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The Idea
The Idea
I had been meaning to build a cutting board for some time; my old cheap board from Ikea just wasn't quite cutting it for a few reasons:
- It was way too small, I could barely chop one onion without having to clear the board a few times
- It was not very durable to knife wear and the board itself had warped significantly over the years
- It was starting to pick up some stains from everything I had cut on it
It was definitely time for a significant upgrade, so after some brainstorming and research I settled on an end grain type cutting board, in which the work surface is composed of the end pieces of wood., rather than the face or edge pieces. An end grain cutting board is more resistant to food stains, holds up better to knife marks, and event promotes knife sharpness and longevity due to the unique orientation of the wood grain.
Cutting the Cutting Board (Pieces)
Cutting the Cutting Board (Pieces)
The first step in making the board was to prepare a large slab of wood and chop it up into pieces widthwise.
In the first picture, I use a table saw to cut the slab into individual pieces, and the slab is composed of maple in the middle sandwiched by walnut on the top and bottom. Note that the walnut is larger on the bottom than the top, this is crucial for the final aesthetic appearance of the board.
The second picture shows the resultant slices, which I numbered in order to keep the wood grain continuous through the board.
Glue and Clamps
Glue and Clamps
Next was to take the pieces and glue them back together in the proper orientation. First, all the pieces were rotated 90 degrees so the end grain of the wood became the top surface.
Then, every other piece was flipped top to bottom. Remember earlier when I pointed out the unequal sizes of walnut on the original slab? This step alternates the sizes along each side of the board, creating a "zipper pattern".
Sanding, sanding, and more sanding
Sanding, sanding, and more sanding
This next stage was the most time consuming, since end grain is much harder to work than the other parts of the wood. While this property is great for the final durability of the cutting board, it also means that sanding the board to a smooth surface took much longer than usual sanding jobs, about four hours over the course of two days.
It was all worth it though when I finally got to apply finish to the board. I used a mix of mineral oil and beeswax to protect the board from staining and give it water-resistant properties to minimize warpage.
First time using the cutting board!
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