I want to make a wood chopping block like I see in Asia, but I have absolutely zero knowledge or experience. I didnt see a woodworking general, so I'll ask a few basic quick questions.
What wood would be best for this? Do I need to use a finisher to make it food safe? I assume I just get a slab of treetrunk, sand it till its nice and smooth, oil it and then maybe seal it?
I have one of those.
Our wooden chopping board isn't even oiled or anything.
It's just a single big cutout from a log.
No-nothing is the safest way to make sure there's no contamination. If you're worried about bacteria buildup after a few years, you sand it back down again. No big deal because it's already a huge chunk of wood.
>>1011730
>I assume I just get a slab of treetrunk, sand it till its nice and smooth, oil it and then maybe seal it?
pretty much
I would just use some food safe oil
>>1011730
Basically, use a hardwood. Tree slab like that will work, but the harder the wood the more wear your knives will experience. If you use a slab cut like that you'll actually have an end grain cutting board. Those are preferred by people who don't like to get there knives sharpened more often than needed(usually people who cook often and take it seriously), they put less wear on a knife than other wood cutting board but they mar up easier. Edge or face grain cutting boards are usually "preferred" by people who don't sharpen their knives(usually people who cook out of necessity or for fun), they put more wear on a knife but stay looking better for longer.
Keep in mind, there is no right or wrong, it's your preference. I think a slab like that makes an excellent cutting board.
As for finish, the only wrong choices are boiled linseed oil or most finishes that cure hard. BLO has additives like heavy metals, hard curing finishes will start to flake off and you'll end up with chunks of it in your food. No thanks.
You'll get people that say that oiling it is good, or using bees wax, or that unfinished is best. Regardless of opinion, one thing is true, if you get green wood and cut it like that it will likely dry too fast and crack from the pith/center out. To help prevent this use an oil, and one that won't go rancid. Food grade mineral oil is solid. Go to a big box store and look in the finishing aisle(next to stains and varnishes) for anything that says "butcher block conditioner" or something similar. Double check that it's food safe.
For this I'd use maple for it to be easy to see, or walnut for aesthetics.
>>1011741
Like he said, these slabs will crack after a few weeks and look like a pie with a slice taken out.
I've heard to dry it in an oven on low with the door cracked overnight. Not sure if that will work or of just oiling it will keep it from splitting.
>>1011741
Thanks for the indepth knowledge! I'm probably gonna go with a NZ native wood (Matai/Macrocarpa/Rewarewa) but the trouble I'm having now is finding a slab cut Horizontally, as people prefer them vertically for tabletops.
>>1011748
If you've got green timber like that and a big enough microwave/small enough wood, you can try stuffing it into a plastic bag (fnar!)
Nuke it for 2-3min, take it out to cool for 2-3min, empty water out of the bag... repeat about 10-15 times until its dry.
Cleaning, coarse salt to rub away the grotty bits, rinse off, quick swipe of vinegar and it'll kill anything. Every month or so you can rub it down with food-safe mineral oil and it'll last a fair old while. Probably longer than the owner!
For the end-grain boards, lot of them where traditionally sealed with a mix of hot mineral oil and bees wax boiled up, pour it on and rub it in.
Maple, Spotted gum and the like tended to be good timbers
>>1011761
This guy here >>1011741 I used that trick on a candle holder I made out of a willow that was cut 2 weeks prior, very wet to the touch, and I can vouch that it works. I wrapped it in in a bunch of paper towel each time instead of using a bag though. I lacquered it and it hasn't cracked in the year since I made it. I tried making a bowl out of the same branch and after leaving it for 2 days untouched cracks already developed down the sides.
>>1011730
I made two of these a while back, didn't use them as cutting boards tho, but as something to pot pots and kettles on when eating.
Our wood was sawn of a tree trunk (I don't remember what wood) with a chainsaw, left to dry in a humid cellar (still 1 in 5 cracked) and after about a year or two we took it out, sanded the top and bottomand oiled it
We still use these on a daily basis, some food might colour it tho, so it might not look particularly clean if you use it as a cutting board, I don't know though.
>>1013424
> something to put pots and kettles
I use [pic] for my glasses and mugs. Whenever I put a hot tea on the disc it bends (thermal expansion). Not too practical.
[pic] is from a (an ill) birch, 9cm×5mm
>>1011741
>>1011761
> cracking
I don't know how long you need to wait until the wood seasons, but I've not seen a solid slab of wood which does not crack when it's repeatedly wetted and dried, and that's what usually happens to a cutting board.
As far as I know it's better to glue together pieces of wood for a cutting board.
>>1011741
> As for finish
I prefer to put some finish, so that the wood can't get too wet. Linseed oil (food grade) to be precise.
