Make an end grain cutting board

One of the most popular woodworking projects

It seems that at one time or another, all woodworkers try their hands at making an end-grain cutting board. Its easy to understand why: cutting boards are useful, durable, allow you to really get creative on the design, and are simple to build.

Built by Mike D. (RetiredCoastie)
 on LumberJocks.com

And I have never made one. Its one of those projects thats been on my to-do list for a long time. As you may know, I love to cook and have been getting by for years with one of those thick plastic ones. Its built into my counter and slides out for use. The problem is that it gets mangled pretty quickly and doesnt clean well. After a while is begins to take on a permanent onion odor. Yuck. So I have to replace it every year.

Built by Jeff (jonasramus)
on LumberJocks.com

Wood cutting boards, on the other hand, will last nearly forever. The end grain of wood is very forgiving on knives and is actually more sanitary to use. The wood tends to heal itself. And if, after a lot of use, it starts to look really ragged and scratched, you can renew it just by resanding the surface.

I wasnt sure what more I had to offer in the way of a video, though. There are lots of cutting board videos. If you decide to make one, you definitely want to check out The Wood Whisperers video. He really takes you through every last detail and consideration.

Cutting Board Designer

Last month, Jeremy Greiner sent me a copy of a program he developed called Cutting Board Designer. After playing around with it for a while, I discovered how handy it is. It lets you lay out some complex patterns and get a good indication what your board will look like before you cut any wood. Check it out!

My first cutting board: