Do you guys like cutting boards? I've been wanting a nice one for a while, been using some cheap ones, tried bamboo, have a decent Epicurious one made of some kind of artificial thing that has been my fav mainly because it has rubberized detachable feet that keep it stable when you're cutting things, but you have to take them off when you wash it in the dishwasher and I'm always afraid of them getting lost. If you lose ONE, then the thing will be next to unusable as it will not sit flush and will rock and such, which would be annoying as fook.
Have a couple HDPE ones, the thicker one has developed a convexity, gotta put a wet paper towel under it and set it the right way up or it is a PITA.
So anyways, one of the guys on a BBQ forum I hang out on makes some as a hobby and I was looking on Amazon at some fairly expensive ones and decided to hit him up. He gave me a good deal on one he had a flaw in and had to sand out part of the drip groove in the topside. I wanted something large I could do a full brisket on.
This one is 15x24 and is made from a combo of maple, padauk (also called vermillion, from tropical west Africa, mukwa from Central Africa or narra from SE Asia), purpleheart (or amaranth, from central America down to Brazil), canary, cherry, walnut and ash. It's been oiled and conditioned and I just rubbed it down again with a layer all over of the conditioner he sent me. He says it is a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax he gets from a guy local to him.
So without further ado... pics.
The purpleheart is obviously the one in the center and the padauk is the orangish bands just in from the edges.
I'm pretty sweet on it, to be honest, I think it is gorgeous and I am loving it. For a little over a C note, I ain't complaining at all, after researching some custom made boards on Amazon and the intarwebs.
Very nice!!
I've made boards for many years, most of mine these days are display boards, I typically make them to commemorate friend's weddings. But can certainly whip out a cutting board very easily, that's where I started.
I like using the domestic woods with exotics like Purple Heart and Padauk(very red), the glue ups can be very complex, and involve multiple steps. This is the latest wedding board I have in the shop, need to get it laser engraved and finish it.