Cutting Boards

Brent Dowell

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
16,540
Location
Reno NV
Well, Just finished up a few cutting boards I'm sending out.

My Cousin stopped by this summer and saw some Cutting boards I made and ordered one for his Mom, My aunt. Well, That makes Sale #2 on the ole cutting boards. One of these is a gift for my Grandma and another I'm sending out as a wedding present for a friend. Unfortunately, I can't make the wedding. It's on Halloween and everyone is supposed to attend in Costume. Sounds like a riot!

These aren't very fancy. I keep experimenting with the patterns, and of course, there are some I like better than others. They are 1 3/4" thick and around 13"x18" in size.

I sand these up to 320 grit, raise the grain and sand again. Once I let some mineral oil soak in, I use a mix of mineral oil and parafin wax as a finish. In fact, I bottle it up and ship each board out with two bottles and 2 stainless steel bowls. They get such a silky smooth surface doing it this way.

The boards aren't really curved, I think it's just that the camera is so close to the board and the angle the picture was taken at.

attachment.php


attachment.php


attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • 100_0353_800x600.jpg
    100_0353_800x600.jpg
    69.1 KB · Views: 191
  • 100_0354_800x600.jpg
    100_0354_800x600.jpg
    73.3 KB · Views: 192
  • 100_0355_800x600.jpg
    100_0355_800x600.jpg
    79.5 KB · Views: 190
They all three look great, Brent. I've made similar ones, so I know how much work goes into one. I really like the bowl idea, and the bottled oil is a cool thought, too. (I haven't tried the paraffin blend.)

A couple weeks ago I noticed some bamboo cutting boards at one of the home stores like Bed Bath & Beyond. Next to the display they had a supply of "Bamboo Preservative" in 16 ounce bottles for about $8 or $9 each. The label described in glowing language how using this special oil on your bamboo cutting board would restore its natural beauty and lengthen the life of the board. (I think it said it would also cure rickets, polio, and diphtheria, but I don't remember for sure.) Anyway, get to the fine print on the bottle, and it said "100% mineral oil". The same stuff you get in the laxative section of the supermarket for about $2.50 per pint. :p P.T. Barnum was right. ;)
 
Nice boards Brent! A couple of questions; Are the boards footed? Does the bowl rest on the same surface as the board, or is it suspended by a groove in the board edge? Inquiring minds want to know:) Barry
 
At a 'reunion' for folks of a company I used to work for, I was talking to a friend and she asked if I could help her replace a much loved cutting board her husband used. I told her I would give it a try. It had a cut out, but it was not end grain, and he had worn it out pretty good.

That was my first cutting board and I really enjoy making them. I've got one in my kitchen and the bowl really does come in handy. My only problem is everytime I put one of these together I tend to find someone who needs one for some reason. I swear the next one I build is going to be an enormous one, and I've got some ideas for multiple cutouts of different sizes. We'll see how that turns out.

I find a little wax in the mineral oil helps to 'seal' up the board a little more and gives it a nice look. Plain mineral oil seems to just soak in and disappear too fast.

I always go to the pharmacy in the grocery store and pick up several bottles of mineral oil at a time. I have to wonder what the checker thinks when I'm buying 6 bottles of 'Laxative'...:eek:

Oh, and the wax can usually be purchased in the Canning Section of the store. It also comes in handy for coating screws with before driving them in... A little chunk in the pocket of the shop apron and you are good to go.
 
Nice boards Brent! A couple of questions; Are the boards footed? Does the bowl rest on the same surface as the board, or is it suspended by a groove in the board edge? Inquiring minds want to know:) Barry

Actually, I put little rubber bumpers on the bottom of the boards. Typcially, in order for the bowls to fit under the lip, the board needs to come up a bit higher. So I turn little disks/washers out of maple to fit on the bottom. I find that it's easier to cut squares out of maple first, then mount them on a pen mandrel to turn them to size. The rubber bumpers keep them from sliding around when using them.

On one board I made a groove in cutout to hold the bowl, but then I figured out that it was even handier if I could stack up a few bowls, so I threw that idea out. I've got a template I use to rout the cutout a bit wider on the bottom than the top.

Oh, and one other thing, I don't use the screws that come with the rubber bumpers. I buy longer stainless steel screws to make sure they don't rust and that they are more secure. Plus once you use the maple washers, you need longer screws anyways.
 
...Oh, and the wax can usually be purchased in the Canning Section of the store. It also comes in handy for coating screws with before driving them in... A little chunk in the pocket of the shop apron and you are good to go.
I have a chunk within an arm's length of the lathe. I used it to slick up the tool rest
 
I made one for my grandson recently of ash and teak. Later, I learned that teak doesn't take glues well because of high oil content. If the board gets wet it is liable to fall apart. I'll tell him that and will soon start on another, probably maple and walnut.
BTW, there really is no need to heavily coat or soak a cutting board with anything. I rub in a little mineral oil and let it go. The end user can add as they wish from time to time. My personal board is treated with olive oil but some folks get bothered by that.
 
Nice looking Boards and great idea. Can you do a tutorial on it for us that do not know how to do ?:huh:

I've got some more wood to cut, and I'd sure like to have one of these (only bigger) for myself (I keep giving them away :rolleyes:), so sure thing, I'll put something together. Not sure if my way is the best way to do it, but it works for me.

What type of glue are you using?

There's a lot of different opinions on what glue to use for cutting boards.

I use regular old TiteBond II water resistant glue. I've got one cutting board made like this that gets daily use that's been around for several years with no problems. Of course I don't soak them in the sink or put them in the dishwasher. But it's held up just fine.
 
Hi Brent :wave:,
Those boards are real nice looking and the introduction of the bowl is a nice touch.

Tutorials on how to do projects are always great, I look forward to yours on how you do these boards.
Nice job :thumb:.
Shaz :)
 
Top