First end-grain cutting boards

[Chad Easterling]

I completed my first end-grain cutting board yesterday. It is made out of hard maple and walnut. Finish is 3 coats of mineral oil followed by 2 coats of mineral oil and beeswax combo. This is the first project I've used my homemade drum sander for (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ew-Drum-Sander). That sander is worth every penny

Comments appreciated!

[Ellery Becnel]

Very nice chopping board Chad. I just finished my second board. Yesterday I glued up two more.
Yes sanding is a bummer. I am in the process of building a drum sander like the stockroom supply
design. I did not buy the kit, I bought all of the items needed for less money. What sandpaper
grits worked best for you? That is the only item that I have not purchased yet. I have been buying
assorted hardwoods from different suppliers when they are on sale. Trying to keep the cost down.
The boards are gifts for friends and family. Is that sapwood in the strip of walnut? I was looking at
some walnut that might have some sapwood in it? Nice contrast.

[Chad Easterling]

Thanks for the compliments!

I just finished my third one this weekend. I had a few leftover strips and ended up making a few "hot pad" sized boards as well.

I'm using 100 grit sandpaper on the drum. That does a good job of getting everything leveled up. I then use a random-orbit palm sander with 150 to finish it out. After a couple of coats of mineral oil I hit it with 600 grit paper and then seal it with mineral oil/beeswax. The Stockroom kit is really expensive in my opinion. I ended up making two drums- one out of 4 1/2" schedule 40 PVC and one out of stacked plywood. I basically rough-cut the plywood into circles, glued them up on the axle and turned it with a chisel once it was mounted. Lots of chips and sawdust, but turned out really nice in the end. If you haven't planned on a dust hood, do. Even with my small shop-vac, it makes a huge difference in the amount of dust kicked up and put into the air.


Yes, that is sapwood. I haven't been trying to "weed out" anything other than split/cracked pieces that would end up causing a hole or gap in the prep surface. It does make a nice contrast and gives some visual interest to the board.

Another woodworker told me about a local place that builds cabinets and custom furniture. He said they sell their drops fairly cheap and you can get stuff up to 36" long. I'm going to try them out next time I need some more hardwood.

[Ellery Becnel]

Thanks for the sandpaper grit info. I am using a random-orbit palm sander with 60 grit. finishing with 400 norton
wet-dry paper. It holds up well, just takes a while. Being a machinist I have access to our shop with a dynamic
balancing machine. I am going to balance the drum to light speed specs, put in all the bells and whistles and still
come out cheaper than the stockroom kit. It will be a heavy duty version. Still waiting on parts to come in before
I go into fabrication mode. I have been buying 2" turning squares from different vendors, when I can find them on
sale. Basically get the shipping for free with the sale. Clean, straight grain, no knots. I am not "weeding" out any wood
either. Maple, black walnut, redheart, osage orange, mahogany, padauk, and sycamore. 12" to 30" long. Keep on sanding!