Make a $10 Cutting Board with Chris

No, please don’t run away. It’s not what you think.

This cutting board is made from a piece of tulip poplar, which cost about $5. The board is 1-3/4” thick, 7-1/4” wide and 17” long. A small but useful size.

As a furniture maker and devoted home cook, I have strong feelings about my cutting boards. And weirdly, they don’t line up with those of the cutting board industry, or those of many fellow woodworkers.

First, some honest talk: I’m happy if you make, use and/or sell cutting boards made from exotic woods or hundreds of little pieces assembled into patterns. I don’t think less of people who make cutting boards, because some of their work exceeds mine. Some of these cutting boards verge on being art.

But when it comes to what I use in the kitchen, here are my thoughts.

Almost every sales pitch for cutting boards is incorrect, from the type of wood needed for a cutting board, the way the pieces of the cutting board should be assembled and even the finish that is applied (and sold in bottles to help you maintain your expensive kitchen imple…