers spend a lot less on lumber than you and I would. With machines like jointers, planers, and table saws, you can take coarse scrap wood from Craigslist and make it look like furniture. Before Johnny actually cuts the shape of our ramp, he first needs to make one huge block of wood out of all these planks.
Step one is to cut them all roughly to size. The jointer takes out bows and bumps to make the wood perfectly flat on one side.
To make both sides of the planks flat with each other, Johnny places them flat side down on the surface of his planer. The planer takes a thin layer of wood off the top surface to make the two faces totally parallel.
Of course we want the planks to be the same width as well, so as a final step Johnny rips them all through his table saw to get them slightly wider than 4 inches. We’ll still be removing another thin layer of material once the block is built.
Used properly, wood glue is insanely strong. Because these planks are so square and precise, they fit together like two sheets of glass. Only seconds after gluing two planks together, they’re almost impossible to slide against each other. Once clamped and cured, you’d have an easier time separating the grain of the wood itself than you would two planks.
Now we kill some time while the glue dries.
Just like he did with the individual planks, Johnny is cleaning up this massive block of wood. At this point, it’s only a few steps away from being a sweet butcher’s block, but we’re only getting started.
To cut this transition, Johnny will push his band saw to its absolute limit. This was one limiting factor for the size of this ramp, as the blade must pass all the way through it.
By cutting this transition, we were actually left with two pieces of wood. We decided to make the “scrap” piece a lander. Why not?
To protect the wood and bring out the grain, Johnny is first coating the ramp in mineral oil. For an added layer of protection and sheen, he’s applying butcher’s block conditioner, which has wax in it.
While this stuff dries, we’ll start preparing to show this ramp to the world.
I’m not sure why this looks so appropriate paired with a ribeye.
Call it the cutting board kicker, the butcher’s block booter, whatever. This piece represents woodworking, BMX, and deliciousness.
Now to really put this kicker to the test.
Not only does this kicker ramp work, it’s likely the nicest looking one ever made. It’s solid too.
The Cutting Board Kicker is easily the goofiest thing Johnny has ever made, but it still serves as an excellent tutorial for a variety of woodworking techniques. If you love woodworking, or just find watching it to be oddly satisfying, subscribe to Crafted Workshop for a new build every Tuesday. You can see Johny’s video of the cutting board Kicker in the link below.
What do you guys think? Should we eat off of this ramp again now that I’ve ridden it? How would you like to see more collaborations with Crafted Workshop? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.
