Easy Cutting boards

With the right tools creating a cutting board is an easy beginner woodworking project. The ideal tools include a table saw, surface planer, jointer, clamps, and sanding equipment. These tools are ideal but not necessary to create your own stylish board.

Determining what wood to use is the first place to begin an easy cutting board. Due to moisture plus wear and tear a close grain hardwood is preferred for most boards. Woods such as hard maple, walnut, or cherry make terrific cutting boards and offer a variety of colors, grain structures, and patterns.

Once the wood is selected it is time to prepare the wood for glue up. The most important part of gluing pieces together is the joint. A square, flat surface is required to achieve maximum strength, and to do this running the wood pieces through a thickness planer and jointer is an efficient method. You can also use a table saw and thickness planer to create a straight flat surface to glue up. If you do not own a planer or jointer your local lumber yard generally offers these services for a fair fee.

Once your pieces are cut and joints prepared you can use a waterproof wood glue and MANY clamps to adhere the pieces together. Let them dry completely, sand to the surface finish you want, then apply a liberal coat of cutting board oil or a mineral oil. Cutting board complete.