A Unique Style of Cutting Board

Cutting boards are a great skill builder for woodworkers. I enjoy making them from time to time and like to challenge myself. My wife makes some pretty intersting cutting boards as well - like the one featured in this instructable

In this Instructable, I will walk you through making this cutting board:

Essential tools Required:

Table saw
Router
- 1/4" straight bit and guide bushing
- 1 1/4, long flush trim bit
- 1/4" roundover bit
Clamps
Random orbit sander
14" or larger bandsaw
Smaller bench plane or a scraper

Tools that make your life easier but can be replaced with hand tools or other methods

Jointer
12" or larger planer
Spindle Sander

Use Caution!

Power tools are dangerous. I chose not to remove any guards when creating this. Some operations my be obscured a bit by the safety equipment, but it is very important to use the safety equipment supplied by the tool manufacturer. In addition, personal protection equipment such as safety glasses, hearing protection, and dust masks are required for certain operations. If you have active dust collection equipment, use it wherever possible.

Never wear gloves, jewelry, or loose clothing around power tools!

Prepare Your Lumber

Here is the walnut I will be using. This came from a rough sawn board and was planed down and cross cut to rough length

Joint an Edge Flat

After plaining, you need a square reference edge. I joint one edge on the jointer. I then check the flatness against a known flat surface - like the cast iron on my table saw

Once jointed, the jointed edge is placed up against the fence on the table saw and the other edge is cut clean. This ensures your edges are parallel to each other

Rip the Lumber Into Smaller Strips

Due to the natural tendancies of lumber to warp and shift, I like to work with thinner pieces. Especially on something like a cutting board that will get wet often. I am using a jig called the GRR-Riper

Here is my collection of 2" strips. The board will be 12 inches wide so there are 6 2 inch strips

Glue and Clamps

Now it's time to glue these together. On the glue table I lay out the clamps and flip the boards. I apply glue to all of the edges at the same time. Once complete I spread the glue evenly with a silicone brush. A basting brush sold in your grocers kitchenware section works great for this. Since this is a cutting board, I am using a waterproof glue that is FDA approved for food contact.

First of Many Times in the Clamps

Apply even clamping pressure from both the top and bottom. Wait about 20 minutes for the glue to dry a bit then scrape off the squeeze out

Time for Clean-up

After several hours in the clamps, I remove the board and scrape the remainder of the glue. Follow the manufacturers directions in regard to clamping time, and take into account the temperature and humidity level of your work area.

Planing the Board Flat

After scraping the glue, I ran this through my planer to flatten it. I was careful in initial prep and cutting as well as clamping, so only one pass through the planer was needed. This can also be accomplished with a larger hand plane (#6 and up) or with a sander. It's very important to have a perfectly flat surface on both sides.

Trim the Edges

I square the edges on my table saw using a cross cut sled

Prepare Your Template

I am using a 1/2 inch sheet of MDF. MDF makes great template material because it sands really easily. Draw your pattern right on the MDF

Create Your Template

I cut the template on my bandsaw using a 1/4 inch wide blade. After that I take it to the spindle sander to clean up any rough edges the bandsaw left behind and refine the shape a little. Since MDF sands very easily, a 120 grit drum is recommended.

Apply Your Template

Decide where you would like the intersecting stripes and clamp your template to the workpiece.

Prepare Your Plunge Router

I am using a 1/4" straight bit and a 1/4" guide bushing. Some may wonder why I don't just cut the curve on the bandsaw as I did with the template. Because I will be adding 1/4 inch strips, I need to remove 1/4" of material from the board. If not, when I insert the inlay strips, the profile will no longer match on both sides and I will have a really ugly bad fitting joint.

Route It

With the guide bushing against the template, route a groove 3/8" deep. Do not go all the way though.

Slice Down the Middle of Your Groove on the Bandsaw

Split the groove down the middle on the band saw.jpg

It doesn't need to be exactly down the middle, but leave a bit of material on either side and be very careful not to cut outside of the groove formed by the router.

Prepare Your Router Again

This time I am going to use a flush trim bit. This bit has a bearing on the tip the same diameter as the cutter. Using the groove cut with the first routing operation, we have a clean reference surface to ride the bearing on

Clean the Edges

Clamp your board to a flat surface with the rough edge left by the bandsaw on top. Set your router depth so the bearing rides in the groove we cut with the first routing operation. With the bearing in that groove, route along the profile of the curve. The bearing will prevent you from cutting past the pattern, and the cutter will remove the excess the bandsaw left behind.

Do this to each half of the board

Prepare Your Inlay Strips

I am using maple and bloodwood. You will need 4 (four) 1/16" strips per inlay. Since ripping a board that thin is impossible traditionally, I made a "thin rip jig". These are commercially available. It lets you set a consistent distance for the off cut piece and makes ripping very thin strips as shown below possible.

Back to the Clamps

Apply glue to the curved edges of your board. Arrange the strips in the pattern you want and apply glue to them as well. Lay them on the clamps between the two pieces of your cutting board and draw them together. go slow and make sure the curves and edges line up. You'll find it actually cinches right up very easily.

After clamping overnight, I cleaned up the inlay stripes with a small hand plane.

Once clean up, apply your template again and repeat steps 14 through 22

Time to Finish It Off!

After I repeated those steps and made another inlay, I cleaned the second one up with the plane again

Edge Profiles

Edge profiling by hand with a laminatetrim router.jpg

I like to round over the edges of my cutting boards. Not only does it add a nice aesthetic touch, it removes the sharp edges which can be prone to splintering later on. I prefer to use a smaller laminate/trim style router for this. It spins much faster which leaves smoother cuts and less hand sanding.

Time for Sanding

I go from 80 grit all the way to 400 grit. Be sure not to skip any sanding grits inbetween. You will likely have scratch marks. Since this will only be oiled and won't have a film building finish, it's important to get the board really smooth.

Ready for Finish!

After sanding, wipe down the board to get the dust off. Don't use water as it will raise the grain and you will need to sand again.

Apply the Mineral Oil Finish

First of many soakings in mineral oil.jpg

I like to apply mineral oil to cutting boards. The finish needs to be food safe and easy to reapply. Mineral oil fits those qualifications quite well. Pour some on and let it soak in. Once fully oiled, I like to apply a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax. The beeswax gives you a little more protection and adds a lot of shine.

Get Creative!

Another with figured walnut maple and cherry.jpg

These intersecting stripe boards are fun to make.jpg

You have a lot of possibilities with different species of wood and configurations. Have fun and be safe!