Cutting Boards

Process

Rip strips off spare stock at whatever length worked for the piece, glue them up, then run the blank through the planer to bring everything flat and to final thickness.

After that, a quick round-over pass on the router gives the edges an easier grip when pulling a board off a wet counter.

Finish

Sanded up through about 200 grit, then wet the surface slightly to raise the grain and knock off any leftover dust before a final pass at 200 to keep things smooth in use. Let everything dry fully before oiling.

Straight mineral oil used to be my go-to, but I switched to Walrus Oil for these — it’s mineral oil blended with wax and a few other additives, and it seems to hold up longer between reapplications than plain oil alone.

Gifting

Since most of these went out as presents, I put a bit more effort into the presentation than usual — each board came with a small sample bottle of the oil and a printed card with basic care instructions and a short note about the wood species used.