Scrap Wood Lightweight Cutting Board

Hello everyone. Here is an instructable on how to make a light weight cutting board instead of a big heavy chopping block. This is really easy to make and the most expensive machinery is a table saw. Thickness planers are expensive, so here i'm going to show how to do it with out one. Hope you like it, Enjoy!

Step 1: Tools and Material List

1. Table Saw (Circular saw will work too)

2. Router w/ Roundover + Bearing Bit (Optional)

3. Sander

4. Sandpaper (60,150,320 Grits)

5. Hole Saw (Optional)

6. Clamps (Long enough to fit the width of the board)

7. Drill Press (Optional, regular drill will work too)

8. Hand Plane

9. Square

10. Pencil

11. Cloth

12. Paper towels

13. Butcher Block Conditioner (I Bought it at Home Depot)

14. Scrap Wood (I used leftover wood from Heat Treated Pallets)

Step 2: Cut, Glue and Clamp

Choose the scrap wood you would like to use. I got mine from leftovers from a pallet. When using pallet wood look for a stamp with the letters HT (Heat Treated). I have done research and they are safe to use. I have made and used cutting boards utilizing heat treated pallet wood and I have had no issues.

With the table saw trim the boards lengthwise on each side to provide a smooth surface for the glue to adhere to. Once you got them all cut, organize them in the order you want the board to look like. Apply glue to the fresh cut sides and clamp together. Wait a day for the glue to fully dry.

- Recommendation - Take the wood working class on this website, it helped me a lot, especially on glue up. I was squeezing too hard and my glue ups were splitting.

Step 3: Flattening the Board

Take the board and clamp it to a flat surface. Pallet wood is very rough and can be warped, the hand plane will help you solve this issue but if you have a thickness planer by all means use it for more accuracy. Plane the board on both sides trimming the wood along the grain until you have a flat surface.

Step 4: Making the Hole

I noticed a big damage on the board while planing. No biggie. I decided to make a hole to get rid of it the damage plus it gives the board a little character. With the square mark the lines surrounding the damage. I picked a hole saw big enough to cover the damage and lined it up with the lines. With a pencil insert it in the middle of the hole saw and mark the board for the guide drill. Clamp the the board to the drill press or flat surface if you are using a hand drill, put a sacrifice piece of wood underneath the board and drill the hole. Learned that in the woodworking class too ;).

Step 5: Trim the Ends

Back to the table saw and trim the ends of the board.

Step 6: Round the Edges

This step is optional. Take the roundover bit with bearing and round the edges of the sides of the board and the hole. Flip the board over and do it again.

Step 7: First Sanding

First use the 60 grit and sand the board on both sides to get rig of most of the rough surface. Then use the 150 grit to smooth the surface.

Step 8: Sanitizing and Second Sanding

Boil water and let cool 5 minutes. Pour it on both sides of the board. I do this to kill any bacteria that is on the board. Hang it and let it fully dry (about an hour). With the 320 grit sandpaper hand sand or use the sander on both sides and make the surfaces nice and smooth. The less pores on the wood, the better it will look. Once done sanding take paper towel and clean excess sand dust.

Step 9: Final Step - Curing

This the best part of the process were the wood comes life. Generously apply the butcher block conditioner on both sides. Hang to dry about an hour and apply the conditioner again. Do this 3 or 4 times for the conditioner to soak into the wood.

That is it. Hope you have enjoyed this instructable and happy woodworking!!!