I'm knee deep in end grain cutting boards, making my wife happy by producing them for Christmas presents.
I recently started working on the final sanding of the first 15 or so completed boards and quickly got frustrated with how hard it was to hold them still on my sanding table.
I've tried the special mats, shelf liner, carpet pad, carpet scraps, cookies and a bunch if other stuff and none of them have worked well for long - especially once they get dusty.
But while at Walmart the other day I walked through the bath aisle and spotted a cheapo $5 tub mat. Felt the surface and it was really sticky rubber. Brought it home, tried it out, and it works better than anything else I have tried!
I have it taped into my sanding table. Has a nice soft surface due to suction cups underneath. Really sticky top surface. Even when it is coated with sawdust it still holds pretty well, and a quick wipe with a wet rag restores it to 100% sticky as well.
Well worth the $5 in my book!