Cutting Boards?

So...someone left my (rather inexpensive) 14"x14"x1.25" acacia/ironwood end grain cutting board sitting on top of the dishwasher part of the counter...and someone ELSE (apparently...no one will own up to it) spilled a cup of water which saturated the bottom of it.

Needless to say, it didn't survive. I did minor surgery and cut it down the split on the bandsaw to make two 7"x14" serving boards, but they're useless for food prep.

So that said...lets have some talk about cutting boards? Is one kind of wood better than others? I know end grain, and I know that I should get the biggest one that's reasonable, as more room will always trump less room. A friend is making me a beautiful edge grain to get me by...and another friend is just waiting on my go ahead to start work on a spalted maple/walnut end grain deal that should be gorgeous. We've settled on 16"x24"x2" as a reasonable size. Here's a picture of an edge grain board he maid from the same woods:

http://instagram.com/p/sQurk9jtdf/

Sorry, the image wouldn't embed. He happens to make beautiful knives as well .

So tell me ladies and gentlemen...is there anything I should request while the board is still imaginary lol? What would you do if you could start your boards from scratch? I've heard some people say that spalted wood is a no no on a cutting board...but I also see commercial outfits doing it, which would seem to me to be a liability if there was an issue. I'd found one webpage that mentioned some people getting sick in a restaurant in New York and they traced it back to the spalted cutting boards...but I can't even find that page now, lol.

So again, any info would be awesome!

Oh, and pictures of your boards are encouraged =p.

 

Here, I'll share a few pictures first.


The nice edge grain board my friend is making for me. Walnut and...beech I think? It might be maple...I can't remember.

And my deconstructive surgery on my cheapo edge grain:



The damage. This was after it dried out and pressed itself halfway back together. The board was split for another 3-4".



Chop it in half...


Round the 90° corners on the 2x72...


Chamfer the roughed corners and 90° edges by hand, and apply a home made mix of mineral oil and beeswax.

Anyhow...it all together took maybe 45 minutes...and I've been wanting a bigger board anyhow. If I had a router I'd cut slots around the edges and use them for meat serving platters...but they'll work fine as/is for already sliced meats I'm sure.

Anyone else got anything for me?

 

Maybe after Christmas...

 

Where's The BoardSmith when ya need him

 

Cris, probably dumb questions, but did you saturated back sides of boards as well?

 

Why not just reglue the two pieces together after you cut in half ?

 

Here is my mahogany board from Boardsmith.

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/7434-NBD!!-24-x-30-Mahogany

I cut fish, meats, garlic etc. on the board, and to date, it has been indestructible, blemish free and odor free. For maintenance, I use a combo of wax and mineral oil every two weeks. Slather it on at night, wipe it off the next morning. The density of the wood, plus the regular maintenance, has resulted in no stains, cracks or blemishes despite two years of daily use. Everyday cleaning is a warm soapy sponge, wet wipe and then completely dry. I didn't go for rubber feet....I prefer the board close to the counter. Instead, to keep some air under the board I use stick on felt pads. The nice thing about that. is you can flip the board every few months

 

Yes sir! I want waterproof!

I thought about that...but I don't have the right size or type of clamps, or glue...etc. Plus I've wanted a quality new, larger board for awhile now...so it works out.

That's gorgeous...and Dave's boards would have been my first option if Casey hadn't been able to do up a board that would work for me size wise. It's also nice to hear how you're caring for it...which is pretty close to in line with how I do it. Mine will occasionally go a month without maintenance, but we don't cut on it every day either...so it probably balances out.

 

Check out mtmwood.com as well,he makes some great boards.