Woodshop Cutting Board 101 02-15-2025

Summary And Links

We're doing a Cutting Board 101 Class!

Will be held as two sessions

Saturday, February 15 2025 & Sunday, February 16 2025

3:00-6:00 PM (15.00-18.00 EST). May finish sooner on 2nd day.

Eventbrite Registration Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/design-and-make-a-custom-cutting-board-tickets-1135006327479?aff=oddtdtcreator

Prework

Go to this URL https://www.cuttingboarddesigner.com/designer/id/ddcfa0d5-7c2c-42d1-82eb-a3448a514752

Be sure to "Save a copy" and remember the URL afterwards.

Use this to customize your very own board. You can design your board subject to the following constraints:

• Woods available to class: Hard Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Padauk, Purpleheart
• In order to keep the cost of the class reasonable, you should use a minimum of 6 inches of either Maple or Cherry, and you can use other woods for the remaining 6 inches
• Also for cost (and time), keep board width to around 12 inches
• Our final boards will be about 3/4 inches thick
• If you wish to have a profile on the edge with a router, do NOT use purpleheart or padauk on the end and do not use a 0.5 inch strip as the profile will eat into that
• In order to keep class moving at a steady speed, we'll only be using widths of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 inches or more. Consider using a single piece of Maple or Cherry that is 3-5.5 inches wide to show the wood grain, see examples below

Here are a few other examples, though these are narrower. You can increase their width

https://www.cuttingboarddesigner.com/designer/id/8c539510-7f74-4ef0-b710-6ef56e976726

https://www.cuttingboarddesigner.com/designer/id/208d9b11-a2f3-40ce-a9d0-fb88059dc613

https://www.cuttingboarddesigner.com/designer/id/247df9a8-3b76-40a9-8aad-a645dfbf8e29

Use your artistic freedom! If you plan to have a profile around the perimeter, plan for at least 1 inch thick strips on the sides.

The web page wood cost is not reflective of the cost we pay as hardwood has become quite expensive. There is also quite a bit of waste when creating unique boards. Other cutting board classes in the metro area are $120+.

Class Notes

Class fee is $70 + Eventbrite fees. You will go home with a cutting board designed and made by you! Impress your future dinner party guests with your charcuterie board which you designed and made from scratch. If cared for properly, these boards can last a very long time

Table saw operation will be guided closely.

Caring for your board

• Do not ever use inside dishwasher
• Do not let it soak in water or let water sit on it. Stand up on side when done.
• Keep away from extreme heat and cold
• Keep out of direct sunlight to stop the woods from changing colors and help prevent warping
• Find cutting board oil, commonly available at home box stores and online, and re-apply every few weeks

Example boards from previous classes

Check the gallery of previous classes for inspiration

https://www.i3detroit.org/wiki/Woodshop_Cutting_Board_101_Gallery

What to wear

We take safety very seriously at i3 and have held many classes safely. These guidelines are intended to keep you safe!

• Closed toes shoes
• You will provided mandatory safety glasses. You can bring your own if you wish
• You are welcome to bring your own hearing protection if you like
• You will be provided KN95 masks for sanding on the second day, but you can bring your own if you wish
• No dangling jewelry as it may get caught up in the machines

Materials List

The materials below are all based on a class size of 4 and will be provided by instructor

We'll need:

• Glue-up Jigs and/or clamps
• Wood: Mix of domestic and exotic
• Glue: Titebond III
• Foam brushes for applying glue
• Disposable towels to clean-up excess glue
• Cutting board oil

Tools List

Tools used in the class, in order

• Jointer (Instructor only for 101 class, ahead of class)
• Planar
• Table saw
• Clamps
• Planar
• Orbital Sander
• Router (optional, will be done by instructor for those not familiar with routing)