Wood recomendations for cutting board

[Glenn M]

G'day All,

A lady here at work wants to commission me (her words not mine) to make her a new cutting board. I think she is just humouring my fledgling woodworking

Anyway, what is some good wood recommendations for a cutting board? I assume it has to be hardwood so Jarrah comes to mind pretty swiftly but I am not to up on my wood toxicity. There is a couple of wood suppliers here in Canberra so I should have easy access to most woods.

Also, is it worth doing a glue-up? Nothing fancy, I was thinking just alternating strips of wood through the piece, but I have heard of problems with washing glued pieces...?

I have done a search on the ubeaut board and have gotten good info on what finishes to use, or not as the case may seem, so I am right there.

Thanks everyone!

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

[RETIRED]

Gooday.

Cutting boards can be made from almost any timber (YES!! even pine) unles a cleaver is being used. For that you need a butchers block.

Don't use toxic timbers, i.e. any that are poisonous timbers. I am not sure what these are but I am sure some one will tell us.

To answer why even softwoods can be used. When you have cut through the article, meat, bread, sandwiches etc. you stop. (don't you?)

I made my mother a pine bread board from 3/4" pine 25 years ago. it is a little hollow in the middle but it has been used every day and still works well.

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Ian () Robertson
"We do good turns every day"

[Glenn M]

Thanks for the reply, .

Ok everyone, if any wood is OK, as long as it isn't toxic, what's something a little nice, that isn't going to break the budget?

I plan on cutting out a nice shape with my jigsaw while still making the piece practical, instead of just having a rectangle of wood, and I'll rout over the edges with a simple bit.

Oh and I still need an answer on the glueing up and if there is any problem with frequent washing.

Thanks everyone!

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

[Rod Smith]

G'day Glen
Congratulations on your 1st(?) commission.
I have used chopping boards that have been glued with regular pva for years, no probs. We wash our boards the same as everything else, stick in sink and scrub. The thing to be careful of is to wash both sides the same, and air dry evenly. This is to prevent uneven moisture take up and cupping. IE If you leave a board on a wet surface it will cup. Turn over and repeat process to flatten. As far as finishes go, I pour on peanut oil, let soak in and wipe off excess. Only do this occassionally (maybe yearly)as I'm basically lazy. No problems. Lately, I've used 290mm pine leftovers. No worries with pine. Any common timber is ok as far as I know. But I don't think the lady would appreciate a large 2" jarrah one. Do her wrists in.

Cheers
Rod

[ubeaut]

G'day Glen - If it is a board that is going to be used constantly and not just for show, I would use 1" pine. It's cheap readily available, non toxic, light in colour so it always looks clean, is also reasonably light in weight and easy to handle, does not blunten knives like many other timbers will and it has been the prefered timber for bread boards and cutting boards for centuries.

Prefered finish a light coat of a good vegetable oil initially (purely for presentation). Upkeep: wash it after each use in hot soapy water and stand to dry as Rod said. It can be re-oiled occasionally if you wish but that is not really necessary or mandatory.

We have been using pine chopping boards and bread boards for over 30 years with no complainge. The oldest we currently have is around 20 years and is used daily for everything from buttering the toast to cutting the meat and vegies. I reckon it still has another 10 or more good years life left in it.

I used to make hundreds of bread boards years ago, (for a number of years bread boards at Ferntree Gully Market fed and clothed my family) strangely enough I found that one of the best sources of pine was bee keepers. Most of them use 12" wide clear pine boards for making their bee boxes, or at least they used to.

Hope this helps.

Cheers - Neil

[Glenn M]

Thanks Rod & Neil!

Well, looks like pine it is That's OK cause it means I can get a little extra creative if I want, and if I stuff it, I just go and spend another $5 on wood

Anyone got any more comments on glue-ups, pros and cons?

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

[This message has been edited by Glenn M (edited 22 August 2001).]

[Iain]

And.............heres a free plan for a contrasting chopping board http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ezine/freeplans.cfm

[Glenn M]

Thanks Iain!

I don't have a bandsaw, but if I do the curves smoothly enough hopefully my Jigsaw wont make a meal of it, and the veneer should help.

Might give it a shot!

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

[This message has been edited by Glenn M (edited 23 August 2001).]

[cliff cook]

Glen
Just a little tip if cutting shapes to fit with a jigsaw (or any saw really)place the two pieces of wood on top of one another and saw both at the same time. This way you are sure to get the pieces to fit perfectly.
cooky

[Glenn M]

G'day All,

Just thought I would give you a little update on where I am at on my first "commissioned" piece.

I have finally bought some wood today for it. I did get some pine a little while ago and made up a board for myself, but the lady, er client , says she wants a dark wood to go with her kitchen. Also, she is prepared to pay quite a princly sum!

So anyway, she finally gave me the measurements she wants, 440mmx350mm!!! Aye curumba!!! That's a big board, but she says it is the size that her old one is

So I have been looking looking looking for a nice darkish timber to make this thing for her and I have come accros some merbau that was dressed at 230x40. Yuh, I know, the 40mm is WAY too thick but this is what I plan to do...

My triton saw and saw table has a cutting depth of about 70mm. I will crosscut the wood to two lengths of 440mm and then I plan on ripping the board into 70mm wide pieces, leaving me with strips of 440x70x40.

These I will then turn up on their side and I'll rip them at 20mm thick so I then will have a heap of 440x70x20mm strips to glue up. It should only take 5 strips to do this as 70 x 5 = 350mm. It's tragic that I have to slice and dice this wood in this fashion, but I have no choice *sigh*

I'll "plane" off the edges with my triton router table, because they will only be 20mm thick it will handle this, and then I'll glue it up using biscuits for extra strentgh because the thing will be so damn big.

The upside is that I should have plenty of wood left over to make more normal size cutting boards for Xmas presents

Wish me luck, oh and if I have gotten any of my terminology wrong please forgive me, I am still learning

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

[Glenn M]

G'day Doorstop,

I was feeling that 20mm is a little thin, but my biggest problem is at the size she wants if it is any thicker she wont be able to move the thing because it will weigh too much. I have some scrap kicking around that I can do some test cuts with to play around with 25mm and 30mm, but leaving it at the full 40mm will create a monster!


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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

[Glenn M]

I don't think Pine would be too heavy

Yup, but she does want a dark wood, plus I have already dropped a wad on the merbau. I'll see how I go, worst case scenario, I'll cut the thing in half if she doesn't like it and then I have two more Xmas presents

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

[Glenn M]

Well Doorstop, you were right. After I had cut the wood to 50mm widths (50 x 7 = 350mm wide) the 40mm depth looked just right for the size. If I had cut it down to only 25-30mm thick it would have looked unbalanced, for lack of a better word.

Unfortunatly, I now find that my router has got a tiny bit of sag when clamped into place, so after I joined them all up with the Triton biscuit joiner the surfaces of the board are not perfectly flat, each strip has a ridge of about .5mm Oh well, just means some hard work with the old orbital sander and some 60 grit.

Thanks mate!

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com

[ubeaut]

Glen - You might try using something a bit more acurate first. Like a plane. I doubt that you will get a really flat finish with an orbital sander. You mau be eble to sand down the high spots and blend them in but the likelyhood of getting the whole surface flat is about 10,000 to 1. The idea of a cutting board is for it to at least start off flat.

For future reference. Mark the face of the timber first then use the biscuit jointer from the face side for every cut. Then you shouldn't have the problem if differing heidhts.

[Glenn M]

Thanks ubeaut. The only downside is that I don't have a plane. I know the board wont be perfectly flat, but I can only do the best I can with the tools I have. Besides, if the client doesn't like the board my wife will happily take it

For future reference. Mark the face of the timber first then use the biscuit jointer from the face side for every cut.

Yup, have worked that out, now.

Thanks mate.

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Glenn
www.woodworkbooks.com