Making a cutting board is a very good way to up your skill in woodworking. The cool thing about it is that you can make them however you want, the design is totally up to you.

Step 1: Materials

You will need a few tools and supplies to make a cutting board.
•Wood glue
•Clamps
•Medium to light sandpaper/Orbital sander*
•Planer
•Stain*
•Router
•Miter saw
•Mineral oil
•And of course whatever wood you want. I used pine, which isn't a good choice for cutting boards since it is fairly soft.

Step 2: Prepping the Wood

I started out cutting each of my 1 X 3 boards around 23 inches. None of these cuts have to be exact. I then lightly sanded all four surface sides of each board.

Step 3: Glueing

When I put on the glue, I used a brush and made sure to remove any air bubbles. I spread the glue evenly on one piece and then laid another on top. I then clamped these two pieces together. While those pieces dried I sanded the others. I know you're supposed to clamp them all at once but I'm different.

Step 4: Accent Piece

Most cutting boards have an accent piece, one board that is different than the others. So I just used one of my pieces and ripped it in half on a table saw. Then I gave it two coats of red oak stain. The stain soaks into the wood so when I planed the top off the skinny piece is very defined.

Step 5: All the Pieces Glued

Step 6: Planing

Planing the cutting board is the easiest part of the whole process. A planer is a very useful tool to have around the shop. All I did was set the planer to shave off about 1/64 inch and made many passes until the it was all the same height

Step 7:

This is the part where the ends of the cutting board get shaved off. This is why I didn't worry about glueing the pieces perfectly flush.

Step 8: Sanding

Sand sand sand. And then sand some more. After the planing I used 150 grit sandpaper on a sanding block. I sanded the whole piece through and through. Then I used 220 grit sandpaper and sanded the whole thing. The 220 finishes it off and makes it super smooth.

Step 9: Handles

For the handles I just drew a box big enough for my hands to fit, then I got the router and cut it out. On the edge a got a round off bit and rounded the edges so it felt even smoother.

Step 10: Protecting It

Mineral oil is what I used to seal the cutting board, so no juices penetrate the wood, or the vegetables get any kind of wood taste in them. One coat of mineral oil each six hours, and put four or five coats.