[Bob in St. Louis]

Well...."kind of".

Officially, it's not a real one, since I didn't use food grade glue. These are pieces I've had in my workshop from various projects that have been laying around for years, and are in the way. I've been wanting to get into making cutting boards for quite sometime, and thought I might as well give it a shot. From a woodworking perspective, I wanted to get the bugs worked out before I make a "real" board that can actually be used in the kitchen.

The LAST thing I'd do would be to plop down a fat, juicy steak on this board and let it sit for ten minutes! 

This board, I might use for slicing cheese and sausage links, or maybe breads, but not full duty in the kitchen. It might just end up in the burn pile.

The woods you see are solid endgrain Maple (center), Pelin Burl (redish accent on the sides), and Wenge (surround).
The Maple was reclaimed from an old kitchen table. The Pelin Burl is a veneer from a speaker project I built, and the Wenge is a veneer that was scraps from a friend of mine who also builds speakers (not sure if he wants to be named, but please speak up if you do  ).

If any of you woodworkers have pics of cutting boards, I'd love to see them.
Constructive criticism on mine is welcome, although, like I said, this was a "test" and I considered it "playtime in the workshop". There are a few glaring errors from a woodworking standpoint.....so please..... don't be shy, let me know what you see.

From a photography standpoint. Well. I've been drinking, and this as good as it gets.

I put the knife in there just for size reference.

[DaveC113]

Looks Great! 

I've made a few cutting boards but end up using bamboo boards I bought for next to nothing at Costco, they are indestructible.

One thing I learned from my old boss at the Cabinet shop I worked at was to be careful about using S American wood in cutting boards as it's often floated down badly polluted rivers to transport it where it picks up contaminants.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Interesting about the polluted wood. But in this day and age, I'm not sure I could be sure of the origin of everything I consumed.   
For example, some of the doors in my house are American Pine, but are assembles in Africa, then shipped back to the US and packaged.
What happened from here to there to here.....who's to say? 

[Guy 13]

Hi Bob,
nice looking board, how about some kind of protective stuff like...???
Well, the same stuff you use for speakers box finish.
That way anything you put on it, won't soak-in the wood.
Does that makes sense ?
I use a slate of marble with some kind of protecting finish.

Guy 13 on planet Vietnam.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Hey Guy,
The wood was pretty bland, stark and pale until I gave it a nice coat of "George's Club House Wax", which is food safe.
It really brought out the deep colors.
Not sure it's an adequate barrier against the toxins in the glue though.

Bob

[S Clark]

I wouldn't worry too much about toxins in the glue.  If you think about all the stuff we were exposed to throughout our younger days, I suspect that a bit of wood glue is the least of our worries.  In the meantime, that's a very nice looking board  .  I've always thought about making one out of mesquite, since I have a pasture full of the stuff.  Maybe one day.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Since you mentioned it, I do recall kinds 'back in the day' that ate wood glue...   
But having Mesquite in your backyard would be amazing. The things I could do with that........
Thank you for the complement Scott!

Bob

[srb]

nice looking board, how about some kind of protective stuff like...???
Well, the same stuff you use for speakers box finish.
That way anything you put on it, won't soak-in the wood.

All wood finish topcoats, whether water or oil base, are toxic.  Wood cutting boards should only be protected with food grade mineral oil or a mixture of natural beeswax and mineral oil, like the George's Club House Wax that Bob used, Boos Block Board Cream or equivalent.

I use a slate of marble with some kind of protecting finish.

Slate, marble, granite and glass are all way too hard for cutting board use and will dull or damage knife blades.

Steve

[Rob Babcock]

Nice looking effort!  But what's that old German junker doing on your pretty board?

[Guy 13]

All wood finish topcoats, whether water or oil base, are toxic.  Wood cutting boards should only be protected with food grade mineral oil or a mixture of natural beeswax and mineral oil, like the George's Club House Wax that Bob used, Boos Block Board Cream or equivalent.

Slate, marble, granite and glass are all way too hard for cutting board use and will dull or damage knife blades.

Steve

Hi Steve,
who's got or want to use a dull knife anyway to cut food?
I have several sharp knives and with my marble slate,
I have no problem.

Guy 13 on planet Vietnam where marble is super cheap.
 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Nice looking effort!  But what's that old German junker doing on your pretty board?

Good eye Rob, I wondered if I'd get any comments on the knife. 
Someday, when I'm up to your paygrade, I'll have one of those fancy Japanese units. 
Besides, my Mother got me about five or six of those German pieces for something like $5 each at the charity store. 
It's like a sore pecker....you can't beat that.

Bob

[Rob Babcock]

The funny thing is that while I use fancy Japanese knives at work when I'm home I'm usually to lazy to get into my work knife case, so I have a few Germans that I use.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Don't lie Rob....I know you've got a drawer full of Farberware.   

[pecker]

I don't think the veneer portion will hold up well, especially since the edges of the plywood substrate are exposed to moisture.

This is one I made for my neighbors daughter when she moved out on her own.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Yes, I agree. I was chopping at the bit to make a cutting board, and this was all I had on hand to experiment with. Like I mentioned, I might use it for wine and cheese night.
Your is awesome, I love that. inspirational, for sure.   

[srb]

Very beautiful, pecker*, but wouldn't end grain hold up better for a daily use board?

Steve

* Have to be very careful how one uses your screen name in a sentence, punctuation and all.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Glad to see proper comma use. 

[pecker]

Very beautiful, pecker*, but wouldn't end grain hold up better for a daily use board?

Steve

* Have to be very careful how one uses your screen name in a sentence, punctuation and all.

End grain is easier on the knife's edge. But sometimes you have to sacrifice utility for aesthetics. That one is actually edge grain on the cutting surface, which is probably less good than end grain, but better than face grain.
For an amateur cook the differences are probably meaningless.

[WGH]

Nice looking chopping block Bob. A solid maple edge band around the plywood would be the finishing touch. I finished my top with a pure tung oil/citrus finish which is non-toxic when dry. Woodcraft also sells a butcher block oil.

If any of you woodworkers have pics of cutting boards, I'd love to see them.

Well... since you asked, more of a chopping block than cutting board but what the heck.

White oak base with 40" x 25-1/2" hard maple top. The legs are 4" square because the caster plate is almost that big. Total height is 36-1/2", the same as the counter top. The wheels are 3" nylon antimicrobial from Alco, $71.80 for 4. http://www.alcosales.compc_product_detail.asp?key=78B7D2E6E2F34D4CB735CAE0AB26FF38









Wayne

[Bob in St. Louis]

That's a good looking piece Wayne, very classy. Regarding those casters, a very close friend of mine sells casters, if you ever need any, let me know and I'll hook you two up.
I like your idea of the maple banding around mine. Not sure how much more labor I want to put in it though. I do have some 3/4" Oak banding that would work, I might just have enough. Good call on the Tung, thank you. I've already got "George's Clu House" on this one though.

Bob