Walnut Cutting Board

I made this cutting board about 2 1/2 years ago. Well, I FINISHED it 2 1/2 years ago. I started it a year before that. It sat unfinished for a whole year.

Several years before, I was given oodles of 8/4 walnut by a woodworker who wasn’t able to work with it anymore. I had dozens of 16 foot boards that sat in the shop for years before I decided what to do with it.

After seeing some videos of woodworkers making cutting boards, I decided to try making one. I cut several boards from a longer board, ripped them into inch and a half strips, and milled them square and smooth.

Walnut Strips

I chose a good arrangement and numbered the strips.

Walnut Strips Ordered

Then I glued them up with Titebond III.

Glued Up Cutting Board

There was a decent amount of squeeze out to clean up before running this slab through the drum sander.

A Little Squeeze Out

Then I ran it through the drum sander and sanded smooth and flat all the way to 220 grit.

I then cut it to the shape I liked. I also wanted to route a juice groove on one side. This took a little figuring out. I opted to create a template with 1/4 inch plywood to guide my router.

Adding Juice Groove Template

Here’s a shot of the finishing touch of the template.

Adding Juice Groove Template

It routed very well, and I’m pleased with the resulting groove.

Routed Juice Groove

I routed the finger grooves on the ends at the router table.

Routed Finger Groove

I had recently gotten a branding iron and a custom Borouz logo brand made. This was the first project I tried it on.

Cutting Board with Borouz Brand

It was a little crooked and a little light at the top. But after sanding, it looked pretty good.

Borouz Brand

I decided to make tins of butcher block oil, made from bee’s wax and mineral oil. This is very easy to make. You can order melting bee’s wax pellets online. Simply add them to a tin at about 50/50 and heat the tin. A hot plate works well for this.