Cutting Boards

How to Prep Wood for Cutting Boards

Learn how to prep wood for cutting boards starting from rough boards or slabs. A practical guide to flattening, straightening, planing, and getting stock ready for a clean glue-up.

Types of cutting boards shown in different styles, patterns, and construction methods on a woodworking bench.

Discover different types of cutting boards and how to make them, from simple beginner builds to more advanced patterned designs. A practical guide to cutting board styles, ideas, and build options for woodworkers.

How to make a wooden chess board step by step — DIY beech and walnut chessboard with clean squares, frame, and finished surface.

Learn how to make a wooden chess board step by step — from milling and glue-up to cutting clean squares, sanding flat, and applying a smooth finish that makes the pattern pop.

Best wood finishes for cutting boards — food-safe oils and wax for protection, grain pop, and easy cutting board maintenance.

A good finish makes a cutting board look better, feel smoother, and handle daily use without drying out or soaking up water. In this guide I’ll cover the best food-safe finishes for cutting boards (oil, oil + wax blends, and simple mineral oil), how I apply them in my shop, and how often you actually need to reapply to keep your boards looking great.

How to add handles to a cutting board — underside finger grip and side finger groove handles routed with a router for a clean professional finish.

Handles make a cutting board much easier (and more comfortable) to pick up — especially bigger boards. In this guide, I’ll show the handle styles I use most (cutouts, finger grips, and side slots), which router bits work best, and how to route them cleanly without tear-out or burn marks.

Edge profiles for cutting boards — chamfer vs roundover, how to round edges with a router for a clean professional finish.

Roundover and chamfer are two of the best edge profiles for cutting boards — simple to make and they instantly give a board a more professional look. In this guide, I’ll compare roundover vs chamfer, show which router bits work best for each, and share practical tips for clean edges (tear-out prevention, burn mark fixes, and a quick sanding finish).

Best router bits for cutting boards — surfacing bit for flattening, core box bit for juice grooves, and chamfer/roundover bits for clean edge profiles.

Cutting boards don’t need a huge router bit collection — but the right bits make the job faster, cleaner, and way more repeatable. In this guide, I’ll show the essential router bits I use for cutting boards (flattening, juice grooves, edge profiles, and template work), when to use each one, and what to watch out for so you get crisp results without tear-out.

Refinish cutting board step-by-step, showing a worn cutting board restored to a like-new finish after sanding, oiling, and waxing

Here’s how I refinished a heavily used cutting board and brought it back to a like-new finish—flattening the surface, reshaping the juice groove, sanding smooth, then re-oiling and waxing (with clear before-and-after results).