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Juice Groove Carving Boards[8/4 Wide · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 2 carving boards + 2 cheese boards
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 2ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 2' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers. Food-safe species shown.
Two thick carving boards with a routed juice groove to catch the drippings from a roast or a holiday turkey, plus two small cheese boards from the last board. Each carving board is just two wide boards edge-glued. Rout the groove on one face and keep the other face flat for everyday chopping.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carving board pieces | 4 | Boards 1–4, one each | 20" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Cheese boards | 2 | Board 5 | 10" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Carving boards (2 pieces each) | 2 | Edge-glued pairs | 20" × 11" × about 1½" finished |
Carving boards: boards 1–4 cut to 20", edge-glued in pairs → two 20" × 11" boards, long grain to long grain.
Cheese boards: board 5 cut into two 10" pieces, single width, no glue.
Juice groove: ⅜" core-box bit, ¼" deep, ¾" in from the edges, one face only. Flatten to about 1½", round the edges, board oil and wax.
Finished size: Carving boards 20" × 11" × about 1½" · cheese boards 10" × 5½" × about 1½". Wider boards make wider boards.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 2ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond III — water resistant)
- Sandpaper 80 / 120 / 180 / 220
- Food-safe finish: mineral oil or board oil
- Board wax (beeswax and mineral oil)
- Rubber feet (optional — makes the board one-sided)
- ¼" MDF for a groove template (optional)
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane (to straighten the rough edges)
- 4 bar clamps, 18" or longer
- Cauls (straight scrap strips)
- 12"+ benchtop planer, router sled or belt sander
- Track saw, circular saw + straightedge, or crosscut sled
- Router with ⅜" core-box bit, edge guide or guide bushing, and a roundover bit
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance).
- 2 Crosscut the parts. Square one end of each board. Cut one 20" piece from each of boards 1–4. Cut board 5 into two 10" pieces for the cheese boards.
- 3 Pair the boards. Lay boards 1–4 out in two pairs. Flip and swap them until the colour and grain match across each seam. Draw a chalk triangle across each pair so they go back the same way.
- 4 Glue up two carving boards. Edge-glue each pair into a 20" × 11" board. Both pieces run the same way, so the joint is long grain to long grain. Use cauls at the ends to keep the faces level. Scrape the squeeze-out once it turns rubbery and leave overnight.
- 5 Flatten. Each carving board is 11" wide. That fits a 12" or 13" benchtop planer. No planer that wide? Use a router sled or a belt sander. Take both faces down to about 1½". Plane or sand the two cheese boards to match.
- 6 Trim to size. Square both ends of each carving board at 20" with a track saw, a circular saw and a straightedge, or a crosscut sled. Ease the corners with a 1½" radius traced from a coin or a can.
- 7 Rout the juice groove. Use a ⅜" core-box bit set ¼" deep. The groove sits ¾" in from every edge, on one face only. A ¼" MDF template with a guide bushing gives one smooth pass with round corners. With an edge guide, rout each side between pencil stop marks, then join the corners by hand along a traced curve. Take two shallow passes so the bit doesn't burn.
- 8 Round the edges. Round over the outside edges with a ⅛"–¼" roundover bit, or sand them soft. Do the cheese boards too.
- 9 Sand. Sand 80 → 120 → 180 → 220, including inside the groove (wrap sandpaper around a dowel). Wipe with a damp cloth to raise the grain, let it dry, and sand again at 220.
- 10 Oil and wax. Flood every face with mineral oil or board oil. Let it soak, wipe off the excess and repeat until it stops soaking in. Buff on board wax.
Why a juice groove? A roast or a turkey lets go of a lot of juice when you carve it. The groove holds it on the board instead of on the counter, and you can spoon it into the gravy.
Why groove one face only? The flat face stays a normal cutting board for vegetables and bread. Flip the board to whichever job you need.
Why does grain direction matter? Wood swells and shrinks across its grain, not along it. Every glue joint in this plan joins parts whose grain runs the same way, so nothing fights the seasons.
Make It Yours
- Two-tone: glue a walnut piece to a maple piece for a bold seam down the middle.
- Finger grips: rout a shallow cove under each end so the boards are easy to lift.
- Gift set: wood-burn initials on a cheese board and tie the set together with twine.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Clamp the board to the bench before routing the groove, and move the router against the bit's spin so it doesn't run away from you.
- Thick glued-up boards are heavy. Support them on a stand when planing or trimming.
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
Walnut, maple, cherry, oak, sapele, padauk and purpleheart are all fine for carving and cheese boards. Skip aromatic cedar for anything that touches food. Wear a dust mask when cutting exotics like padauk, purpleheart and sapele — the dust irritates.
Feet stop the board sliding and lift it off a wet counter. But they only go on one face, so the board becomes one-sided — put them on the flat face and always carve on the groove side. Skip the feet if you want to use both faces.
Hand wash with warm soapy water, dry standing on edge, and never soak them or use the dishwasher. Oil once a month, or whenever they look dry.
Planned offcuts only: about 3" off the end of boards 1–4 and about 2¾" off board 5 — enough for a pair of coasters. All 5 boards go into the boards.
Yes. A 4ft wide pack makes twice as many: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan twice. Or cut 44" pieces for one long 44" × 11" serving and carving plank.
