MowryJournal.com   Life's Passions

The best cutting boards, you ask? In my opinion, end grain boards are the best. End grain boards have been used in busy kitchens for centuries. Here’s why:

• The FDA says cutting boards should be “Hard Maple or its equivalent.” What I do is combine Hard Maple – which is the wood I use the most – with other hardwoods from around the world to make colorful, pretty, durable cutting boards.
• End grain boards show less wear than edge grain boards (the kind that show stripes; you see the edges of the boards instead of the ends). However, since these are hardwood boards they show much less wear than the less expensive softwood boards that many people are familiar with.
• Wooden boards are naturally anti-bacterial. These boards actually inhibit the growth of bacteria. Scientific tests have shown wooden boards have less bacteria than all other kinds of cutting boards after 5 minutes, after an hour, after a day. This is not just my opinion: it’s science. See the links at the bottom of this post.

These 3 boards were finished together with the 200th cutting board that published yesterday; the 4 of them hearken back to when I made boards in small batches of 5 or 10.

Those were good days.

Each of these boards are unique; I’ve described why in the description of each board.

Cutting Board 16 – End 043. This is the second time I’ve made this design. I love the colorful edge, and the strong brown Jatoba that complements the more muted tones of the Hard Maple. Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Jatoba. End Grain. 14″ x 18″ x 1-1/2″.

Cutting Board 16 – End 041. “Kaye’s Board.” I’ve made a few boards similar to this one, but the woods are different in every one. When I make this board, it generally sells in one of the first events it is shown at.  Bubinga, Cherry, Purpleheart, Bloodwood, Jatoba, Yellowheart & Canarywood. End Grain. 14″ x 18″ x 1-1/4″.

Cutting Board 16 – End 042. This board took over a year to make. I purchased the Spalted Ash from a woodworker in Camarillo who was selling off his inventory – the boards were decades old. The last few pieces of Ash got glued up in the shape you see here, and there they sat until I got some wide Jatoba pieces that were the perfect complement to the Ash’s brown tones. In woodworking, and in life, patience is a virtue. Jatoba & Spalted Ash. End Grain. 11″ x 15″ x 1″.

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Cutting Boards: What Kind Do You Want?

Cutting Boards: Care & Cleaning

Cutting Boards: Restoration

“Go big or go home,” she said.

Of course, we were home at the time, which makes the statement somewhat curious.

The philosophy was first expressed by the eldest in the Rocky Mountains of Arizona, as the boys & I backpacked through the outback of the Philmont Scout Reservation. We were on a 52 mile trek, and that saying became one of our touchstones. We were doing the big idea, and we were going to summit the ultimate peak at dawn. The Tooth of Time would lay beneath our feet as the sun rose. Go big or go home.

Yes, we made the summit at dawn and viewed the world beneath us as we munched on our breakfast. And THEN we went home.

Four cutting boards made it out of the shop this week, and one needed to be selected as my official 200th cutting board, celebrating the 4th time that my inventory had grown to this number. I asked the Lady for an opinion on which one, as I think all 4 are rather nice pieces … and she wanted the big one. So, here you go.

This board is 16″ x 21″ x 1-1/2″. It’s a beast of a board, called Colorific. The woods selected are from 3 continents, and combine to make a striking statement. These are the 7 woods used (and if you follow the first strip of woods on the left, you’ll be able to identify the species in this order, top to bottom):

• Cherry, AKA American Cherry or Black Cherry. This traditional choice for American furniture primarily grows in the Eastern US.
• Yellowheart, AKA Pau Amarello – which is Portuguese for “yellow wood.” This vibrant wood grows in Brazil, where it’s commonly used for flooring and boat construction.
• Bloodwood, AKA Satine. This crimson favorite is a very hard wood that grows in tropical South America.
• Purpleheart, AKA Amaranth. This vibrant wood is one of the most popular exotic hardwoods, and is grown from Mexico to southern Brazil.
• Hard Maple, AKA Sugar Maple or Rock Maple. Hard Maple is the standard of hardwoods for cutting boards according to the FDA. This light-colored, dense hardwood grows in North America, primarily in the northeast.
• Canarywood, AKA Canary. This wood can sometimes seem to be rainbow colored, with streaks of reds, yellows and browns. It grows from Panama to southern Brazil, and, believe it or not, one of the common uses of this incredible wood is to make railroad ties.
• Bubinga, AKA Bevazingo, from equatorial Africa. This rose-colored wood is quickly becoming one of my favorites to work with.

The board went through 2 glue-ups, and was sanded smooth each time on my drum sander using 80 grit sandpaper. After the board was rough sanded there, it was cut square and sanded by hand through 5 grits: 80, 120, 180, 220 and 320. On the table router, the edges were rounded and handholds were added under each end.

The finished board was saturated with mineral oil, and then a top coat of Board Butter was added. I use Mrs M’s Board Butter, of course, which combines locally harvested beeswax and mineral oil. Finally, non-skid rubber feet were added, and they are held on with stainless steel screws for long life.

Please note the photos are not enhanced for color: this is how the board really looks.

In the shop, glued up in its final form but not yet smooth – I was about 3 board hours from the finish line. This is when I knew the board would live up to its name.

Cutting Board 16 – End 040. “Colorific.” Cherry, Bubinga, Yellowheart, Bloodwood, Purpleheart, Hard Maple & Canarywood. End Grain. 16″ x 21″ x 1-1/2″.

Cutting Board 16 – 040 detail. Non-skid rubber feet & routed hand hold.

Cutting Board 16 – End 040 detail. Non-skid rubber feet & routed handhold.

Cutting Board 16 – 040 detail. Close-up of the grain patterns in the center of the board. All colors are natural; only mineral oil has been applied.

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The 200th Cutting Board, Third Time ‘Round

The 200th Cutting Board, 8 Months Later

The 200th Cutting Board

I only carry boards as large as 16″ x 20″ x 1-1/2″ to our craft fairs.

And, remember, I actually carry them to and from the events. 16″x 20″ is big enough, in my humble opinion.

But for some people, even bigger boards are needed. When you want bigger – when you have an island or large counter that’s beggin’ for fillin’, I can help.

A couple came to my booth at the California Strawberry Festival, and found a board that they thought was perfect. But it was too small. They wanted to go big.

Thus was born the monster board that I’ve shown in the different assembly steps below.

Here’s the board getting its first glue-up. While the glue is wet, I then scrub it off with a rough pad soaked in water, and then wipe it dry with paper towels. I use a lot of paper towels.

This is the original glue up for this beast of a board. With clamps, this assembly weighed 50 pounds. Boards stay in the clamps for a minimum of 1 hour, and then cure for a minimum of 24 hours. Typically, I just leave them in the clamps for a day.

The original glue-up got cut into 2 pieces for easier handling in the smoothing process. Once the original glue-up pieces were smoothed flat on the drum sander, then I sliced the board again, this time into 16 pieces, for the final glue-up.

The final glue-up is where I have to make sure the grain pattern is pleasing to the eye. I begin by flipping every other one of the 16 pieces, so I have an alternating pattern. Then I rotate the pieces in groups of 2 by 180 degrees, so that the grain pattern will have many “book-matched facings” – instead of the grain patterns always pointing in one direction. Finally, I’ll place the boards specifically to make the pattern balanced across the board. Once that’s done, I’ll mark and often number the pieces to ensure placement is perfect.

Final glue-up, in the clamps & cleaned up. This is the first time I get to see what the board will really look like. And a whole lot of work later….

Cutting Board 16 – End 038. Black Walnut, Yellowheart & Hickory. End Grain, Large Custom Juice Groove. 20″ x 26″ x 1-1/2″. Commissioned Piece.

The back of the board has routed handholds, but does not have the typical feet that I use. The board was designed for 2-sided use. I included a non-skid rubber mat to keep the board from sliding around on the owner’s counter.

Safety first! Here’s the board on its way to its new home.