Cutting Boards, Holiday Procrastination

Having never done a cutting board project, I now realize it takes a little longer than I anticipated. The pictures show the boards unfinished. The last coat went on them 4 hours before I presented them. Had to let them know to wait a week before using them!

Anyways, the species are all different on each board. From the top left in the first picture (clockwise), I used Purple Heart and Maple, Peruvian Walnut and W. Oak, P. Walnut and Cherry, and Brazilian Walnut and Ash. I was very pleased with all the combinations. The white oak/walnut combo wasn’t my favorite as the pores were very apparent. I’ll need to account for them next time. I ended up using many coats of a butcher block equivalent to finish them. These are not end grain boards as is typical, but they will only see limited use. The purple heart board was about 1.5” thick. The others are from 3/4” stock sanded and planed slightly thinner. The thick board is the way I’ll go next time. Very solid and stable. The project showed me that some of my tools were not set within acceptable tolerances. This was apparent when joining the boards. Got to buy a jointer! The table saw jigs are decent, but not the same. I ended up going to a jointing plane after noticing the slight gaps left from the table saw jointing jig. My biscuit jointer is being held hostage by a friend that keeps “forgetting” to return it (not to mention 2 pipe clamps and a book, grrr). I used dowels for one board, splines for two of them, and butt joints with no strength or alignment aids for the small one.

I have liked how Mot has listed what he used on his projects, and will do the same:

Milling and Dimensioning:

Grizzly 1023 Table Saw (used jointing jig as well)
12.5” Delta Planer #7 Jointing Plane #4 Bench Plane
10” Miter Saw

Finish Prep:
Bosch Random OS (grit P100 – P220)
Belt/Disk Sander (bench top)
Card Scraper
Mineral Spirits and tack cloth to remove dust

Finish:
Wood Conditioner on all
Many coats (maybe 6 or 7?) of Butcher Block equivalent
I used a cherry washcoat on the cherry board to somewhat disguise the sap/heartwood contrast

-- Jeff, South Carolina