There are about as many ways to route cutting board handles as there are species of wood available to make a cutting board. I am going to share my method for routing cutting board handles in wood boards or butcher blocks with you below. This is not the only method, probably not the best or quickest method, but this is what I have found to work well for me and my work flow with cutting board construction.
I use one simple piece of wood with a notch cut out of it as my jig for cutting board handles.
With this one simple jig I can cut two different size cutting board handles by simply using different router bits. A bowl bit with no bearing is used with the router inside of the jig “bouncing” off the walls. A bowl bit with a top bearing is used for a larger handle with the bearing riding the wall of the jig. If I ever found the need (which I haven’t), I could make a different size jig to give me another two cutting board handle size options with the same two router bits.
To use the jig, I center it on the board and clamp it down to secure both the jig to the board and the board to the bench. I then begin routing the cutting board handles in a counter clockwise direction. I typically take around 4-6 different cuts to arrive at my final depth.
You will get some router burn, I don’t care what bit you’re using or how sharp it is. The best way to minimize this is to take a shallow final cut and then get to sanding!
First cut:
Second cut:
Third Cut:
Fourth Cut:
Final cut:
The depth of cut is a function of personal preference, proportions to the board, and function. This one ended up being around 5/8″
There you go, these cutting board handles are quick, easy, and look pretty good if I do say so myself!
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Be sure to read the full article How to build and End Grain Cutting Board
