DIY Projects

Kitchen DIY Projects

Yes, we all know you can buy cutting boards, and both surfaces can be used, but this one allows you to unleash your inner artiste… or artist, anyway. And its beauty is that as mentioned above, whereas with many a store-bought cutting board, once it has reached the end of its life you have to discard it. Not so this one… You can take it apart and replace the cutting surface itself with a fresh piece of wood, cut to fit – and you have a brand-new cutting board for virtually no cost whatsoever.

So although your initial cost, due to the use of mirror screws and the purchase of the butchers block polish (as the name implies, it is food-safe) is a little eye watering, thereafter, almost zero.

Materials*:

  • SA pine or Oregon pine board (or timber of your choice) – in this case 18x202x240mm
  • Meranti cover strip – one length of 9x44x900mm ripped to 24mm wide and 18mm and cut to two sides of 24x300mm, one end of 24x202mm and one end of 18×202
  • Ten 8×30 mirror screws
  • Screw locking compound
  • Butchers block wood polish

*Naturally, if you are fond of fish braais, for instance, you might require a much longer cutting block for filleting or whatever, so naturally, your materials requirements will change.

Method:

  1. First I ripped the meranti cover strip into two lengths each 900mm long, but one 24mm wide and the other 18mm wide. Shown here is the 18mm length that I cut to about 250mm initially; later I would trim it to fit precisely between the sides.
  2. I cut the 24x300mm sides to length and rounded off just the one end of each – this is where the dowel handle would go.
  3. I smoothed off the curved end of each with a random orbital sander. Clamping both pieces together in this procedure and the one just above ensures that the ends are a perfect match. You will notice that I have also drilled the holes for the dowel handle… sanding now allows one to fine tune the curves’ contours.
  4. This is getting ahead of things slightly, but here are the six pieces of wood that will be used in this cutting board. The 24x202mm end is fitted on the handle end, and the 18x 202mm end is fitted to the far end. Both are cut and fitted only after the sides are secured … so that you can achieve a very neat, close-fitting result. Each end is secured with two mirror screws, each about 30mm in from the ends of each.
  5. First I was going to secure the sides to the main cutting surface so I drilled three pilot holes for the securing mirror screws for each side. They are 9mm in from what will be the lower edge and spaced from around 27mm from the end of the cutting surface to 27mm from the front of the same, with a third screw at the midpoint. The distance from the ends is not crucial, subject to the caveat that they should not be less than about 20mm or so from end of the cutting surface timber otherwise the end of the wood could split.
  6. Then I countersunk them so that the screw heads would not split the cover strip when driven in. Ensure that the countersinking is just deep enough to allow the screw head to be flush with the wood’s outer surface. If it is too deep, the head might be too far in for the mirror screw dome screw to engage in the screw head.
  7. This shows a close-up of the countersunk screw holes. The same procedure is followed with the two ends; in their case just two screws are used to secure them to the cutting board.
  8. Before final assembly I sanded down both cutting surfaces.
  9. Here are the 8×30 mirror screws. They are supplied with the soft collar to protect the mirror through which they are intended to be driven, but of course these will not be required for this project.
  10. With the side clamped firmly in position, I used the countersunk hole in each case to drill a pilot hole about 20mm deep in each position. Then I drove each screw in until its head was just flush with the surface of the surrounding wood. Then I trimmed the two ends to a very snug fit and attached them with two mirror screws each.
  11. At this stage I fitted the 10mmØ dowel handle, which is cut to a length of 235mm so that it protrudes from each side about 9mm. it is a very tight fit, so I did not use any glue to secure it. It simply locks into position. Also note that the dowel handle must be fitted after the 24x202mm end has been secured with its two mirror screws… if you fit the dowel handle beforehand you will not be able to get the driver bit to reach screw head. Then I applied the butchers block polish… here you can see the polished half in the foreground and the as yet unpolished half in the background. In passing I took great care to ensure that I did not apply any polish – yet – anywhere near the screws as any polish in the screw heads would nullify the locking effect of the thread-locking fluid.
  12. Now to screw home the mirror chromed domes… a little bunched-up masking tape will give you the added purchase on the smooth dome.
  13. I applied a drop of thread-locking fluid to each head in turn, and screwed down the dome on each. The use of the thread-locking fluid – which soon sets – ensures that the domes remain in place. If you even need to replace the cutting surface, however, with a little effort you will be able to remove each dome and remove each screw.
  14. Dome, Sweet Dome.
  15. Here we are using the surface without the rim.
  16. And here is the reverse surface with the rim on three sides… this keeps crumbs and juices from getting on to the counter top; these are simply tipped into the sink or kitchen refuse after the cutting operation is complete –  the handle allows a firm grip at all times. The butchers block polish on all surfaces makes the surfaces water-repellent, so a quick wipe down with a dishwashing liquid/water mix and a quick rinse and the board can be set aside to dry and then back into the cupboard or drawer, ready for next time.

Panel:

These materials are available at Selected Mica Stores. To find your closest Mica and whether or not they stock the items required, please go to www.mica.co.za, find your store and call them. If your local Mica does not stock exactly what you need they will be able to order it for you or suggest a source of the product or an alternative product or a reputable source in either case.

Project guide

TIME: A day at most

COST: R300 – and that is for the mirror screws and butchers block polish, which are quite expensive, but the rest of the materials are leftovers from previous projects and if you already have suitable mirror screws available and the polish (even a small can goes a very long way), the cost is minimal… close to zero.

Tools required:

Circular cut-off saw, cordless drill/driver or mains drill/driver.