Wood Cutting Boards and Chopping Blocks: The Topic

[Paul Bacino]

We had to cut down a walnut tree,  i salvaged a 8" thick by 14 " circular pc and wonder how i can do it?

 

i'm thinking of drying outside , then remove the bark

 

Thoughts  and TIA

 

Doc B

 

[rotuts]

@Paul Bacino

 

very interesting.

 

there is a chance the segment will crack .

 

there are ways around this , 

 

https://owic.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/pubs/peg.pdf

 

etc.

 

you then have to decide for your self if PEG treated wood is safe to use for a cutting board.

 

Id use PEG , then dry , then ' profesionally ' slice into 2   4 " rounds.

 

then sand , etc until stable.   you can then treat the surfaces w an oil that polymerizes.

 

P.S. leave the bark on .   it may decided to come off later , or not, depending on the time of the season

 

the wood was cut.  it should stay on as you cut the wood recently , while the tree was growing.

 

if you take it off , you cant put it back on .  if it comes off later on its own , is a different matter.

 

I have a cherry bookmatched cutting board I made ' by hand '  from cherry wood rescued

 

from my wood pile .  its so beautiful , I just hung it up to admire it rather than use it.

 

after sanding and finishing  ( no PEG , as it came from a cure log )  its a joy to see.

 

Ill post a pic here as soon as I find it , as things are jumbled up here due to some over the winter

 

remodleing.

 

 

Edited Thursday at 04:23 PM by rotuts (log)

[AlaMoi]

many folk who mill their own lumber count one year per inch of thickness for wood to fully "season" - got time?

 

disks/pucks/slices/(many names) are especially prone to splitting.

depending on what the end use may be, splits may / may not be critical.  i.e. splits in a trivet are not a problem; splits in a cutting board are . . . 

 

I'd suggest a search 'how to dry tree slices' - there are many opinions - the woodworking type sites are more apt to have first person experience that a bloke who just makes youtube videos for the clicks . . .

[rotuts]

P.E.G.

 

Ive made no videos .

Edited Thursday at 07:36 PM by rotuts (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

It might be worthwhile to see if anybody in your area has a wood kiln. Check with Master carpenters and lumber yards in your area.

[rotuts]

@Tropicalsenior

 

kiln is an idea , just a low heated way of drying plank wood .   

 

that's thick enough to not split.

 

this would crack in a kiln just the same as it wood air dried , but w a higher chance .

 

P.S. : kiln dried wood is also dried to a lower moisture level than ' room temp '

 

especially in humid areas.

Edited Thursday at 08:45 PM by rotuts (log)

[Maison Rustique]

@blue_dolphin Thanks! I hadn't thought of Wayfair either. I've never shopped them, but I am pretty sure I got a discount card in the mail from them at the new place. I'll look to see if I kept it when I get over there today.

 

 

[Rickbern]

On 7/28/2025 at 12:24 PM, Maison Rustique said:

I am looking for a small rolling kitchen island for the new house in order to expand my storage/prep space. It needs to be small and fairly inexpensive. I find no stores in the area that have more than one style in the store to see, so I need to order online. I am going to show my ignorance here. I kept rejecting many that looked good because it said the cutting board top was rubber wood. I thought they meant it was some sort of manufactured fake wood-look thing. I finally Googled it and discovered that it actually is wood and is supposed to be sustainable, etc.

 

My question is, do any of you have experience with a rubber wood cutting board? I don't want to buy it thinking I can use it as a cutting board, only to find that it isn't really a good choice for that purpose.

This one doesn’t roll but it’s pretty sturdy. Also available in a four foot size

 

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/vadholma-kitchen-island-black-oak-40366115/

[Paul Bacino]

On 7/31/2025 at 12:22 PM, AlaMoi said:

many folk who mill their own lumber count one year per inch of thickness for wood to fully "season" - got time?

 

disks/pucks/slices/(many names) are especially prone to splitting.

depending on what the end use may be, splits may / may not be critical.  i.e. splits in a trivet are not a problem; splits in a cutting board are . . . 

 

I'd suggest a search 'how to dry tree slices' - there are many opinions - the woodworking type sites are more apt to have first person experience that a bloke who just makes youtube videos for the clicks . . .

This is seasoned walnut....that i have...really no evidence of wood splitting

 

[Paul Bacino]

Cleaver options!!

 

[AlaMoi]

yup, never happens.

[AlaMoi]

We had to cut down a walnut tree,  i salvaged a 8" thick by 14 " circular pc and wonder how i can do it?
i'm thinking of drying outside , then remove the bark
Thoughts  and TIA 
========================
This is seasoned walnut....that i have...really no evidence of wood splitting 

so why are you asking us?

[Maison Rustique]

I ordered a rolling island yesterday and it will be here next week. Then I have to figure out how I'll wrangle the package 100+ lbs. into the garage until my sis and BIL are here and can put it together for me. I did have a 15% off coupon from Wayfair and used that which paid for their 5 year protection package which will cover replacing various things that might go wrong. So, if the rubber wood top splits or warps, they will replace it free.

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, Maison Rustique said:

I ordered a rolling island yesterday and it will be here next week. Then I have to figure out how I'll wrangle the package 100+ lbs. into the garage until my sis and BIL are here and can put it together for me. I did have a 15% off coupon from Wayfair and used that which paid for their 5 year protection package which will cover replacing various things that might go wrong. So, if the rubber wood top splits or warps, they will replace it free.

 

Post pictures when it's set up! If you have your sense of humor about you, you can also show in-process photos. 😀 (That's probably a bridge too far, I realize.)

[KennethT]

2 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

I ordered a rolling island yesterday and it will be here next week. Then I have to figure out how I'll wrangle the package 100+ lbs. into the garage until my sis and BIL are here and can put it together for me. I did have a 15% off coupon from Wayfair and used that which paid for their 5 year protection package which will cover replacing various things that might go wrong. So, if the rubber wood top splits or warps, they will replace it free.

Worst comes to worst, you can open the box wherever it is left and take it in piece by piece.  Or if you can pick up one edge, try to get an old towel under there and then you should be able to drag it.