How To Create a Chopping Board

How do you make a laminated timber chopping board?

A striped chopping board is one of the best first laminating projects, because the joinery is simple and the finish is forgiving. The board described here measures 400mm long by 250mm wide, built from alternating strips of Tasmanian Oak and Meranti glued edge to edge with Selleys Aquadhere Exterior.

The whole job is really one skill — getting thirteen glued edges clamped flat and square at the same time — plus sanding. Read the clamping step twice before you start, because that is where boards go wrong.

What you need

• 1 × 3.0m × 42mm × 19mm Tasmanian Oak
• 1 × 2.7m × 42mm × 19mm Meranti
• 1 × 500mL Selleys Aquadhere Exterior external adhesive
• 1 × small paint brush, for spreading the glue
• Old newspaper
• A rag and a bucket of water
• Some small scraps of timber, for the clamping process
• 2 clamps with 250mm opening capacity
• Sanding block, plus coarse, medium and fine sandpaper
• Carpenter's square
• Cork sanding block
• Hand plane
• Hand saw
• Additional tools to make life easier: router, belt sander, jigsaw

Steps

1. Determine the length and width of the board you want. The one described here is 400mm long by 250mm wide.
2. Divide the width you want by 19 — the thickness of the timber. For example, 250 ÷ 19 = 13.15. To have the same colour timber on both edges you need an odd number of pieces, so this example uses 13.
3. Choose which colour you want on the outside edges. This project used the lighter timber, so it needs 7 light pieces (Tasmanian Oak) and 6 dark (Meranti). Reverse it if you want the dark timber on the edges.
4. Cut your pieces to length with a hand saw or jigsaw. Lay them flat, 42mm face down, in a variegated pattern on old newspaper or baking paper to protect your bench from excess glue.
5. Apply Aquadhere Exterior to all pieces except the last one. Spread the glue with the brush to get a generous amount on each piece and complete coverage.
6. Stand all the pieces on edge, with a glue-covered edge facing a raw side of timber.
7. Bring all the pieces together, including the end piece you did not apply adhesive to — that one covers the last glued face.
8. Use a carpenter's square to get the ends straight. Without a square, you can do this fairly well by eye.
9. Apply the clamps, using scrap timber to stop them marking the edges. Press down to get the pieces even before final tightening. If pieces move once the clamps are tight, release the pressure, press down on the pieces that moved, and retighten. You may have to do this a couple of times.
10. Once the clamps are on and the board is level, turn it over and remove any paper backing stuck to the back.
11. With a wet rag, wipe off the excess glue that has squeezed out on both sides. Once all the glue is off, wipe away any excess water with a dry rag.
12. Stand the board and leave it for a couple of hours — overnight if possible — to let the glue dry completely through. Check the glue has dried, then remove the clamps.
13. Sand the top and bottom flat with the sanding block. This goes far quicker with a belt or orbital sander. Start with coarse 100 grit, move to medium 120 grit and finish with fine 180 grit. Soften the edges with the fine 180 grit.
14. If you want a rounder edge, use a hand plane to plane the edges at an angle. Continue on all edges, both faces, until you have the softness you want.
15. Finish by rubbing vegetable or olive oil over the board with a rag. This project used olive oil, but any edible oil will do.
16. The board is ready to use. When it starts to dry out, recoat with the same oil.

What the glue figures mean for this board

Clamp time	30 minutes for softwoods; 1 hour for hardwoods
Do not stress joint for	24 hours
Maximum strength	24 hours; longer in cold, damp conditions or with dense timbers
Coverage	Approximately 5 m² per litre
Colour	Off-white, dries clear with a yellow tinge
Clean up	Water while wet; sanding or scraping once cured

Indicative data only, not intended for the preparation of specifications.

Tasmanian Oak and Meranti are both hardwoods, so the one-hour clamp time is the relevant figure rather than the 30-minute softwood one — and dense timbers take longer to reach full strength. The guide's advice to leave it a couple of hours or overnight is a comfortable margin over that minimum, and overnight is the better choice.

Separately from clamping, Selleys advises not stressing the joint for 24 hours, with maximum strength attained at 24 hours. Sanding a board applies real force across thirteen fresh glue lines, so leaving it a full day before you sand is the safer sequence even though the clamps can come off sooner.

The 5 m² per litre coverage figure explains the 500mL bottle: twelve glued faces of roughly 400mm × 19mm comes to well under a tenth of a square metre, so most of the bottle survives for the next project.

Two details that decide whether the glue-up succeeds:

Wipe the squeeze-out while it is wet. Uncured Aquadhere comes off with water; cured Aquadhere has to be sanded or scraped, and dried glue on the face of a board seals the timber so it will not take oil evenly. That is why the wet rag step comes before the clamps come off, not after.

Tighter clamping gives a better bond, and surfaces must be close fitting. If a strip is bowed, it will leave a glue-starved line down the board that shows up when you sand.

Limitations — what to be aware of

• Aquadhere Exterior is not recommended for joints subjected to constant high stress, and it is not suitable for below-waterline applications or continuous submersion. A chopping board that gets wiped down and dried is within that; one left sitting in a sink of water is not.
• Do not put the board in a dishwasher. The combination of prolonged wetting and heat is the fastest way to open a laminated glue line.
• Avoid contaminating Aquadhere Exterior with iron and steel. It will stain brown or black if contaminated with rust (iron oxide), or in the presence of the tannins present in many woods — a real risk with oak. Keep steel clamp faces off the glue line, which is what the scrap timber packing pieces are for.
• Food contact. Selleys describes Aquadhere Exterior as non-toxic, and the published uses are dowelling, joinery, laminating, veneering and cabinet and furniture making. The technical data sheet does not state a food-contact approval, so treat the oil finish as the food-facing surface, keep the glue lines fully sanded and sealed, and re-oil the board whenever it starts to dry out.

Safety: the glue this project specifies is unclassified — the one in the FAQ is not

Worth knowing before you substitute. Aquadhere Exterior, the adhesive this build actually uses, is not classified as hazardous under GHS 7. No signal word, no hazard statements, and not Dangerous Goods. That is a definitive statement from its safety data sheet rather than missing information, and it is one reason a laminating job with thirteen open glue lines is a reasonable thing to do on a kitchen table.

The alternative named in the questions below is a different proposition. Aquadhere Durabond is a moisture-curing polyurethane classified Danger, with H334 (may cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled, respiratory sensitisation Category 1A), H317 (skin sensitisation Category 1A), H351 (suspected of causing cancer), H373 (may cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure), plus H332, H335, H315 and H319.

If you swap, three things about this project change. First, the exposure is not the glue-up — it is the cure. Durabond is moisture-curing and foams as it goes, and its own guidance is ventilation during application and while the joint cures. This page's figures are roughly 4 hours clamped and up to 24 hours to maximum strength, all of it in whatever room the board is standing in. A closed garage overnight is the wrong room.

Second, the wet-rag step gets harder and the gloves become necessary. Step 11 has you wiping squeeze-out off both faces by hand. With a Category 1A skin sensitiser that is direct, repeated contact with the product — nitrile gloves, and wash your hands after removing them. Cured Durabond squeeze-out is a stiff foamed crust rather than a thin line, so it comes off with a chisel and then sandpaper; wear a dust mask for that.

Third, this is a food-contact item. The page is already careful here, and the caution holds more strongly for a heavily classified adhesive: keep the glue lines fully sanded and sealed, treat the oil finish as the food-facing surface, and re-oil when it dries out.

The lower-hazard option is the one the project specifies. Unless you need Durabond's gap-filling or its ability to bond wood to metal and glass, Aquadhere Exterior is weatherproof, stronger than most timbers, and carries no classification. Keep the 180 grit for the edges and a dust mask for the sanding regardless.

Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand.

Common questions about making a chopping board

What size should the board be?

The example is 400mm long by 250mm wide. Divide your chosen width by 19 (the timber thickness) to find the number of strips, and round to an odd number so both edges are the same colour.

Why an odd number of pieces?

So the same colour timber lands on both outside edges. With 13 pieces you get 7 of one colour and 6 of the other.

Do I glue every piece?

Apply glue to all pieces except the last one. When you bring them together, the raw face of that final piece meets the glued face next to it.

How long do I clamp for?

Aquadhere Exterior specifies one hour for hardwoods, and Tasmanian Oak and Meranti are both hardwoods. Leaving it a couple of hours or overnight, as the guide suggests, gives you a comfortable margin.

When can I sand it?

Once the glue has dried through and the clamps are off — but Selleys advises not stressing the joint for 24 hours, so waiting a full day before sanding is the safer approach.

How do I stop the clamps marking the timber?

Use small scraps of timber between the clamp faces and the board edges. This also keeps steel away from the fresh glue line.

What if the pieces slip when I tighten the clamps?

Release the clamp pressure, press down on the pieces that have moved, and retighten. Expect to do this a couple of times.

How do I clean up the excess glue?

With a wet rag, while the glue is still wet, on both sides of the board. Then wipe off the excess water with a dry rag. Cured glue has to be sanded or scraped.

What grit sandpaper should I use?

Coarse 100 grit, then medium 120 grit, finishing with fine 180 grit. Use the 180 grit to soften the edges too.

What do I finish the board with?

Vegetable or olive oil rubbed on with a rag. Any edible oil will do. Recoat with the same oil when the board starts to dry out.

Is there a stronger glue I could use instead?

Aquadhere Durabond is a moisture-curing polyurethane with high water resistance that expands as it cures, so it also bridges small gaps. Clamp firmly for approximately 4 hours; maximum strength comes in up to 24 hours. Like Aquadhere Exterior, it is not rated for continuous submersion. For more on the choice between them, see the wood glue guide.

Can I wash it in the dishwasher?

No. Aquadhere Exterior is not rated for continuous submersion, and dishwasher heat and prolonged wetting will attack the glue lines. Wash by hand, dry it, and re-oil periodically.

Can I use Aquadhere Interior instead?

Not for a board that gets wet. Aquadhere Interior is not waterproof and is unsuitable for structural or exterior use. The Exterior grade is specified here for good reason.