Scavenger Chic

DIY Cutting Board with Scrap Wood

• By Joan
• June 29, 2022
• 2 Comments

DIY Cutting Board with Scrap Wood

I have such a quick and easy DIY for you today… cutting boards from scrap wood.

This piece of wood has been sitting in my workshop for at least 6 months.  The level of sawdust buildup is a good indication of how long it has sat there.  He started his life as a table leaf and I was originally going to modify this table leaf to fit  a table that I currently have.  That idea didn’t pan out for a variety of reasons so I still had this table leaf in my stash.

Hey, if you do want to see a DIY table leaf check out this past project.

Anyway, I had a new plan.

This is a  close up of part of the table leaf showing some beautiful inlaid wood.  I didn’t really notice it with the dark stain. Wouldn’t that look great as part of a new diy cutting board?

So what happened?  I happily cut the table leaf in half and  I was totally prepared to make two  cutting boards from this one table leaf. 

All that beautiful wood, it was nothing but a wood veneer.  Nothing but particle board inside. 😥 

Plan B, scour my garage for any other wood that would be wide enough to create a cutting board. I had not given up on the dream. Here I have two more likely candidates.  The darker one appeared to be a shelf that would have been in a entertainment cabinet, and the lighter one, I’m guessing, was actually a shelf.  

I can’t be 100%  sure of their previous lives since they were both rescued from a wood dump pile, but I’m sure they had a history.

I used a cutting board I already had on hand to trace the handle and curved edge directly onto the new boards.

If you want to make an even easier project, just leave the shape as a rectangle.

I cut out my handle with a tabletop scroll saw.  You could also use a hand held jigsaw or bandsaw to make this curvy cut.

Sand all the edges well including the top and bottom of the new cutting board.

I also sanded the dirt off of this old board.

I repeated the cutting process for the entertainment center cutting board.  This one had a stain and varnish finish that needed to be removed.

Underneath that stain and varnish was a very light wood.

This is the other half of this same board, before and after sanding.

Both DIY cutting boards are sanded and cleaned.  The only thing left is cutting board oil.  I bought mine from my local Home Depot. You can also find the cutting board oil on Amazon for about the same price.

According to the package directions for seasoning a new cutting board, apply at least 2 coats of the oil, 3-4 coats for a thicker cutting board. Apply to all sides rubbing in with a soft cloth and wiping off the excess.  Let stand at least 1 hour.

Didn’t they turn out great?   For those of you who are interested, a good cutting board is best made with a dense hardwood and a close grain like maple, walnut or cherry and should be free of warps, The cutting board on top above is a dense hardwood, though I don’t know the type of wood, which would be great for chopping.   The one on the bottom is not quite as hard or dense and would be better as a bread board, for serving, decoration or as a table centerpiece.

A fun and easy project to use up some of that scrap wood.

Until next time, stay inspired.

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DIY Rustic Coffee Table from Reclaimed Wood Easy Pallet Wood Outdoor Side Table Thrift Store Makeover, Reclaimed Wood Candle Holder Thrift Store Boxwood Wreath on Scrap Wood