# Wood for cutting boards



## jd99 (Jun 17, 2009)

Hi all.

I know several of you have posted your fine examples of cutting boards, and after seeing them the better half and I thought they would make great gifts for Christmas. Well with the year half over and the way stuff seems to catch up to me with not enough time, I'd thought I'd start the project now.

I need some advise on the best wood types; what to use and what not to use etc., and finishes to use for cutting boards. I like to make an assortment of different styles.

Thanks in advance for the Info.

Danny


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## xvimbi (Sep 29, 2009)

My two cents: I think it depends on what the boards are being used for.

If the cutting boards are supposed to be used for general food preparation (in the 'cutting' sense) you will probably be best off with the 'normal' species, such as maple and bamboo. Softer woods get cut up rather quickly. Inlays or other accents using tropical wood look nice, but I'd be a bit worried. Some species are toxic, and the accents might come apart after some use.

As to finishes: pretty much any decent finish, such as acrylic, is food safe once fully cured, but it is probably best to not use any finish beyond mineral oil. Sharp knives cut through finishes requiring periodic refinishing.

If someone is interested in a large board for the preparation of noodles or for general baking, it could be a bit more forgiving in the sense that you could use softer woods and indeed use acrylic as a finish. Other specialty boards are carving boards (with grooves and jus-collecting depressions) or bread-cutting boards.

I think someone who is a true cook would really appreciate a simple, solid end-grain, hard-maple board. Someone who mostly uses the microwave will probably appreciate patterned boards using different wood species. 

Wooden trivets are also nice!

Just some thoughts. Hungry now...

Cheers - MM


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## tdublyou (Jan 8, 2010)

Danny,
I have made more than a few cutting boards in the past and maple is the wood of choice and bamboo works well too.
Mischa is right about the exotics, you need to be careful in your selection. 
Though it's not wood, don't rule out Corian and other solid surface materials. They are workable with standard carbide tools and they are non porous, making them excellent for food prep.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Danny... my $0.02 (and worth exactly that!).. Small pore, close-grained wood is best, as it leaves little room for bacteria to hide. Hard is a virtue. Making it end-grain is ideal. The knife blade is going to enter the board somewhat with some cuts and that way it's like cutting into the end of a broom rather than across the bristles. As for a finish, you want something that isn't going to leave a film build-up on the top, as any film you make will be cut through, permitting water to get under it, causing peeling. 

Mineral (or salad) oil is good, although it requires periodic reapplication. I chose to use dilute oil-based polyurethane (3 parts mineral spirits to 1 part poly) on mine. By flooding the end-grain surface, the finish soaked through the straw-like grain in short order. Then I wiped the surface dry and let it cure. The idea behind it is I'm not trying to protect the top surface of the board but protects the wood down deeper, holding it together. 

This isn't my idea... I learned it watching on of Marc Spagnuolo's videos on The Wood Whisperer Woodworking Video Podcast and Blog, specifically one entitled (I believe) "A Cut Above".


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

GeneSwayze said:


> i think oak is good for the work and for present)))


Not too sure about that, Gene. Oak (and for that matter walnut and mahogany) contains tannins which will react with the acid present in many fruits and the steel in some cooking knives to create a black stain (ferric oxide). I suspect that tannin can also taint certain foods. I've tended to stick to traditional fine-grained, light coloured hardwoods such as maple, beech, rubberwood, sycamore, etc for working (as opposed to decorative) chopping boards as there is no colour to stain foods nor naturally occurring chemicals to taint it.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Guys

Just my 2 cents,,any wood for cutting/chopping boards is a NO NO..
You can buy the UHMW stock at many outlets now, Target/K-Mart/Walmart cheap, from the small to the big (24" x 24" ) why take the chance with wood, but if you just want to hang the wood one on the wall go for it..they are sure nice looking but not to smart..

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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

bobj3 said:


> Just my 2 cents,,any wood for cutting/chopping boards is a NO NO..


Why's that, Bob? I've seen this argument swing back and forth for many years now. First they said that wood was uhygeinic, use plastic instead. Then they said that bacteria could propagate in the cuts in plastic chopping boards. And then they found that some speces of timber contain natural anti-bacterial compounds....... The argument is still going on I think


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Phil

" natural anti-bacterial compounds " and would kind of wood would that be ?

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Phil P said:


> Why's that, Bob? I've seen this argument swing back and forth for many years now. First they said that wood was uhygeinic, use plastic instead. Then they said that bacteria could propagate in the cuts in plastic chopping boards. And then they found that some speces of timber contain natural anti-bacterial compounds....... The argument is still going on I think


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

*options*

Here in New Mexico, we make cutting boards by laminating cactus needles (after carefully snipping the little barbs off the business end, of course). Sort of labor intensive, though.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

bobj3 said:


> " natural anti-bacterial compounds " and would kind of wood would that be ?


I'm not certain which species is best, Bob, but this article gives you the gist of the argument. If you start Googling this subject there are a load of (sometimes contradictory) papers out there.........


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## gav (Oct 12, 2009)

I know that teak and European white oak both have good antibecterial properties, and are good for cutting boards. Oak has been the wood of choice for European boards for a long time. If it's it's good enough for the finest wines, it's good enough for chopping boards. I have also seen a lot of beech cutting boards.

If you're totally paranoid about germs, then rubber chopping boards are the way to go.

Personally I don't use my wooden boards for meat, I use UHMW ones for that.


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## jd99 (Jun 17, 2009)

Ralph Barker said:


> Here in New Mexico, we make cutting boards by laminating cactus needles (after carefully snipping the little barbs off the business end, of course). Sort of labor intensive, though.


I'd like to see a photo work up on making one of these, how many needles does it take???

Plans changed we are making the candy trays for this years xmas presents, but there's always next year.

:dirol:

:lol:


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Phil P said:


> I'm not certain which species is best, Bob, but this article gives you the gist of the argument. If you start Googling this subject there are a load of (sometimes contradictory) papers out there.........


While it's good to question "scientific" studies, the fact that we're all here after thousands of years of using wooden food-preparation surfaces is probably a pretty good indicator. :yes2:

When I was a kid, we tried using stone for a while (we thought it would be easier to clean), but it did terrible things to our flint knives.


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## jd99 (Jun 17, 2009)

Ralph Barker said:


> While it's good to question "scientific" studies, the fact that we're all here after thousands of years of using wooden food-preparation surfaces is probably a pretty good indicator. :yes2:


Good Point, I can remember as a kid drinking water straight out of the garden hose, and I'm still here.


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## Soapdish (Jan 18, 2010)

I jumped on the kids trampoline with no net while holding scissors today....im ok.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Soapdish said:


> I jumped on the kids trampoline with no net while holding scissors today....im ok.



I'm beginning to worry about you!!!!:agree:


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Jake

I did it too but only one time and than I could not walk on my foot for about 2 weeks.  nothing like a old fool 

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Soapdish said:


> I jumped on the kids trampoline with no net while holding scissors today....im ok.


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## bobbotron (Jan 7, 2010)

I'd say, keep it simple for cutting boards. Maple is a classic wood. Apparently cherry as well. I have some strips of cherry, I'm going to make a end grain style cutting board out of them soon hopefully..  Thankfully, we eat a ton of vegetarian food, so it will be easy to keep them meat free.

For finishes, something like a pure drying oil is good. Tung or walnut oil?


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## Jurgis (Mar 10, 2011)

*Wooden cutting boards*

I know I'm a bit late in posting anything on this thread as I can see it's almost fossilised already, but this is just for posterity and my penny's worth.

As I have been living in Brazil for the past few years I find that the wood that I normally make chopping boards out of is Ipe or cumaru as well.
I find that these boards seem to last for ever and haven't had any nasty side effects like staining food or rusting knives or food poisioning at all. The Ipe (especially the yellow one) I find it works better if I soak the piece in water overnight and the following day the router goes through it like a hot knife through butter. 
Just to clear things up the yellow one or that is what they have sold it to me as is because of a yellow like powder the seems to come from the wood itself whilst it is being worked if worked dry (not soaked overnight), then it dissapears, but personally I prefer to work with Cumaru because of its ease doesn't splinter like Ipe and is a nicer lighter coloured wood.


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## woodjoiner (Mar 23, 2011)

Although it's true that oak has been the choice of wood for cutting boards for centuries it's been found that the very porous nature of oak will allow food to become trapped in those pours. It is recommended that typically a hard tight grained wood like hard maple or cherry although it's not as hard is used. Most all hardwood is suitable for cutting boards and they all can be safe to use. Bacteria will die without moisture, butchers for centuries placed a good layer of salt to draw the moisture out by leaving it overnight on there blocks. There are other more modern ways to sanitize the wood now.


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## gav (Oct 12, 2009)

I think you'll find that the anti-bacterial nature of oak makes it perfectly safe for cutting boards. Apparently all wood cutting boards are better than plastic ones when it comes to bacteria.
Here's a link to an overview of several studies.

Antibacterial effect

'_The study concluded that the wood reduces the bacterial concentration before plastic and steel, and that wood species behave differentially; oak has better performance than the beech or ash, and Scotch pine is better than the fir_'


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