How To: Homemade Cutting Boards - Part 2

Completed 12" x12" end grain cutting board

Orion and I met up for a second night on the cutting board project.

I can now tell you that 50% of the work on cutting boards is sanding. The rest is gluing, and waiting, and waiting and waiting.

We managed to get three cutting boards out of eight 1.5" X .75" X 6' strips of walnut and red oak. One board is completely sanded and ready for use in our kitchen, the other two are getting smoothed out in the coming days.

We used a random orbit sander to smooth out all the surfaces. 80 grit was not rough enough, so we went to 60 grit for quicker results on the super hard surface. In a perfect world, this would be a job for a planer, but since we don't have one, the hand sander will do. After 60 grit feels smooth, we did 150 grit and 220 grit for a perfectly smooth finish.

After sanding, added something called "feed n' wax" on the wood, which is a combo of beeswax and oils to make the wood visually richer.

The results are satisfying — and we've learned a new trick that will be perfect for making family gifts next Christmas...

Patience is the secret

Orion glued up the biggest cutting board last night

Cutting board smooth as marble after 220 grit sanding

The waxy oil looks like snot

This wood was thirsty for sure – now it's in HD

Rubber grips on the bottom allow for some grip and leave room for moisture to escape