What size roundover bit for these cutting boards?

[Michael Moscicki]

I made two cutting boards from 3/4 in stock of maple and cherry and after dimensioning with a planer and random orbital sander one board is 21/32 in thick and the other is 23/32 in thick. I want to put a roundover on all of the edges and I don't know what size radius to choose from. I will be routing handheld as i don't have a router table yet and once I route one side I would like to have a flat surface for the bearing to ride on when I route the other side.

So a 1/16, 1/8, or 1/4 in roundover bit?

I know it may be a personal preference as to how I want the roundover to look, but since I don't have much experience I thought I would ask anyway. I will be buying a Whiteside bit if it makes any difference.

Thanks in advance.

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[Bruce Page]

Any of the listed bits will work. I wouldn't go any larger than 1/4" radius. Be sure to carefully route the end grain first to reduce the chance of blow out.

[Chris Padilla]

You can always hand sand them entirely or tweak the sanding of whatever bit you choose. As Bruce pointed out, order can be important.

In fact, I would hand sand the edges with a block and then cut the roundover. The less material you can remove with a router bit, the better.

[John Conklin]

I know wasn't one of your choices, but I recently bought a Whiteside 3/16" round over bit and am really enamored with it. Not too big, not too small, just about perfect on average sized projects.

[Michael Moscicki]

I know wasn't one of your choices, but I recently bought a Whiteside 3/16" round over bit and am really enamored with it. Not too big, not too small, just about perfect on average sized projects.

Ended up ordering a Whiteside 2005 3/16" round over bit with a 1/2" shank. Thanks for the recommendation. The 1/8" looked too small, but the 1/4" looked too big. The 3/16" should be just right.

[Chris Padilla]

Ah, 3/16" roundover...the Goldilocks Roundover bit! :D

[William A Johnston]

Picture 1 is a cutting board with a 1/8" round over and Picture 2 is a 1/4" round over. I would agree 3/16" would be perfect, I had no idea that size was available.

[John Conklin]

I think you'll like it Michael. I just used mine on some 1/2" thick oven rack push/pull sticks that I'm making and it feels perfect.

[Mike Cutler]

1/8, or 1/4 round over. It's nice to have somewhat of an edge to get a positive grip on a cutting or serving board. Those sized round overs fit nicely into the folds of skin on your fingers and hands.

[Mike Schuch]

I would start by rounding the four corners over with a 1/2" round over bit. Then round over all the edges with your chosen 3/16" bit.

[Ellen Benkin]

Another fan of the 3/16 roundover. Not too big and not too small. I always test roundover sizes on scrap and usually wind up with 3/16.