cutting boards - Woodworking Talk

jfs477 · 04-04-2009, 09:50 PM

hey everyone,

i've decided i'm going to try my luck at cutting boards. so, i have three ?s for you all.

1) what woods are good for cutting boards?

2) which way do i place the wood face grain or end grain cutting surface?

3) what is the best and/or safe finishes?

thanks in advance

Lucas54 · 04-05-2009, 12:16 AM

End grain is my favorite for cutting boards.

I use a Butcher Block oil whenever I make one. Some use mineral oil as well. I have heard to stay away from vegetable oil.

Tony B · 04-05-2009, 12:32 AM

I usually make mine from scrap wood as a way to prevent it from piling up on me. I make them long grain and vary the different woods for a color contrast. I finish mine in mineral oil as vegetable oil can get rancid.
They are quick to make, made totally from narrow otherwise useless wood and sell easily. Most are rectangular and some I turn on the lathe. The round ones sell as fast as the rectangular ones (usually as cheese boards) and are much faster and easier to make.

AZ Termite · 04-05-2009, 12:00 PM

The cutting boards I have made have been long grain, mostly from scrap wood. I have done most with maple, cherry, walnut, hickory, mesquite. I vary the widths to give it character. I use walnut oil as a finish. You can get it from Woodcraft.

bzbatl · 04-05-2009, 02:04 PM

Yow, how long does it take you to make one with end grain visible, Lucas?

So are we talking just joint, glue with Titebond III, and clamp, then move to the next piece? I've decided to just make my own over-sink one since I've had a helluva time finding one with the right dimensions.

Tony B · 04-05-2009, 11:51 PM

Lots of people have wooden cutting boards but never actually use them. They are for decorative display, so make it any way you think it would look good. We use the typical white high density polyethylene cutting boards for actual service.

jfs477 · 04-06-2009, 01:19 AM

hey,

thanks for the answers. i tried a simple face grain cutting board made of maple today. decided i was going to do some inlay work, but today was just one of those days. anyway by the time i was done i had sanded through the veneer i had inlayed

. an hour and 35 minutes,... unimpeded by progress

Lucas54 · 04-06-2009, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bzbatl

Yow, how long does it take you to make one with end grain visible, Lucas?

So are we talking just joint, glue with Titebond III, and clamp, then move to the next piece? I've decided to just make my own over-sink one since I've had a helluva time finding one with the right dimensions.

Depends how motivated I feel that day

. Sometimes it'll take me 3 days, sometimes I can knock 3 out in a day.

Somebody posted this a while back. Great tutorial for end grain boards.
http://lumberjocks.com/dewoodwork/blog/2597

Wood4Fun · 04-06-2009, 12:57 PM

I typically use maple and cherry. Any tight grained wood will work nicely. more open grained woods don't look at nice, like oak.
I've used some walnut as well. But, some get concerned about using walnut and making sure you know who is going to use the board isn't allergic to walnut. I don't know how serious of a concern this is. I guess it has some legitimacy, I'm not allergic to walnut but when I am working with it, I find the dust to be an irritant.

Up to this point I have always used mineral oil on my cutting boards, but I have recently read that all finishes are OK. I suppose a thick finish should be avoided because ultimately it would chip or flake - but from a toxicity perspective, once a finished has fully cured, it is food safe. Prior to the 70's when lead was banned, this was not the case because finishes contained lead... but even then the amount of lead was pretty minimal.
One of my "go to" finishes for pretty much anything is an even ratio of tung oil, poly, and mineral spirits. It creates a nice thin finish that wont flake or chip (well, as long as you don't do 12 coats). I plan on doing this for my next cutting board. My hope is that I won't have to re-apply the oil as often going this route.

windstorm · 04-06-2009, 02:56 PM

I guess reading this thread inspired me. I made a couple of cutting boards (my first attempt) yesterday between lunch & dinner & I was surprised how easy it was. Cut the strips, glue 'em up, clamp, plane (1" thick), trim the end grain on the TS, router the edges (1/4" roundover), sand & apply mineral oil. It's pretty cool what you can make from old scraps of walnut & cherry & my wife loves them!

bzbatl · 04-06-2009, 03:33 PM

Those look great!

This thread is inspiring me to head over to Woodcraft or Rockeler and pick up some blocks :)

Fbranco · 04-06-2009, 11:58 PM

I've made a few end grain cutting boards.

They're are made with walnut/cherry and the one on the right is walnut/purpleheart but any dense non exotic hard wood will work. I would stay away from the exotics because the risk of allergies.

End grain type is preferable to long grain for the simple reason that the fibers will "open" when the knife is pressed down and will "close" as the knife is lifted. This will make the chopping action easier on the knife as opposed to chopping the long grain.

The design can be anything you want and you are only limited by your imagination.
Here's a few ideas
Here's one more
And here's a tutorial on making them.

I finished them with mineral oil because it cheap, easy to apply and maintain. But I've heard of people melting a little paraffin wax on the mineral oil and use that. The principle behind the wax is that it make the finish more durable.

I gifted those and I sent a little bottle of mineral oil with each one so the new owners can refinish them when they get a little dull.

They are a lot of fun to make and a good way to use your scraps. Also, they rank rally high on the wow factor.

HTH

ETA--The only glue I've ever used is Titebond II and never had a problem

isetegija · 05-03-2009, 07:18 AM

I too have made a few end grain cutting boards.
For finish I use mineral oil mixed with melted paraffin wax and applied in very hot sauna.
In this cutting board I used aspen ,ash and alder. Instead alder some reed color wood have been nice ,bat I didn't have any.

GeorgeC · 05-03-2009, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony B

Lots of people have wooden cutting boards but never actually use them. They are for decorative display, so make it any way you think it would look good. We use the typical white high density polyethylene cutting boards for actual service.

I LIKE to use wooden cutting boards when I am doing serious carving. Use tha plastic ones also.

G

woodworks · 05-03-2009, 09:35 AM

Wow!
Your boards look great. I thought I would show you what I did many, many years ago. These were my first and only attempt. The first, bacuse I saw this pattern in a magazine and thought they were really cute and only is because I just haven't done any since then. As you can tell, I need to get them back in the shop and sand and re-finish them. After cutting on the big one a couple of times, I stopped because I thought they were too nice to be cutting on.

They are made from walnut & maple. I used Behlen salad bowl finish on them. I have since read that it is better to not use any finish due to the bacteria factor.
I had fun making them and will probably make some more since reading this topic.

Thanks for the links and all the pictures. Great work guys.