Kitchen sink chopping board

 Website request

I received an email via the website asking if I could manufacture a replacement chopping board to be inserted in to the top of a kitchen sink.

Several emails and a few pictures later I arranged to meet the client and asked him to bring the original board. From the images he had sent it looked like it could be restored, and if not I could use it as a template for the replacement.

When I first looked at the original board it appeared that with a good sanding and refinishing it could be reused, but on closer examination it was obvious that the board had been wet repeatedly and was very badly warped. In discussion with the client we agreed that I would make a replacement from some staved Beech worktop, although thicker than the original the client did not consider this to be an issue.

 

 

 

 


 Making the board.

The original board appeared to be made from two layers of plywood with a rebate around three sides to allow it to drop in to the sink recess and the lip to rest on the edge of the sink. The rebate was curved at all four corners, but was also chamfered between the vertical and bottom surface presumably to allow it to drop gently in to place over the sink aperture.

Trying to obtain an accurate dimension from the original warped timber was interesting and I did not possess a single router cutter to produce the correct profile.

The new board was produced by biscuit jointing three pieces of worktop edge to edge, then the outline cut out and sanded. The rebate was formed using a 13mm straight cutter followed by a 45 degree angled cutter and guide wheel to produce the chamfer.

A trial fitting at the clients house showed that the rebate needed to be slightly wider so the process was repeated using the two cutters to remove a further 5mm on all sides.

The board was sanded down to 240 grit then finished in antibacterial worktop oil which I normally use for any products which are used in the preparation or serving of food.