Cutting Board Help

[jseklund]

I've seen so many nice cutting boards on the site lately that I have decided to MAYBE try to build one on my own. I am going to build it as a christmas gift for my grandmother, if I do. The cutting board part seems fairly straight forward. However, the reason I thought this may be a good gift for her is that every year for christmas she says that we shouldn't get her so much stuff because she has no place to put anything. I was in her kitchen and realized she doesn't have an over-abundance of counter space. I started looking for ways to free up some space.

On another thread, someone mentioned that they like to be able to turn the boards over so that they can use both sides- so don't put feet on. However, I can see the board sliding. So I came up with the idea of making a cutting board without any feet, but then making a frame with rubber feet that the cutting board can sit in. This will keep the board from sliding, but still allow you to flip it. I then took it one step further and thought about making this frame with rubber feet sized so that it can be dropped onto the top of the sink and slid back and forth if desired.

So, as you can tell, I have a tendancy to over-think things. My questions are:

1. Has anyone ever made a frame like this, or even thought about it?
2. Because it seems like such a straight-forward project- is there something I'm missing and should be aware of before I start?

For wood I was thinking of using something like purple-heart, white oak and maple. Cherry was also an option. Not sure what I should go with yet....

Thanks in advance for any help!

[bigfoot]

I would not use oak, or any other open grained wood. Use a tight grain, and a food safe finish, such as walnut oil, imho

[LYU370]

Or you can try making something similar to this that Rockler has...



Or make some under cabinet brackets similar to this....



And yeah, I wouldn't use Oak either. Used it in the first cutting board I made, didn't like how it turned out. Lot of porous open grain, good places for bacteria to hide out in. Been using mostly Maple, with some Walnut, Cherry and the occasional left over piece of Hickory. Ash is also fairly hard and tight grained.

[RayintheUK]

We use Beech and Sycamore a lot for chopping boards in the UK, but I don't have any clue how available it is over there.

Ray.

[jnesmith]

This is how I finish them: (Curtesy of another woodworker on another board)

Heat some mineral oil in a double boiler. (I just use a glass jar in a pot of water) Add some paraffin wax. Around 5 parts mineral oil to 1 part paraffin. Keep heating until wax melts. Wipe the whole board down with the mixture as soon as it is cool enough to work with. Let it sit for 24 hours. Do it again. Wipe off excess.

[LYU370]

I ran across a similar recipe for a finish except it called for beeswax and was heated in the microwave. Supposed to give the board a nice sheen. Upto now I've just used striaght mineral oil, may try it on my next board.

[jseklund]

Thank you all for your replies. I'm sorry I was slow getting back to this post- life interupted my internet time after I made original post.

Ok- White Oak is out. I am going to have to work on the different looks and come up with a plan- but it seems the choices will be Maple, Cherry, Purple Heart (lots of places seem to like it, it looks good and no one said not to use it), and Walnut. Just got to decide on the color patterns.

The staining advice will be very handy too- I am clueless there. Thank you!

LYU- That would be a very cool idea, except I don't think I have quite that ability yet. My other excuse is that she doesn't really have a drawer I don't think or space to put that in. But the big reason is lack of skill. I don't claim to lack skill too often, but this woodworking thing has me licked so far. Everyone else on this board is so far ahead. But I gotta just keep trying...we all start somewhere. I just got put on the blocks behind everyone it looks like! haha.

The under the cabinet idea is probably a good feature that is doable though...


Thank you all again! I will let you know how it comes out.

[scmhogg]

I made a cutting board for my own use. I used Maple and two strips of Cherry for decoration.

My old, store bought, board, separated at some of the joints. So...I drilled three 1/2" holes through each strip and used threaded rod, washers and nuts to hold it together. I plugged the holes with redheart.

The threaded rod makes a great clamp too.



Steve