Very first cutting board

[Matt Armstrong]

I mostly stole the woodwhisperer's design but trimmed it out with some zebrawood (it looked cool at the store so I bought a chunk). The zebrawood does not like cheap router bits (lots of tearout) and I don't think I matched the grain correctly. Even still, it ended up being a 12x18x2.125 cutting board that I gave to my mom. I rounded over the tops with a 3/8" roundover bit on my crappy ryobi router and cut hand grooves on both sides near the bottom.

Thoughts? Comments? I want to understand matching the grain when choosing how to layout boards a little better.

[Brad Wood]

I think it looks nice. what about the grain don't you think you did right? it all looks ok to me
???

[Jim Kountz]

Look good to me Matt. Are you talking about trying to match the grain around the corners?? If so thats really hard to do even if you cut them sequentially out of one long board they are probably not going to line up exactly. Am I understanding you right??

[Matt Armstrong]

Look good to me Matt. Are you talking about trying to match the grain around the corners?? If so thats really hard to do even if you cut them sequentially out of one long board they are probably not going to line up exactly. Am I understanding you right??

That's right - I'm referring to the zebrawood. I guess I just hear all this talk about grain matching and people having some aesthetic rules they orient the boards with (like when making kitchen cabinets?). Who knows.

Thanks for the positive feedback!

[Rick Gifford]

I like that in between servings you can play some chess.

[Matt Armstrong]

I like that in between servings you can play some chess.

I got all enthusiastic about creating a chess board but then realized that most of the work in a chess board is in the pieces... and I'm not going to try making those. Not with my horrible skills, anyway

[Jacob Griffith]

LOL....nice work. And its functional too!!

[John Thompson]

I think you did and outstanding job Matt. I don't know who designed it but the design but I really like the way the perimeter is handled in their design. Jim K. nailed it about not always getting every piece of grain to match up.. and as he stated, that is true even with using one lenght of the same board on occasion.

Don't get too caught up in everything you read about that issue. There is idealism and there is reality. The majority of the time we have to settle for reality and occasionally get lucky with ideal. I am finishing a desk-hutch with around 140 board feet of QSWO. That relates to about $550 worth of QS.

Sure.. I could have purchased another additional 200 board feet and ended up with a better grain match in spots but... I didn't win the lottery and probably won't unless I find the winning ticket in a parking lot so.....

Bottom line on your piece is you did an excellent job of both build and matching with what you had to work with. Those are the cards you drew and you played them to the maximum the hand could be played. So... be proud as I personally think you did an outstanding job on this piece.

Regards and keep up the good work..

Sarge..

[Craig T. Smith]

Matt, I like the way your project turned out. +1 on the grain match. As for your 'horible skills" we are all learning and building skills every day, as they say practice, practice, practice. Craig

[John Keeton]

Matt, looks to me like the cutting board turned out looking great! Good design, and good contrast in the woods. When I first look at a piece, I try to not look at detail and just get a feel for whether the piece "works." This one does.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to have a good grain match without mitered corners. When you use butt joints, the end grain that shows will always interfere with the flow of the grain. I don't think that is a real issue with this piece - it looks very nice.

[Mark Valsi]

nice job !

[Matt Armstrong]

Matt, looks to me like the cutting board turned out looking great! Good design, and good contrast in the woods. When I first look at a piece, I try to not look at detail and just get a feel for whether the piece "works." This one does.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to have a good grain match without mitered corners. When you use butt joints, the end grain that shows will always interfere with the flow of the grain. I don't think that is a real issue with this piece - it looks very nice.

Thanks everyone! Truth be told, this was really one of my first woodworking projects altogether. My tools are a unisaw, a dust collector, and a ryobi router with some cheap chinese bits.

This is great encouragement. I hope I can learn more from you guys with time (and patience)

[Chris Tsutsui]

Nice Job! That cutting board is a step above the ones i've been making.

Here are some of my discoveries:

Sometimes your mom will think it's so nice she decides not to use it and puts it on her coffee table.

On the other hand, after using it a bunch, my grandma let the cutting board soak in hot water for a long period of time. I suppose she really wanted to test my glue joints... One of the joints cracked right down the middle. I cut it in half, jointed the edges and glued it back together.

For mine I used a running bond pattern of end grain Hard maple, Titebond 3, and Good Stuff Butcher Block Stain/sealer.

My secret to pumping these out is to make it the width that will fit in your thickness planer. haha

Initials are hammered into the boards and burned. Got the steel letter punch kit from HF.

[Don Eddard]

You did a great job. The joints between the individual squares in the board look real good, too. Getting the second glue-up aligned perfectly is harder than it looks, but it appears from the photos that you were right on target.

[John Czaplicki]

Nice job. I'm a big fan of the butcher block boards. Everyone absolutely loves to get them as gifts.

Did you put anything on the bottom....feet or bumpers?

I always have trouble finding the right product to use. In the past I've used grey rubber bumpers from Rockler, but the height and shape are not great. I attach them with stainless steel screws. I've seen and read about some adhesive silicon pads.... 3M makes some. I've read that they hold up under washing, etc....but I don't know first hand. I suppose you can always apply another if they fall off.

If you haven't put anything on the bottom you should consider it. They do several things for you including leveling, gripping to work surface and even drying after washing.