First attempt at making a cutting board

Looks pretty good, how thick? Wood shades make a huge influence on the overall appearance.

-- Lifting one end of the plank.

Thanks for being kind :) The end result was 1 1/4” thick and approximately 9” wide x 14” long

-- Chris S.

Great job. Warning: These boards can be addicting!

-- AJ

Hope you enjoyed the process and thanks for posting. Mistakes are part of it – I just made one of the best boards of my life, after immediately trashing an attempt where I did not do the layout correctly.

I don’t think I’ve seen this style of board in a long grain exposed setup. I always thought part of that was due to conflicting grain directions.

Nice looking face board. Though I think through a year long cycle you will see some joint lines not staying together. So many end grain joins usually don’t fare too well, especially if your environment sees seasonal movement in wood. It’s never a given, but if there is breakage it will start where end grain is joined to anything. It’s a weaker connection, sometimes problematic.

Consider it a learning tool. Woodworking is pretty simple, and the parts you don’t pick up right away will usually point themselves out to you as you go along. Keep making, and soon this will be the blueprint for greatness.

The fact that you chased what many would have thought to be too complex, tells me this.

-- Think safe, be safe

Thanks Steve, I hadn’t even thought about the walnut and maple being an end-grain glue up to the cherry in this board. I’ve read about that in some of the walk throughs I’ve found online and will keep an eye on the joints. I’m not too worried about this board surviving long term, I just wanted it to live long enough to survive me taking a picture of it as my first :)

Nice looking face board. Though I think through a year long cycle you will see some joint lines not staying together. So many end grain joins usually don t fare too well, especially if your environment sees seasonal movement in wood. It s never a given, but if there is breakage it will start where end grain is joined to anything. It s a weaker connection, sometimes problematic.

Consider it a learning tool. Woodworking is pretty simple, and the parts you don t pick up right away will usually point themselves out to you as you go along. Keep making, and soon this will be the blueprint for greatness.

The fact that you chased what many would have thought to be too complex, tells me this.

- therealSteveN

-- Chris S.