# Large Maple cutting board



## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

While I'm waiting on the Shelix cutterhead for my jointer to move forward on the audio rack I'm working on a very large Hard Rock Maple cutting board, at least it's large to me - 18" x 24" x 2" thick. It weighs about 32 lbs. which is fairly stout, I think. Matter of fact, the hardest thing about doing one this size is difficulty in handling the glued up board.

It will have a juice groove along two edges of one side and the other side will be laser engraved with a family crest. Obviously, the side with the juice groove is the working side and the laser engraved side is for show. TB III is used because it's FDA approved for food service items, plus it gives a few more minutes of open working time.

Here are a few photos up to this point - 

1.75" square strips glued - 








Trimming one end square; it's too wide for my sled so I had to remove the back board and use clamps to make certain it didn't move as I pushed it into the blade - 








Cutting 2.125" strips on the bandsaw; this is a screenshot from the time lapse video I took as we did the cutting - 








End grain strips set on table saw extension - 








Tomorrow I'll sand each strip, then arrange them to look the best, and then glue the pieces. 

There is a live video on my Instagram, about one minute of the glue up. Later, I'll post video of other steps on Instagram.

David


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

That is an impressive undertaking. Looking forward to the finished results. I've done one 18x18x2 and that was a haul. Good luck.


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## Oscar36 (Feb 23, 2019)

That is going to to be a beast of a cutting board. Can't wait to see the finished project.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

Doing sides of beef these days? That's massive for a cutting board. Any particular reason for that size? Looks like it will be a winner when finished which I'm looking forward to. I've yet to do one of these but will one day soon......maybe.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

sreilly said:


> Doing sides of beef these days? That's massive for a cutting board. Any particular reason for that size? Looks like it will be a winner when finished which I'm looking forward to. I've yet to do one of these but will one day soon......maybe.


This is a wedding gift for a man who hunts deer and other large game and my understanding is that they wanted to give him a cutting board large enough to throw a very large piece of meat on the board without anything hanging off the edges. I guess this will do it! :grin:

David


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Those large boards are great for those kind of people. I have a 24 x 48 piece of the white propolene, or whatever it's called. Just put it on the island and 2-4 people can cut at the same time. A bambi or two becomes burger, steaks, roasts, and sausage in short order. Great usable item.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Nice job so far David. I'll be looking forward to the end product. Is this for a butcher block table.. At 32 lbs, it will not be moved around very much. I recently make 4 of them for family that are 1.3/4 x 13.5 by 16, and they are heavy enough. Cost me 30 dollars to mail one to Wisconsin from Texas.

A side note: I ran mine through my planer. Brand new blades, very small increments. I got a little tear out on the back end but I cut that portion off. Next time I would glue a sacrificial piece of wood to that end.

David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Thanks, Guys!



Bushwhacker said:


> A side note: I ran mine through my planer. Brand new blades, very small increments. I got a little tear out on the back end but I cut that portion off. Next time I would glue a sacrificial piece of wood to that end.
> 
> David


I'll use the drum sander. For one thing this board is wider than my planer but the bigger reason is that it's end grain and my planer has straight knives. My friend with the cabinet shop has a 24" planer with Shelix cutterhead and he said I could use that but since my drum sander is the SuperMax 19/38 this board at 18" wide will go through just fine. It would definitely be quicker with a planer but by the time I load it up and go to his shop to use the planer and then drive back I can be finished.

David


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I have one I made,long grain ,not end grain and only 1" thick for filleting salmon, sure speeds up the operation. 
David, Yours would make a good top for an island or free standing with legs.
Herb


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

I had to cut mine down to 13.5 due to the limitations of my planer. Even at that I had to be careful to insert it centered so as not to jam it up.
I had intended on using my belt sander but it kept tearing the belts off. I don't have a drum sander.
Good luck with that.
Once I had my strips cut, I set them up the way i wanted them, and then flipped them to one side. I then ran each one through my table saw and took a tiny shaving off each to insure they were the same thickness, before gluing them up.. This way they went through my planer easier. Tiny snips at a time.

David


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## marecat3 (Nov 30, 2010)

looks good. The largest one we have done was 30 x 20 but then I did not have to do the glue up, that is the bosses job, I just do the lasering.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Engrained cutting boards are very time-consuming. I try to stay away from jobs like that but I did inlay one I got from the guy I did inlays for, to give as a wedding present to a Granddaughter when she got married.

Of course, that led to questions from all the daughters, to when they will get theirs. And, if I do one for each of them I'll need to do one for any of the other grand kids that get married.

I guess I need to get busy.

Great start on the cutting board David. I would hate to think about how much that would cost to mail. Moving and lifting that 32 pounds while working on that board should give you plenty of exercise.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

MEBCWD said:


> Engrained cutting boards are very time-consuming. *I agree!* I try to stay away from jobs like that but I did inlay one I got from the guy I did inlays for, to give as a wedding present to a Granddaughter when she got married.
> 
> Of course, that led to questions from all the daughters, to when they will get theirs. And, if I do one for each of them I'll need to do one for any of the other grand kids that get married.
> 
> ...


Fortunately, he's only about 30 minutes from me and he'll pick it up at the laser shop after they do the family crest, so no huge shipping cost. Yes, it's a bit of a workout. The two biggest issues are to remember to set it down gently on the drum sander so I don't knock the extension tables out of registration and to be careful picking it up - the edges are very sharp and if my hand slips it will result in a decent slicing of my hands, of that I am certain. And the third of the two issues is that I need to make certain that my fingers aren't under it when I set it on the bench! :surprise:

David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Initial layout - probably glue it like this later today. The end pieces won't be used for the final board but they will have screw holes for mounting to the CNC for cutting the juice groove.









David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Glued all the end grain strips tonight - 









David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Running the cutting board through my 50" planer... :grin:









David


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

I guaranty you those big cutting boards are capable of giving you a good, or is that bad cut, if they are picked up wrong. Is that why they are called "Cutting Boards"?


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

MEBCWD said:


> I guaranty you those big cutting boards are capable of giving you a good, or is that bad cut, if they are picked up wrong. Is that why they are called "Cutting Boards"?


VoE right there - LOL! This hard Maple with crisp cut edges is very sharp and has already gotten me a couple of times, especially given the size and weight.  Each time I flip it over there's another opportunity for it to cut or scratch.

David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Cutting the juice groove - 









David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

The cutting board has progressed through the stages but I forgot to post anything about it - oops! 

I cut the outer perimeter down to 1" on the CNC (I don't have a bit long enough to cut through 2" of material). Then used the bandsaw and tablesaw to cut the excess pieces off.








Then I used my router table to flush trim the sides - 








My drum sander is wide enough to handle this board but the juice groove was causing issues because the pressure rollers tried to dip down when that went through, so I carried the board to my friend's cabinet shop and it took all of about 6 passes to sand this on his wide belt sander - 








Then I finished sanding with 120/220/400 and will take it to the laser shop for engraving - 








As you can see, this Hard Rock Maple can get really smooth if you take it down to 400 - 








David


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Looks good David, ready to carve some meat on. 

That really helps to have a friend with the tools needed when your's just aren't up to a task. I do like those large belt sanders but they are too expensive for a home shop and take up too much room. The one we had in the last aircarft cabinet shop I worked in would take up to 36" wide items and had a 12" duct for dust collection.


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## Oscar36 (Feb 23, 2019)

Awesome looking piece. A real show stopper.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

MEBCWD said:


> Looks good David, ready to carve some meat on.
> 
> That really helps to have a friend with the tools needed when yours just aren't up to a task. I do like those large belt sanders but they are too expensive for a home shop and take up too much room. The one we had in the last aircarft cabinet shop I worked in would take up to 36" wide items and had a 12" duct for dust collection.


Yep, that's what this one is - 36" with 12" duct. And it's sitting right beside a 24" planer with helical cutterhead, also at my disposal. :grin:

David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

We're finally at the point where I'm applying the mineral oil and Beeswax finish. Got the cutting board laser engraved yesterday and have now put three good coats of mineral oil and let that soak in and am now applying a good, heavy coat of Beeswax with mineral oil (my mixture). 

I'll let the Beeswax set for about 4 hours and then wipe off as much as I can, flip it and do the other side. I'll continue wiping it down until it can go a few hours without seeing any wet spots. This part could take a couple of days.

In the Epilog laser right after engraving (you can go to my Instagram and see the engraving in motion) - 








One coat of mineral oil - 








Beeswax applied, it's a nice, rich color - 








David


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Gorgeous, David! Proof that design doesn't need to be complex to be visually striking.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Three coats of mineral oil with the last being a mineral oil/Beeswax mix. I let that set for about 6 hours and then buff it with paper towels to get the excess Beeswax off. The cutting board is left with a rich luster sheen that is velvety smooth.

Working side - 








Show side - 
















David


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Now that it is finished and the sharp edges have been rounded over the only thing to watch out for is accidently dropping that big boy on your toes.

Looks great David.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

MEBCWD said:


> Now that it is finished and the sharp edges have been rounded over the only thing to watch out for is accidently dropping that big boy on your toes.
> 
> Looks great David.


Thanks, Mike! I have almost dropped it and no I would not be fun. The finished weight is 21 lbs. and that's about 22 lbs. more than I want dropping on my foot.

David


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Finished cutting board - 

































David


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

David there is a tiny groove around the blood grove on the top edge, how did you do that? That board came out very nice.
HErb


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> David there is a tiny groove around the blood grove on the top edge, how did you do that? That board came out very nice.
> HErb


That's the profile I decided on in my CAD software, just thought I'd try it to see how it looks. So far everyone has liked it. I wish I had some technical reason for it but it was simply a cosmetic style choice, Herb.

David


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

difalkner said:


> That's the profile I decided on in my CAD software, just thought I'd try it to see how it looks. So far everyone has liked it. I wish I had some technical reason for it but it was simply a cosmetic style choice, Herb.
> 
> David


I like it too, makes a neat little detail to the edge.
Herb


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

I agree with Herb, a definite plus.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Thanks, Guys! It was sort of a leap of faith because if I didn't like it the path to clean it up would have been detrimental to the look, so I'm glad it worked out.

David


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