As silly as this sounds, I just start ripping wood into strips or dig thru the scrap bin and let the wood tell me how it wants to go together, and then I get approval from she who must be obeyed.

There is no real science to it, just go with the flow.

 

there are some very good ideas for cutting boards here on LJ. i design some of my boards on graph paper and some are made by just gluing up whatever is leftover. scrap in my shop is sawdust and planner shavings.

 

Mart,

I have been visiting several wood forums over the past couple of years. When I see something I like, I cut and paste various articles and pictures of fellow woodworkers projects. I've got a folder with about 6 different Word docs that I've collected. Some have the proceedures people used, where some are just pictures of their final products. If you would like me to email you what I've saved, give me your address. In addition, "The Wood Whisperer" has a video of how he makes his end grain cutting boards.

Don

 

I do the same thing as DonJ. I have a folder full of pictures I capture when I run across a board using a nice combination of woods or patterns that I like. When I get an idea for a unique pattern I use graph paper and fill in the squares until I get the look I want before cutting the strips. I've also come up with some interesting patterns by accident when I got the strips out of the correct order as the plan.

 

Dido all the remarks above. I'll guarantee you that if you use the scraps in your shop for cutting boards, you'll never make two of the same. They will all come out different. I even mad my wife a dining table from scraps and it turned out great. She has to show it to everyone who comes to the house. I will post a picture of it on my projects tomorrow.

 

Thanks guys. I have seen the Wood Whisperer video since I posted this and that opened my eyes. I have found a couple of plans and looked at most of the posts here on cutting boards. Lots of great info. I should be able to turn out a few with the ever increasing pile of scraps I have.

Mart

 

lazyfiremaninTN, that is just to funny to let it go by "I get approval from she who must be obeyed."

Mine "Task Master" keeps a todo list on a shared network drive just in case I forget what is next on the masters list of todo's

 

I, like Mark, would like to use some of my "exoti wood scraps" for some cutting boards but need to seek some information or advise….......... I want to design a cutting board using either "side grain" or "face grain" up, but most of what I see referred to on this site is "end grain". Is there a problem in trying to do what i want to? What are the pros and cons of either way.

Any advise / suggestions welcomed and needed….......... tks

 

majeagle1, it really depends on what you will be using the board for. End grain cutting boards tend to hold up better to chopping and high volume cutting. That is why you see traditional butcher blocks are end grain. The best way to explain this is as follows:

End grain is just like you holding a bundle of toothpicks or small dowel (the wood fibers). When the knife blade contacts the surface it spreads the fibers. After the knife leaves the surface the fibers spring back into their normal positions.

When you make a board using edge grain you are actually cutting across the fibers. The fibers cannot mend themselves, so over time the board surface will break down.

A majority of the boards I sell are edge or face grains. Bread boards, cheese boards, or just plain serving boards. You must be very careful because these types of boards tend to warp if you don't mill them properly. People who enjoy cooking tend to purchase a traditional end grain board.

 

Tearen, I'm going to pick up on your comment about properly milling wood for an edge grain board to prevent warping. I am about to rip into some wood for my first cutting boards…what considerations should be given to prevent warping?

Thanks!

 

ghazard, treat your cutting board just like a small table top. You should allow the stock that you have ripped to size normalize to the shop conditions. You may find that the stresses released by cutting the board will change the shape of the cut pieces. If you have a jointer you can now resurface your pieces flat.

As for the glue-up, alternate your grain direction. This allows the board to naturally balance during normal shifts due to moisture, temp, etc. If you are forced to use boards with a bow (which a lot of us small time hobbists do), be very careful trying to press the board flat. This will put added stresses into the cutting board. If you have a planer or surface planer and extra thickness you can allow the bow(s) in the glue-up and remove the required material to flatten the part. Lots of extra work, but sometimes an necessary evil when you have some interesting woods.

Last but not least, you can use breadboard ends to help control warp.

 

Thanks, Tearen! Instead of starting a new thread…I'll tack a few more novice cuttingboard making questions on here. Mart, I hope you don't mind.

1. If unused (ie, left out for show), how long will it take for a 100% mineral oil finished board to dry out and need reoiling? 1 month? 1 year? 5years?

2) Do you treat both sides of the board with whatever finish you choose?

Thanks!

 

ghazard,

1) This is what I tell my customers. It is not a perfect rule, but I have never had a board dry out when using these directions. Each wood act differently and may retain the oil for longer or a shorter time. :
- once a week for the 1st month
- Once a Month for the 1st year
- Any time the surface looks 'dry'
- You can buy mineral oil at almost any Riteaid or walgreen's for a low cost option.
If your board is going to see little use, then maybe you should look into a Beeswax/minerial oil finish or a salad bowl finish. Be careful with other type of oil because they may contain nut products. Remember, some people who may get/use your board could have a nut allergy and this can cause issues with their health.

2) You should always treat both sides of a project. Remember, you are changing the characteristics of the wood surface with oil. If you do not do both side, you may cause warp… Also, the oil helps protect the wood. An unprotected surface may discolor, mold, or something else. Once again, treat the board like you would any wood table top.

 

...That answers it, Thanks. I ripped my boards last night, but they are still in long strips as I ran out of time. Some of them warped significantly after being cut, in both axises (...when set on the bench edge grain up, some bowed front to back in a concave shape and some the centers of the strip raised off the bench.) If I added this pic right, you can see the warping, it is apparent in the walnut and cherry and you can see that one of the center maple boards is raised up from the rest. I suspect this increases the tendency of a finished cutting board to warp…but how much? Am I screwed with this material or is this an "acceptable" amount of warping that the glue will hold it OK?

Thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions….

 

ghazard,

By all means jump in any time on one of my posts. We are here to share information and become better at woodworking and find more enjoyment in it through our associations here.

Mart

 

Once you cut the boards to length you should be ok. If you are seeing a 1/4" deflection on a smaller board I would put it off to the side. You can still use these by clamping them down, but you should put a board with similar warp in the opposite direction. This will help balance the pressure. How thick are the boards you are using?

 

The stock boards were just over .75" thick. I cut them in 1.125" strips to make a finished 1" thick cutting board.

 

How did the cutting board turn out?

 

Sorry ghazard, been away from the computer getting ready for the next craft shows. If your target is 1" thick you should be ok. Under that and you need to really watch the grain and bend/warp directions.

I was not paying attention over the weekend and I had one of my board warp after the glue dried. Not much, but I cannot bring myself to sell substandard boards. I guess that is what I get for glueing up 20 boards at a time. I will see if it can be salvage by making it into two smaller boards.

Let us know how the glue-up turned out and make sure you post some pics of the final boards.

 

You were right Tearen…when cut shorter the warped strips were less of a problem…The boards are in mid-production at the moment…4 are glued up, 2 to go…only one a night as I'm a little short on clamps…I'm learning that you cannot have too many clamps! Hope to flatten, router, and finish this weekend. I was able to get 2 large (12×16ish) boards and 4 smaller (9×12ish). Plus I think I have enough material to make some matching trivets which should be a nice addition to the gifts for my mom and mother-in-law. (a little off subject…for my dad and father-in-law, I am making a package of red cedar grilling planks. A new technique I will be trying on my grill for the first time tonight…has anyone else used or made these?)

I had another post going about not having a planer and not sure how to flatten the cutting boards post glueup. I have since built a sliding rail jig for the router. Inspired by oldskoolmodder's "Router Thickness "Planer" on the Cheap". With a little tweaking to get it flat…it works OK…thanks oldskoolmodder!

When I set up to take some pics of the finished boards and post them I will include the jig in my projects.

 

OK..I'm going to tack onto this thread again…I am sealing my cutting boards. With traditional mineral oil, will they retain an oily feel? I've just done the first coat and I will follow the "once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month forever" plan so maybe I am jumping the gun. Will the oily feel go away?

 

The oil feel will decrease the first time you wash the board. The more you rinse it off in the sink, the more it will feel dry to the touch later. The one I use every day in my kitchen gets oiled about every other month. I wouldn't get too wrapped around the oil thing. You can tell by the look and feel when it should be oiled. If you let it go a few months, it won't explode on you….

 

Finally got the pics taken of the finished boards…Take a look