Right after my wife and I got married I started my woodworking quest. One of the first things I made was an oak cutting board. I was taking an adult education class on woodworking at a local high school and I used their equipment. I made this cutting board out of red oak. It is a typical beginning woodworking project. I learned a lot about woodworking from this project, especially how to square off and glue up wood.My wife has used this cutting board for over 25 years. You can see the wear and tear of the old cutting board in the Photo Album. Needless to say, it was time for a new cutting. board.
I decided to use Walnut and Hard Rock Maple for the new cutting board. I cut them up into strips and glued alternating strips together. You can see the rough finish glue up in the album photos. Now came the fun part. What a total blast to have a home thickness planer!! All I had to do was run the rough cutting board through the planer a few times and out came a nice, smooth piece of wood. I made sure the rough wood was over 14” which is the minimum length for my Ridgid planer. After planing, I cut it to size and I used my Jigsaw to cut the rounded corners. I put a router bead with a round over bit all around and oiled it up.
Speaking of oil, I used some Butcher Block Oil that I got at the local Woodcraft store. It is primarily Mineral Oil with a couple of other oils added. It is completely food safe. It sure makes the wood come to life and it is just plain good for it. Check some photos in our photo gallery.
Doug
