DIY cutting boards for the win! I did a lot of research and learned a ton along the way, so I'm sharing everything I learned in this tutorial.
– food safe wood – jigsaw – pencil – bar clamps – sander or sandpaper – food safe cutting board oil
Start by drawing out your initial cutting board design with a pencil, so you can use it as a guide. It was nice to see the drawing, so I had an idea of the shape I wanted to create.
Next, clamp your piece of wood down to the table or another sturdy surface, so the wood doesn’t move around while cutting.
Using a jigsaw, carefully cut out the design you drew on the board in step one. I typically go slow with the jigsaw so I can see where I’m cutting, and it helps with precision too.
Once the cutting is done, use a sander to sand every surface of the finished board (including the sides). You can also sand by hand, but it will take longer.
A small detail sander is great for curved areas that are hard to get to with a larger sander. It’s also good for smoothing the interior areas of any handles you create, that would otherwise be difficult to get to for smoothing.
Once all the sanding is complete, wipe the board of any debris and use a cloth to evenly wipe the oil over the entire board – front, back, and sides. Let the oil sink in and repeat the process if necessary.