First End Grain Cutting Board
- May 21, 2017
- 2 min read
This is a graduation present for a close friend of my sister's, Melissa. Melissa and I have grown close over the years, so I thought it would be nice to make her something to congratulate her. She mentioned a while back that she would like a cutting board. Since Melissa is Canadian, I sourced some Canadian hard maple. I am really looking forward to this project. It is on the easier side of woodworking, but I feel it is a milestone project when beginning the craft.
Milling
I board I found was 8/4" x 11" x 8' of Genuine Canadian hard maple. I do not have a jointer so I used my router sled to create two reference surfaces. The piece being milled in this picture is the extra maple. The cutting board will be made of the cut off to the right. This board was heavy of 8/4, so I was able to get a full 2" thickness after dimensioning.
When the wood reached my desired dimensions, I was ready to start cutting. I cut the cross sections and glued them up. Once dried I surfaced both sides and cross cut the panel into the smaller blocks that will for the end grain board. I used a brick joint pattern, so there was more cutting after the second end grain glue up.
Adding Some Flair
Once the board was complete and flattened, I decided to add a special detail to the board. I bought an off cut of walnut for a dollar, It had some nice figure. I used my table saw to cut two 3/8" book matched slabs.
I used my scroll saw to cut out a maple leaf. Then I transferred the cut leaf onto the cutting board. I used my chisels to bore out the pattern.
The inlay was very difficult. It was my firs time, so I had no prior experience. Being that the inlay is on end grain, it also made it very difficult to get crisp edges. I only have straight chisels, which made carving curves tough. Though, these might sound like excuses, I am still extremely proud of this piece.
Finishing Touches
Finishing this end grain made we wish I had a low angle jack plane or something similar. I routed an 1/8" round over on all of the edges. Then I belt sanded and scraped the surface flat, then sanded up to 220 grit. Cutting boards are in constant contact with food, so finishing options are pretty limited. Mineral oil and a beeswax top coat seemed to be the best.
Ultimately, I am proud to sign my name on this. the one thing I wish I could've done differently is, making the maple leaf out of walnut end grain. That way it could be used as a chopping surface.
Melissa graduated with honor from NYU and is going to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. She is very humble and lovely, but someone with those credentials can be quite intimidating. Creating something for a person like that is a daunting task, yet I took it on. In the end, Melissa's joy when I gave it to her meant the world to me.
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