Make an end grain cutting board

One of the most popular woodworking projectsIt seems that at one time or another, all woodworkers try their hands at making an end-grain cutting board. Its easy to understand why: cutting boards are useful, durable, allow you to really get creative on the design, and are simple to build.

Built by Mike D. (RetiredCoastie)
 on LumberJocks.com

And I have never made one. Its one of those projects thats been on my to-do list for a long time. As you may know, I love to cook and have been getting by for years with one of those thick plastic ones. Its built into my counter and slides out for use. The problem is that it gets mangled pretty quickly and doesnt clean well. After a while is begins to take on a permanent onion odor. Yuck. So I have to replace it every year.
Wood cutting boards, on the other hand, will last nearly forever. The end grain of wood is very forgiving on knives and is actually more sanitary to use. The wood tends to heal itself. And if, after a lot of use, it starts to look really ragged and scratched, you can renew it just by resanding the surface.
I wasnt sure what more I had to offer in the way of a video, though. There are lots of cutting board videos. If you decide to make one, you definitely want to check out The Wood Whisperers video. He really takes you through every last detail and consideration.
Cutting Board DesignerLast month, Jeremy Greiner sent me a copy of a program he developed called Cutting Board Designer. After playing around with it for a while, I discovered how handy it is. It lets you lay out some complex patterns and get a good indication what your board will look like before you cut any wood. Check it out!
My first cutting board: Read More..

My kind of cutting board

Posted by chun | 0 comments | 7:58 AM

Lots of us make cutting boards, but why not do something unique? Carl Letts sent me this photo of one he made. I first saw this optical illusion at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The bathroom walls are tiled like this. Its the craziest thing: all the rows of squares are perfectly straight! Hold up a ruler if you want. Or, if you look at it from an edge, it all straightens out. I guess since they are offset a bit, our eyes go buggy and cant really make sense of it. Too cool. Thanks Carl!

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More plywood cutting methods

Posted by chun | 0 comments | 6:44 PM

After Last weeks sheet goods cutting video, I had a few people send me their methods for breaking down plywood.
A few people mentioned making one of these long boards with a built-in "fence" to ensure accurate cuts every time. Here is Ted Sobocienskis version.

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Jerry Ormes has the same idea, but also sent over a Sketchup file for you do download.

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I really like David Higgins system and may make one myself.

"I made this system for beaking down sheet good, you just set up on saw horses. The grid system allows you to cross cut or rip cut, and your work will always be supported, also the system breaks down and leans against a wall when not in use. One other feature is you through a sheet of ply on top, and you have a great work surface."

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Make a cheese cutting board

Posted by chun | 0 comments | 3:26 AM

Time to kick off the holiday gift-making season! For those of you in America, this would also make a great Thanksgiving project.
Rather than make an end-grain cutting board, I decided to make this using the edge grain. While its not as durable as an end-grain cutting board, it is much easier to make and can be run through a planer, something you probably dont want to try with end grain.
I imagine a cheese board will only see use occasionally, for entertaining. Plus, slicing cheese doesnt require a lot of knife-chopping action, so scratches on face grain will be minimal.
I made mine using padauk and cherry. Any hardwood will work.
This is a great opportunity to give your router some action if you havent used it much. The two recessed areas in the board are made using a cutting template. I used a round, bull-nosed bit, but a straight bit would work fine too.
Cutting template

• WWMM Cheese board cutting template (pdf)
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Built by Jeff (jonasramus)
on LumberJocks.com