A Custom Charcuterie and Cheese Cutting Board for the Camper

How to Make a Custom Charcuterie and Cutting Board

Practicable, Unique & Inexpensive to Make

This is a simple and quick ‘instructable’ for making a camping inspired cheese board that is unique and fun to display. It can also serve as a small cutting board or charcuterie board for the campsite. You could modify the design to imitate the silhouette of a teardrop camper. a vintage canned-ham trailer, a 70's Winnebago or an Airstream. And make it for well under $10.

While camping with other small trailer camping enthusiasts, I noticed that many campers had crafted something personable for their use while camping. Colourful canopies, pet-themed window coverings, unique galley modifications ... and many of them with an element of personalization as well as basic function. So I decided to create a custom charcuterie board and use a dollar store bamboo board as my source of wood. And of course ... teardrop-camper-shaped. You could make this cheese board from a piece of pine plank or even a repurposed cupboard door, but I thought for a few dollars I could use clean, new and light-weight wood that served the function. The local dollar store price for a bamboo board was $6.99 (Cdn dollars). I already had cutting board oil and so this was an inexpensive project and I figured the board should hold up for several years.

The shape was inspired by a google image search of teardrop camper silhouettes. Many of the silhouette images look alike and there are a few commercially available cutting board products that look much like the one I made. I modified one of them just slightly, making it a wee bit more curvy and then ‘stretched it’ to fit exactly 14 inches in length. I wanted to maximize the size of the finished cheese board and fit the piece of bamboo wood I had purchased. And the board I used was a little thicker than a similar board sold online. Just 5 simple steps, a couple of hours and at very little cost.

Total Cost: $7 plus tax.

A perfect addition for the camper, the picnic basket or a chuck-box. I may laser etch a window and door into the next build and further personalize it with the name of my camper. Let me know what you think.

A Simple Project. Just one piece of wood and a few tools.

Tools

• Drill Press (or a powered hand drill)
• 7/8" hole saw and 1/4" drill bit
• Scroll saw or bandsaw or jig saw
• Sanding drum (optional)

Wood

• 1 piece of glued up bamboo ( 14” X 10” and approx 3/4” thick)
• or any other repurposed or suitable piece of clean thin plank (best unfinished)

Other Materials

• Sandpaper
• cutting board oil or suitable alternative
• 6” to 8” of Leather Lace (opt.)

Design

Using a silhouette of an appropriate image, freehand sketch or trace the outline of the image onto the board. Mine was done freehand with a smaller copy of the image lying centred on the board as I drew. Keep it very simple. This is just a pattern that will be cut out. Try to maximize the use of the rough board so that the finished board is as large as possible so that it meets the needs of the intended use. Use a pencil so that you can erase any marks.

Cut out the Design

Cut out the sketched outline. A bandsaw or scroll saw works well for curved designs. Of course a coping saw would also work. I used a 7/8” hole saw and a drill press for the cut out in the teardrop wheel. I also drilled a small hole in the trailer tongue to receive a length of leather lace. The holes could be drilled after sanding.

Sand and Prepare

A drum sander placed into the drill press was used to sand all of the faces of the cut edges. This removed all of the rough saw marks. Be sure to erase any pencil marks before hand sanding the top face of the board. Sanding the surface of the board is a must and will allow the finishing oil to be absorbed by the wood. Although the edges could have been rounded over using a palm router, I lightly hand sanded the sharp edges.

Finishing

The board was wiped clean of dust and finished with two coats of cutting board oil. The oil should be a product safe to use on a cutting surface (mineral oil based). Readily found in pharmacies and some grocery stores. Be very generous with the first coat and allow the oil to soak in for at least 15 minutes. Then wipe off any excess. Add a second coat.

A short piece of leather lace was then attached using a simple knot. I can now hang the board if I choose.

As you can see, I tested the board to make sure it works. But I think for two people, I'll need to make a second board.

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