# first few cutting boards



## bmketchum (Nov 7, 2013)

I have recently been very interested in making some end grain pattern cutting boards, but I am working on the basic cutting board now. I also have been working on a butcher block table top. 

 

 

 Any advise or insight is much appreciated.

Reactions: Like 8


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## NCWoodArt (Nov 8, 2013)

Just take one of your finished boards & rip it into various wide strips & then flip each one a quarter turn & reglue it & you have a nice end grain cutting board. They look great. always try to use dense woods for end grain boards just as a tip I always try to use woods like walnut & Hard maple & stay away from exotics that are know to cause some folks to have allergic reactions.

What you done so far looks great by the way. What are the woods you used purpleheart, walnut & maple plus what else? How thick are they? From the picture they look a little thin.

BIll


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## bmketchum (Nov 9, 2013)

Thank you Bill. The first one that I made was done so with a cutting board kit I grabbed at Woodcraft. The ones pictured that I have been working on have a pretty unneccesary assortment of wood types, but I am learning as I go. The 1st photo was made with walnut, cherry, honduran mahagony, maple, bubinga, and fillippean mahagony. The dimensions are 12" wide x 13" long x 1 1/4" thick. Photo 2 (top left) with mahagony, walnut and maple; dimensions are 12 1/2" wide x 11" long x 1 1/4" thick. The board with the handle was my first attempt and used maple, walnut, mahagony, purple heart, oak, and qs sycamore. Its dimensions are 15 1/4" long x 10 1/2" wide x 1" thick w/4" handle. The 3rd photo is a table top for my gf. She wanted "something pretty." I used a little bit of everything I could find around here(Iowa) The dimensions are 27 1/4" wide x 19" long x 1"thick. I had never really considered any type of adverse health affects of imports. Where would be a good source for that type of info? What would you say is an ideal thickness for similar sized (about 12" by 12") boards?


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## Mike1950 (Nov 9, 2013)

I think your big one is too thin also- smallest one should be at least 3/4 -1" so you are fine there middle one is fine last should be 1 1/4 -1 3/4. Just my opinion though. Yours look great. 
I also avoid exotics- plenty of color in domestic wood. Once you go to end grain- you will have a hard time going back. They are a fun way to get rid of scrap.


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## El Guapo (Nov 11, 2013)

In general, the three wood staples for butcher blocks are hard maple, walnut, and cherry. Like Bill said, you can rip your cutting board into strips and rotate 90 degrees and make it an end grain cutting board instead. I think it looks best to flip the orientation of every other ripped strip to give a nice pattern, but that is personal preference. In general, I think a nice butcher block style (end grain) cutting board should be at least an inch thick, up to two inches for really heavy duty boards that aren't going to be moved much (weight becomes a real issue, particularly for the lady folks). Another great idea is to cut a juice groove in one side with a router. Great work though!


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## NCWoodArt (Nov 11, 2013)

How do you get those juice grooves cut in a uniform square all the way around? Do you use a handheld router & a edge guide? I have a nice Bosch router & router table that I have never used, also have a brand new Porter cable handheld router never used so I need to get the dust knocked off them & put them to use.


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## El Guapo (Nov 12, 2013)

You can make a jig with two fixed sides and a moving fence for the third side l_l. Then with a handheld router, you can cut a juice groove halfway around the cutting board, rotate the board 180 degrees and complete. You need a very precise jig to get the two seams to match up perfectly, so I would definitely practice a lot on scraps!


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