new cutting board - Woodworking Talk

cr_finewoods · 02-21-2008, 11:21 PM

ok here is a few pics of a cutting board i just finished.... like 20 minutes ago..

other side

this is after i finished it

this is the other side

it an end grain cutting board.... its made for maple(fire wood), myrtle(scrap) and a small piece of walnut from someone elses project that they didnt need. the finish is 2 coat of mineral oil with some lemon oil, 2 coats of mineral oil-beeswax-lemon oil mixture. and thats about it. by the way if anyones wondering... the lemon oil is for antibacterial purposes.... if you want to try this finish... then MAKE SHURE ITS PURE LEMON OIL.. like the kind they have at health food stores. otherwise if its a lemon oil finish its gonna be toxic....

dbhost · 02-21-2008, 11:28 PM

Just wondering, is that Oregon Myrtlewood or the stuff from Israel? Is there another sort of Myrtlewood you are using? (Does anybody use Crepe Myrtle?)

daryl in nanoose · 02-21-2008, 11:32 PM

That's a cool looking cutting board

cr_finewoods · 02-21-2008, 11:51 PM

its Oregon myrtle.... and thnks

Ohio Ron · 02-23-2008, 11:41 PM

I really like the randomness of you board. Unusual? You bet, that is why I like it. Good job.

Capt Crutch · 02-24-2008, 09:11 AM

Very nice!

BTW, did y'all know that somebody (NSF maybe?) studied different materials for cutting boards to see which material was most inhospitable to microbes? For a while the authorities distrusted wood for cutting boards because they thought the critters would get into the wood and contaminate it...

Turns out that wood was even better than plastic for a cutting board because a) it "soaked up" the water that microbes need to live, killing them by drying them out, and b) wood has natural toxins that kill microbes too! Apparently, after the plastic cutting boards got "cut up" from knife cuts, those knife cuts stored water (and microbes) better than the wood boards.

Anyway, not to hijack the thread. Just thought I'd pass that along for anyone who hadn't heard it.

stuart · 02-24-2008, 05:29 PM

Yes it's a funny thing that cutting boards have different effects.

I do know the Bamboo cutting board is the best wood for protection against the bad guys in the cuts, or on the surface of it.

Plastic is kinda lightweight and easy to melt a bit.

bigredc · 03-02-2008, 01:11 PM

I just finished a cutting board with scraps and I did a search and bingo here you are. I was wondering what to use to seal it or stain or whatever I'm supposed to do? I'm assuming you looked into this stuff and it is safe? It saves me from having to do it. I have bee's wax and mineral oil I guess I'll need to go to the all natural store and get the lemon oil. The bee's wax is a past or a solid and the other stuff is a liquid how do I mix them?
Thanks
Chris

arkyrick · 03-02-2008, 06:42 PM

I receintly saw a oil specificly made for cutting boards at Lowes in the stain dept it said it was food grade I suppose that meant non toxic.

stuart · 03-02-2008, 07:35 PM

http://www.chefsresource.com/bamboo-wood-oil.html

I know it's for bamboo but it's an example

cr_finewoods · 03-03-2008, 09:25 PM

ok bigredc i started a whole new thread for this. http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/showt...5345#post25345 heres the link

bigredc · 03-24-2008, 07:47 PM

I have a subscription to Woodworker magazine. They send these e mails about different topics. I thought this one was worth passing on.

If your piece is going to come in contact with food you must use a
finish that says it's food safe like "salad bowl" finish.

This is one of the biggest myths out there when it comes to
finishes. The manufactures of finishing products don't always help
the situation either. Most products don't claim to be safe to be
used where they can come into contact with food. The small amount of
products that do make this claim leave you to believe that they're
the only ones that are safe.

The truth is that all finishes are safe to be used on wood that
will come into contact with food AFTER it has completely CURED.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists all common driers used
in finish as safe for food contact after the finish cures completely.

Metallic driers are necessary additives to finishes to speed the
drying process up. The problem came about years ago when lead was
used as a drying agent in finishes. When lead was discovered to be
a health problem it was removed from being used as a drier in
finishes. This happened here in the United States in the 1970's.