I had been watching some videos on how to make an end grain cutting board and decided to make one for my Niece. The video I ended up using was from the Wood Whisperer website. It is pretty thorough which makes this project not too difficult.
I chose Hard Rock Maple and Purpleheart for the wood. I had no idea Purpleheart was so hard. It really is a beautiful wood.
The plans call for gluing up the wood in a certain order, then planing it. The you make a series of different cuts on the Table Saw and glue up those cuts in a certain order. This gives you the checkered pattern. When it was dry, I did a lot of sanding on both sides of the board. I finished the project using General Salad Bowl Finish. This is an actual watered down finish, not an oil. You put on several coats. Then, you have to let the board dry for a few weeks. It kind of smells, but that smell dissipates over time.
I put some rubber feet on the bottom of the board and mailed it to my Niece. The darn thing is heavy. I did not take a lot of photos of this project (sorry), but you can see how the board turned out by checking the few photos I did take.
Doug
