“The walrus is one of the largest carnivores in the world and is a symbol of unwavering strength,” Darr says. “We’d like to believe our products are just as impressive.”

The origin of Walrus Oil Cutting Board Oil actually came about a good deal south of the Artic Circle, more than a decade ago, when Darr — then a website developer in Grand Rapids, Michigan — reclaimed and refinished furniture in his spare time.

“Grand Rapids at one point was one of the largest furniture manufacturing cities, due to the abundance of forest there. I could pick up an old rocking chair or desk at an antique shop for $20. It was therapeutic to just work with my hands after a busy day at the office.”

As time went on, Darr shifted his hobby away from more time-consuming custom refinishing work and into making cutting boards and clipboards for restaurants. “I wanted to focus on selling a few products I could make in large volumes in a short amount of time. That business eventually became Dispatch Supply Company in 2016,” Darr says.

What he needed early on was a finishing product that could match his business objective of “large volume, short time” while also being food-safe. Nothing readily available then was quite right for the purpose.

“So, I developed Walrus Oil Cutting Board Oil to fill a market void with an affordable, single-step food-safe wood finish that is durable and enhances the natural beauty of wood,” Darr says.

It took years of experimentation, but Darr finally landed on a mixture of ingredients for Cutting Board Oil that won’t take a chemistry degree to decipher: coconut oil, mineral oil, vitamin E and beeswax. It simply wipes on and wipes off and is FDA compliant.

“It brings out the true, natural color (of wood), and it doesn’t smell or contaminate food,” Darr says. “I believe that wood finishes should be made from simple, easy to understand ingredients — ones that are harmless to the environment and nontoxic to the user when properly used, and all without sacrificing product quality and performance.”

At first, Cutting Board Oil was used only for finishing Dispatch Supply’s wood products. But, Darr began to test the waters of broader distribution by offering his finish to outside vendors and other woodworking shops. Their response was positive — so much so that Darr expanded Dispatch Supply to include an entire wood finish manufacturing operation to meet the growing wholesale and retail demand. Walrus Oil officially came to market about a year ago.

The finish options have also blossomed. In addition to Cutting Board Oil, the company also offers a non-yellowing Walrus Oil Wood Wax and Pure Mineral Oil.

“Our Wood Wax adds extra shine, color and more water protection when applied after oiling. And since some hardwoods require a mineral oil bath before applying a final finish, we offer that as well,” Darr explains.

You’ll notice on the company website that Walrus Oil is a member of the “1% For The Planet” organization. It’s an international nonprofit whose members contribute at least one percent of their annual sales to environmental causes in six core focus areas: climate, food, land, pollution, water and wildlife. Every Walrus Oil product sold helps to support this effort.

“We donate money to tree planting organizations because woodworking requires trees to be cut down,” Darr says. “Without trees, there would be no woodworking, and we would have no business. So, we try to help put back what is taken away.”

Things are moving along at a good clip at Dispatch Supply Company and Walrus Oil these days, and Darr is pleased with his company’s growth and mission. He’s also happy to announce that Walrus Oil Cutting Board Oil, Wood Wax and Mineral Oil will be available at Rockler stores and at rockler.com beginning this month.

“What gets me out of bed in the morning are the (customers) that use our products and depend on our quality. We sincerely value customer satisfaction and work very hard to maintain an impeccable reputation,” Darr says. “Many of our customers and retail partners have also become personal friends, so it’s truly enjoyable to come into work every day.”

Learn more Walrus Oil’s mission and products by clicking here.

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Tim Inman: So I checked on the Internet and discovered there are about two or three dozen woods that are commonly called “ironwood.” Lignum vitae is among them. So, as to what makes it so heavy, the basic answer is cellulose density. Cellulose, the stuff Ma Nature makes her wood with, is heavier than water. The actual wood cells are filled with water and then, after drying, air. The balance of air/water and cellulose determines the weight of the wood. Of course, life ain’t all that simple. There are other things in the wood, too, like lignin (her glue) and sometimes minerals. But generally, the more dense the wood cells are packed, the harder and heavier the wood — regardless what it is named.

Chris Marshall: Among the many satisfying aspects of woodworking, for me, are the tactile differences between species of wood — their various weights/densities, grain patterns, colors and smells when worked. It’s a pleasant surprise to pull a piece of unfamiliar lumber off the shelf at the yard for the first time and, as you point out, Sam, feel how heavy it is compared with other woods. Some are back breakers!

I’ve never worked with ironwoods, including lignum vitae, but I do know that it makes really tough mallets. It also was once used to make wooden bearings for ships and clocks because of its durability and self-lubricating properties. Amazing stuff!

The post Why is Ironwood So Heavy? appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Center the hole on the leather. Now slip the fastener through the hole and fold the leather over the screw or bolt head to form an easy-to-grip finger protector. This “handle” will keep your fingers cool and a safer distance from the grinding wheel, while also ensuring that the fastener remains securely held while you steady it on the tool-rest.

– Oneil Long
Mound City, Missouri

The post Cooler, Safer Grinding with a Leather Grip appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

– Larry Demario
Monroe, Michigan

The post How to Make Vacuum Attachment Connections Tighter appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Weighing in at 329 lbs., the bench is both heavier and smarter than most other workbenches on the market. Its trestle base and top are constructed entirely of European beech: the 3-3/8-in.-thick top is made of full-length, knot-free laminations that are tongue-and-groove joined, with a 4-1/4-in.-wide skirt for maximum strength. The benchtop is 23-5/8 in. wide, and its working height is 35-7/16 in.

Two 23-1/2-in.-long vises are pre-mounted. The jaws slide along fully adjustable steel guide rails to ensure consistent jaw alignment. For added convenience, the front vise can be easily rotated from one side of the bench to the other to suit either left- or right-handed users.

Sjöbergs Elite 2500C features 98 in. of workspace, and a grid of 3/4-in.-dia. holes are placed along the top and skirt in order to incorporate bench dogs (four steel dogs are included) or the ST-11 Holdfast, sold separately.

It’s clamping platform with steel supports can be detached from the workbench and placed on a wall to act as a separate workspace. A variety of accessories can be added onto the platform, both on top and around the skirt, including jaw cushions, a steel anvil, holdfasts and more.

Several storage modules with a cabinet and drawers or an open front are also available as accessories to make the trestle base more versatile.

“We realize that space can be at a premium for our customers, and this is a convenient way to give them both more room to work and a wealth of features,” said Keith Fyhr, Marketing Brand Manager at Affinity Tool Works, the exclusive North America importer for Sjöbergs. “We’re proud to provide a product that is made with the finest materials and to the highest standards of all Sjöbergs products to create the ultimate workstation.”

The Sjöbergs Elite 2500C Workbench Combo (item SJO-33459C) retails for $2,760 and includes a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty. To locate a dealer or retailer for this or other brands distributed by Affinity Tool Works, visit www.affinitytool.com.

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“It seems like a pitiful shame to burn a good construction hardwood for heat. Pine and juniper are fine; my family has used them in in the past along with half rotten logs from the swamp since there are more of these woods than we can dispose of. Moreover, it seems OK to use small quantities of domestic hardwoods for barbecuing: cherry, apple, pecan, mesquite, hickory and oak are favorites in this neck of the woods. But expensive exotics should never be torched. Can you imagine burning up a Brazilian rosewood log to smoke a steak?”   —Moh Clark

“’Come on baby light my fire!  Try to set the night on fire!’ It is wonderful to hear someone quote those popular words again.  Who knows, maybe they will be part of another famous movie or something else in the future. In the meantime, I am celebrating my new DeWALT 735X thickness planer with the 3-knife cutterhead. I have never touched wood so smooth after going through a planer like the DeWALT.” – Lee F. Howland

Slippery Slide Rules

This reader’s comment was about our expert Tim Inman’s memories of bamboo slide rules, as part of the answer to a question on bamboo.

“Your pic of your ‘slippery stick,’ as we regularly referred to them, sure brought back some old memories. I still have a 12-in. bamboo K&E and a 6-in. aluminum Pickett in the bottom of my drawer as well. The only problem is that these old eyes probably wouldn’t provide as much accuracy as those 19-year-old eyes did.” – Rick Nadler

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