Building a “Drunken” Cutting Board

Here’s a neat and unusual woodworking project called the "Drunken" cuttingboard. It's a departure from most cutting boards because it has curved segments rather than the boring straight segments. My attempt at making one (actually, you have to make two at a time) turned out really well. Here's the finished product:

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The process goes like this:

  1. Get two boards for different types. In this case I used hard maple and walnut. They must have the same dimensions.
  2. Using double-sided tape, stick one board on top of the other.
  3. Use the band saw to cut wavy shapes across the boards.
  4. Unstick the pieces and swap every other piece so the end result is two boards that have an alternating pattern.
  5. Optional: Cut 1/8-inch-thick strips from another type of wood (I used cherry) that are about an inch longer than the length of the cuts made in step
    1. Steam the strips of cherry and clamp them in between the sections of the cutting board. This gives the strips the curvy shape.
    2. Allow to dry overnight so that they are not wet when glued.
  6. Glue the pieces together and let dry.
  7. Trim the cherry strips, if needed.
  8. Plane both boards to the same thickness.
  9. Repeat steps 2 thru 8 for the other direction.
  10. Round the edges with the router.
  11. Sand.
  12. Apply mineral oil and let soak.
  13. Wipe off excess oil and buff to a shine.

Here are some images of the process:

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