Made three cutting boards for the kids. They’re bamboo boards I got from Home Depot of all places. Engraved something that’s personal for each kid and then finished it with 4 applications of Howard’s Butcher Block Conditioner which is a mix of mineral oil, beeswax and carnauba wax (applied warm). All done with Corel and a Red Sail 60W laser.
First is for my son & his girlfriend. They recently moved in together and started their own home. It’s from a wall sized decal that I also got them but then figured out they don’t have a wall they can put it on. Cutting board to the rescue
The second is for my other son & his fiance. It’s the “save the date” picture my oldest son designed for them to send out announcing the engagement. So it’s a bit of a joint gift. It also helps preserve some of his artwork - he does an enormous number of things that get viewed, sent and scattered to the winds.
The last one is my daughter’s favorite pasta recipe. She’s always calling looking for it and the original here at home is on a decrepit piece of paper that saw better days in the Hoover administration
Got them at Home Depot. 3 for $9. Great deal and when lasered make a cool gift I think. It’s a shortcut vs making my own boards but I’m creating a bunch of stuff for my design classes and want to make the laser approachable - you can take commonly available things and customize them to be something completely unique.
I love the idea of putting family recipes on the boards. Really nice way to pass them down. Especially to someone establishing their first home. Well done!
That’s my gameplan for the Glowforge, at least at this time of year and around birthdays—customize regular, everyday things to be something unique and special to give as a gift.
Wonderful job on these unique gifts. I’ve seen a lot of cutting boards on sale but they always seem to have a logo already burned into them. Did the ones you got at Home Depot have logos?
Nope they were just plain boards. Makes them a nice canvas for customization. Trouble is it’s not a core product for HD so if I do more I’ll have to find another supplier.
Probably a business to be made doing recipes for people It’s a quick job entering the recipe and dropping a couple of graphic elements on. Engraving was quick too.
Very nice ! I have picked up several in the past year in anticipation of my GF. Did you put any finish (oil?) on them after the engrave? Are they more for decoration or can they use the engraved side ( or flip it to use as a cutting board). I know this has been mentioned several times in the forum, but curious what your thoughts are.
Imagine packaging a specialty food product with a recipie cutting board. Or work with a micro brewery and make a beer flight with the engraved logo of the brewer.
I used Howard’s Butcher Block Conditioner. It’s a mixture of food grade mineral oil, beeswax and carnauba wax. All three are often used in conditioning cutting boards. They are often combined as well to take advantage of the different properties of each so it wears better and stays water resistant longer. If you want to make a similar version you can take 5 parts mineral oil, 1 part beeswax and 1 part carnauba wax by volume, heat it together so it blends and apply it warm. Let it soak in for 30 minutes and wipe off any remaining conditioner. First time put 3 or 4 coats on it. After that every few months do another treatment.
The mineral oil, etc can be found at supermarkets, drug stores and health food stores. I use Howard’s because it’s all mixed, costs about $8/PT and it’s all mixed for me. I warm it in the microwave before I use it.
These can be displayed with the engraving out and then used for cutting by flipping over. I left the other side unengraved and conditioned that side as well.
- Rich
It’s a quick job entering the recipe and dropping a couple of graphic elements on. Engraving was quick too.
when I started to live alone I had to ask for them constantly… some of them I still have 
Stock up when you find a good deal.