Cutting Boards – Getting Started in Making Your Own

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Making cutting boards is a newer addition to my many hobbies. To date, I have made nine or ten of them and a few of them have been gifts. The first board I made was face grain, then I made an edge grain, and then went straight to the end grain design. Other boards I have made are some of the simplest you can go with are live edge slabs. Each and every one of them was fun to make and each have their special features, whether it is the design or the grain of the wood. Some had rubber feet and a couple of them have a juice groove.

The cool thing about cutting boards are that they can be a real work of art and be a really nice addition to the kitchen or BBQ area.

In this article, I’ll explore various features to consider when crafting your desired cutting board. Feet or no feet? Juice groove or not? Thicknesses, types of wood to use, bleeding of wood colors, and wood grain orientation.

What are You Going to do with the Cutting Board?

First, before you get to making a bunch of cutting boards, think about what you want to do with them. Are you going to sell them or give them as gifts? Maybe keep one or two for yourself? The choice is yours. We have kept a few of the boards I have made, especially the first ones. A few others I have given as gifts.

In fact, the more I read about other woodworkers making cutting boards, it seems that there are a lot of them who give them as gifts mostly because this can be a tough market to sell. You really need to find the customers who appreciate the effort that goes into making these boards compared to the cheap ones you can easily buy and are mass produced in order to sell them at an acceptable price for the work that goes into these boards. Whatever your intention is, making cutting boards is fun and is a good project for a beginner woodworker and also those who are more advanced.

Possible Tools Needed

There are a few tools you will need and these tools can vary depending on the style of cutting board you wish to make. Is here a possible list:

• Sand paper and sander – A random orbital sander is very handy to have on hand because you will be doing a lot of sanding. The sand paper grits may range from 40 to 240 grit. I buy them in packs that contain 40, 60, 80, 120, 180 & 240 grit. I may jump grits, but I always start at 40 and end on 240. I also use a 3″x18″ corded belt sander for jobs that require a lot of heavy sanding, especially on end grain boards that I don’t want to run through the planer. Some people have a large belt or drum sanders they run their boards through and are often a substitute to the planer.
• Bar or pipe clamps – One cutting board might take three clamps, while larger and more complicated boards might take five or six, sometimes even more. Plan on having a few good clamps on hand.
• Painters tape – I place painters tape on my pipe clamps so the glue doesn’t stick to the pipes. This has been my preferred method so far and there are definitely others ways to make cleanup easy.
• Brown paper or cardboard – This is another choice I have made. The brown paper or cardboard is placed under the board when gluing them up so it catches the glue drips rather than allowing the glue to drip on the work table.
• Work table – You will need some kind of work table that is large enough to clamp up your board. This will of course depend on the size of board you plan on making, so just keep a space in mind. I suppose the floor could work if that is all you currently have.
• Wood glue – Find a good quality wood glue that is considered food safe when cured and is waterproof. In the wood cutting board community, the consensus seems to agree on TiteBond III (Paid Link). This is the glue I use and so far love it. There are other glues out there that you can use.
• Silicone Glue Brush or Glue Roller – These are handy for spreading the glue over large areas. All glue joints need to be thoroughly covered in glue prior to clamping. You can use your fingers of course, but it will get messy.
• Planer (Paid Link) – A 13″ planer will work for most boards and can make a job quicker. This is a tool that is nice to have but isn’t always necessary. Many people advise against running an end grain board through the planer because you risk the board exploding because the cutting blades will be cutting perpendicular to the grain. This can be a hazard to you, damaging to the planer, and of course damaging to the board. There are people who aren’t worried about this and have seemed to find a solution to this problem and take the risk. I tend to stay away from that outcome.
• Jointer (Paid Link) – This is another tool that is almost needed all the time. If you are making a face grain board, it helps to have a jointer to make all sides square on the boards you are gluing. If they don’t have square corners, the board will appear warped or have gaps at the seems and that is very unsightly.
• Scrapers or putting knives – These will be used for removing the glue drips on the underside of the board or wherever else there are drips or puddled glue.
• Router with a chamfer bit or round-over bit – The router can be hand held or mounted on a router table. These bits are typically used for the edge treatment on the board. What you use for bits and router type is a personal preference.
• Round nose router bit – If you are planning on making a juice groove or recessed handles, then you may need this type of bit.
• Jig for Juice Grooves – Juice grooves aren’t the easiest thing to make and you will most certainly need a jig for this if you don’t have a router table set up for this procedure. You can make your own or buy one that someone has already designed and made.
• Scrapers for the Juice Grooves – Some woods naturally burn more than others when using the router. Juice grooves are known for their burn marks. It seems that having a scraper that fits in the groove may help in removing the burn marks.
• Bandsaw or Table Saw – You will need something to cut your board strips to size and this can be done on either of these tools.
• Miter saw – If you are making a few boards at one time by making one long board and then cutting it down, a sliding miter saw may help you with that. If not, you can use a table saw or something else that will make cuts on long and wide boards.

I think I covered all the tools needed to make various cutting boards. There will be other accessories needed with different tools that I did not cover and those for your health and safety. Different cutting boards will require different tools and some may require nearly all the tools I mentioned. A simple cutting board such as a live edge slab board will require very few of these tools.

Before you jump into making a cutting board, become familiar with the steps needed to make that board and make sure you have the tools needed to finish the job. Wood isn’t cheep anymore and it would be a shame to not be able to finish the board because you didn’t have the appropriate tools.

Typical Finishes Used for Cutting Boards

When the board is finished, you will need to decide on a finish you want to apply to it. When choosing this finish, think food safe. While there are a few different finishes you can choose, the most widely accepted contain primarily mineral oil and bees wax.

A couple types of finishes I have tried and both work great are:

• Walrus Oil Cutting Board Oil (Paid Link)
• Howard Cutting Board Oil and Howard Butcher Block Conditioner (Paid Link)

Some people rub on a wood wax or just plain food grade mineral oil. Whatever you choose, just use something that is considered food grade. There are plenty of options available out there.

Things to Think About when Designing a Wood Cutting Board

The beauty of wood cutting boards is that they can be designed very simplistic or extremely complicated. When starting off and if you are a beginner wood worker, think simple like a face grain board, an edge grain board, or even a live edge board. When you figure out the basic board you want to make, there are other aspects to consider before running out and buying the wood for it.

Types of Wood that are Acceptable

Just like any type of trade there are believers and non-believers. In the case of cutting boards, I believe most people agree that you should stick to hardwoods for use in cutting boards. Others say it doesn’t matter. Go on Facebook and join a couple cutting board groups (you know, where all the “experts” are) and look for discussions or heated debates on what woods you should or shouldn’t use.

In my opinion, stick to hardwoods and those that are not so porous (another topic that gets heated). If in doubt on what to use, stick to walnut, maple, and cherry. Those three are the most commonly accepted species of wood for cutting boards.

You should probably stay away from soft, porous, and toxic woods. Soft woods like pine or cedar tend to splinter easily, which can be a health hazard.

I have read where wood has inherent antimicrobial properties, partly due to them being porous. I have also read that softer woods such as pine and other porous woods such as oak should be avoid because the are porous. What am I missing here? So, until I find out a better source of information on woods antimicrobial properties, I will personally stick with woods that are less debatable for use in cutting boards.

Bleeding of Wood Colors

Some species of woods have the tendency to bleed over to the adjacent wood strips, causing an unsightly appearance. These species are usually oily, but tend to be woods like padauk, purpleheart, and bloodwood. The bleeding of colors are more noticeable in adjacent boards that are lighter in color. Sometimes it is the oils in the wood transferring over to the next board and sometimes it happens during the sanding process.

When choosing these boards, it isn’t the end of the world and there are workarounds that may help reduce the undesirable effects. Do a little research first and be aware of it prior to making your board.

Live Edge Boards

Live edge boards are probably one of the easiest boards you can make since there are no other woods strips needed to glue up, unless you do some kind of fancy design and make it to where you have to glue something up. These boards are called “live edge” because the bark may be left on the edges. Sometimes the bark is removed, but the natural profile of the edge remains. This creates a very natural look to the board.

Face Grain, Edge Grain or End Grain

Besides the live edge type boards, you also have face grain, edge grain and end grain. Each board has it’s good features and not so good features. They also vary in difficulty when creating them as simple designs, but can pose a considerable challenge if you opt for a more intricate design. The boards with an intricate design are usually end grain because the designs are nearly unlimited and can be very complex with angled cuts and many species of wood.

Lets first identify the different grains of a board: Handmade Lese Crafts has an article with a couple diagrams showing the differences between each grain type along with what each do to knives. Check out their article here: “Differences Between Face-Grain, Edge-Grain and End-Grain Cutting Boards“.

In the order of difficulty (by my opinion), here are the three different grain patterns:

Edge Grain

Edge grain is probably one of the easiest glue up type cutting boards you can make provided the faces have already been finished properly. Finished as in straight and smooth. This is because you will be gluing the face grains together, leaving the edge grain exposed.

Face Grain

Face grain is the second to easiest board. I don’t say that it is easiest because you do have to be sure the edge faces are square to each other. If they aren’t, which I have recently had plenty there weren’t, then you will have to run the boards through a jointer or other tool to get them all squared up. With face grain boards, you will be gluing up the edge faces.

End Grain

End grain boards are the more challenging boards and in my opinion, the most rewarding. They require a bit more work to make than the edge grain or end grain boards. Each end grain board starts off as either an edge grain or end grain board and then cut up into additional strips with each strip rotated and glued again so the end grain is facing up.

End grain boards are also the more durable option and don’t dull the knives as quickly as the other board options.

Feet or No Feet?

Having feet on a cutting board is optional, but they can serve a few purposes:

• They are good for boards that will be laying flat on the counter most of the time. The feet allow air to flow all around the board, allowing the underside of the board to dry quicker, thus reducing any bacteria build up or warping of the board.
• The rubber feet help absorb shocks when chopping on the board.
• They help reduce the amount of slipping on the countertop.
• It gives a space to grab the board when you need to move it.
• They can help stabilize the cutting board.
• They can also help reduce noise from the movement of the board on the countertop.

One of the downfalls of having feet on a cutting board, and it is probably the only downfall I can think of, is that only one side of the board is now usable unlike a board with no feet that can be flipped and used on either side.

Here are some rubber feet I have been using on my boards and they work great! Rubber Feet (Paid Link).

Juice Groove or Not?

Juice grooves serves one primary purpose…they collect the juices before they pour off onto the counter top. These grooves run around the outside edges of the cutting board and usually range from 1/2″ to 5/8″ wide and around 1/4″ deep. The distance from the edge may vary depending on the size of board you make. One of the boards I made with a juice groove has it 1/2″ from the edge of the board to the edge of the groove. You might make this 3/4″ on a larger board.

Sometimes you want boards without juice grooves and that is perfectly fine. If you make a board without feet, you can make a board that has a juice groove on one side and the other side without, making that board that much more flexible in use.

What Size and Thickness?

Cutting boards come in many sizes, shapes and thicknesses. The larger and thicker the board, the heavier it is which makes it a more permanent accessory on the counter top. The smaller and thinner it is, the easier it is to move and store away.

You can make a cutting board as thin as 3/4″ or as thick as 2″. Any thinner than that, the higher chance the board will warp or not last as long. Any thicker than that, well, the heavier it is and unnecessary thickness.

Couple Sources to Help with Designing a Cutting Board

Simple boards do not require much thought when designing them. More complicated boards can be very challenging when it comes to figuring out the amount of wood needed, how much waste there will be, or even how to get to the actual design. You might be working with a few different species of wood in a single cutting board or you might have different sizes of boards that you will be gluing up. Here are a couple online design tools I found that help with the process and make it easier to visualize what you need to do to get to the desired design:

• Cutting Board Designer JS – This is the website I used to help me create the end grain cutting board shown below. If fact, here is the link to the actual design…End grain board design.
• Cutting Board Designer – I have tinkered with this one little and it looks very promising, but I have not yet made a board from this website.

Conclusion

Making cutting boards are fun and are a great entry level project, provided that you start off with the basic designs. Unless you are an experienced woodworker, I would not suggest heading straight to the more complicated designs. There are many patterns a cutting board can be made from and you can see some of them in the online Cutting Board Designer I linked above.

Okay, so this article was supposed to be a short one but it might have been the longest one I have written to date. I hope this helps you in learning a little about cutting boards and in figuring out what you might need when starting out in this fun hobby.

Rick Simper has various hobbies, including woodworking, metalworking, composting, and gardening. He is an Architect full time and uses these hobbies to get away from the busy week of Architecture.