DIY cutting boards

[Henrik]

I like doing things with my hands. I had some real old boards lying around, from an old house. This means the wood is 80+ years old, and rock hard. These are (or used to be) support beams for a wall. I have previously made a table (sideboard) from them, and had some left.

Then I thought: wouldn't it be real cool to make a bad *ss cutting board from these? At least 2 inches thick, massive wood. I had enough to make two, so I took the boards and cut them up in 14" (34 cm) lengths using a miter saw (DeWalt).

I put three and three together, so there will be two cutting boards.



I cut them using (almost) super precision so I would have a super smooth 'edge', requiring little or no sanding.

After that it was time to glue them together, one board at a time. Currently waiting for 24 hours to pass, so I can glue the next one.



Once glued together I put huge weights on top to make sure it stays flat, just in case (don't like taking chances).




I'll get back here with progress, but it's gonna take a few days.

The next steps are:

1. Sand them until they're smoother than a baby's bottom
2. Use a router to cut drainage (basically a gutter that goes around the board to collect juices)
3. Oil it.

Fun times, wood working is great, and this will be very personal!

[Henrik]

By the way, I don't know the type of wood. Is there any wood expert (or anyone else) that can throw me an educated guess? I'm thinking pine, but not sure at all.

[RonB]

It hard to tell from the photos posted. A close up shot of the end grain would help, along with a shot of the face of the board after sanding. Also try to notice if the boards have any odor while being worked, (but very old wood will have less odor...)

[texastweeter]

Looks like yellow pine from what I can see.

[Troutman]

Lol tweeter, spoken like a true East Texan. This is Sweden, so I’m thinking Norwegian Spruce.

[Pirate Scott]

Henrik could be Pine, I know you said it was very old, did it have a smell when you cut it. Pine holds its aroma along time. Did you cut the Tongue & Groove?

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

If it is rock hard, I'd be surprised if it is pine. I don't think it gets a whole ton more dense over time, but then 80 years IS a long time. I'd bet it's something else, though.

[texastweeter]

Old pine or kiln dried pine has almost no smell.

[EdF]

Also, if it's very hard, I doubt that it's poplar - doesn't much look like it, it needs to be sanded to know better.

[Spinaker]

Very cool! I have thought about doing this as well. My uncle has a bunch of salvaged wood from some old buildings on his farm. It looks like a ton of fun.

I know you placed weight on top of the boards to make sure it stays flat, but are you going to use a planer to make sure the board is flat across the board surface?

I look forward to seeing your results, Henrik.

[Spinaker]

I want one of those! Henrik

[Henrik]

This is exactly the type of project that could motivate me to buy a planer, because 'I really must have one'. MCS? No, MTS (more tools syndrome) Lol!

[Pirate Scott]

Henrik you can knock that down with a couple Hand Planes. A Vintage #4 Stanley , or a Start with. #6, then go to a #4, or maybe you should start with a #8..... Oh Boy, they made 12, but wait the #1 is very rare. Ha, Ha just kidding, you could do it with a #4. But Tools are Slippery Slope.

[Huskee]

Really cool! My wife and I have been talking about getting a big butcher block style cutting board for our countertop. If shipping wouldn't be as much as a small car I'd ask you to make one for me that I could buy off you.

[Henrik]

Thanks! We'll see when I'm done what the weight is, and the final finish of course.

[RonB]

Here ya go Huskee:

http://www.theboardsmith.com/

[EdF]

That guy knows his stuff! Beautiful work.

[customtrim]

What kind of trees do you have there. Can you make a indent in the wood very easy,. At 80 years old it should be done moving much but still can, only mentioning that it looks from the end grain you have all three boards running the same direction, it is better to alternate them to help prevent warping and cupping

[Henrik]

Normally I would agree with you, but since it is 80+ years old I doubt it will move much. We have plenty of trees, but nothing exotic. Think Canada climate.

[DWCowles]

Don’t forget to post pics of the finished product.

[jlazar]

My sister was taking a road trip with a friend of her's from Kentucky. They stopped by and stayed with us a week. The lady gave us this as a gift for putting her up. Her sister makes these (homemade). You can see all the different pieces involved. Not something I would even try. Good luck on your effort.

[jlazar]

That is why we haven't used it yet. But we finally decided there is no sense in having it just sitting around. The lady would want us to be using it. My daughter got one also so I don't have to worry about keeping it pristine to pass on.

[EdF]

Really nice work!

[jlazar]

Both sides are the same. I will keep one side for use and one side for show.

[Steve B]

Very nice Henrik.
I agree with customtrim about alternating the grains. Good call brother.

I need to get back into some woodworking. My father was a cabinet maker trained in Germany.
Here’s a pic of a knife rack I made when I was, I think, 13yrs old.
Solid walnut. Although looking at it now it’s not really practical. But than again I was quite young.

[EdF]

Yeah, like 4 years ago without a beard. It's a "different" look. The beard was already pretty white in 2001, so I dropped it for a few years, not wanting to look like Santa Claus at 50.

[jfmorris]

Actually this would be ideal for storing knives in a drawer, and inspires me to make something similar for one of the under utilized drawers in our kitchen. I need somewhere to store the good knives so they don't bang into each other and get dulled....

[Steve B]

jfmorris That is what my thought process was back than. But my dad was a bit ticked off for me taking a nice slab of walnut and cutting it up like that.
But you’re right about utilizing it for a drawer to keep some nice knives in order.

[JimLinebarger]

Was going to ask if you had access to a Dewalt planer but the largest width they make is 13". Would have to have access to a floor standing model to get over that width. 14" is a good size and wouldn't want to make it any narrower for a 2" thick board. And it looks great.

[EdF]

Yeah, that's kind of the issue with big stuff. I had an ancient Foley-Belsaw when I was back in Mass, and it was wonderful. But it wasn't going to, and didn't, make the trip to the new location.

[Henrik]

I managed to find a photo of the sideboard I made some weeks ago. I bought 15 mm square steel tube that I used to weld the leg frame together. It is made for storing fire wood as you can see. The wooden table is made from these thick boards. I have sanded them down for a smooth surface since the photo was taken. I really like the combination of the industrial look (leg frame) with the robust wooden cottage look (the table surface).

[Troutman]

Rustic, simple, gorgeous...love it as a wood rack

[Spinaker]

Very Cool. I love the birch wood too. Great fireplace wood!

[ssandy_561]

I have read that cutting boards should only be made with hardwood that is not porous. One does not want "juices" soaking into the board whatsoever.

[Henrik]

I agree. But these boards are very old, hard and dense. I'll give it a try. If it doesn't work out, I'll start over with better wood. I haven't spent a dollar yet :-)

[RonB]

A good cutting board sealer/wax should prevent anything from seeping in.

[ssandy_561]

Also I have read that end grain cutting boards have a few advantages over edge grain or face grain cutting boards.

End grain boards do not show cuts as much and end grain boards are also less damaging to knife edges.

[EdF]

Cuts "heal" thanks to the end grain orientation.

[customtrim]

Being your saying that they are hard I would take a guess as either a birch or maple leaning more towards the birch with the spots on the one board does not have enough or a consistent pattern for a bird' eye maple

[Troutman]

Spruce

[Frozen Smoke]

Looks like pine to me. I have no skills so i had to drop a couple hundred bucks on a Boos Board which I think are over rated imo. That looks like some real potential you got going there Henrik