DIY Chopping Board Set with Spaghetti Measure

Here I show you how to make your own easy DIY chopping board set using affordable pine and basic power tools. It can be designed in any shape you wish to compliment your kitchen and the handle also acts as a useful spaghetti measure.

THIS DIY PROJECT CONTAINS A PAID AD FOR WICKES, WHICH I HAVE BEEN A REGULAR SHOPPER FOR YEARS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

A chopping board set can come in a variety of shapes, colours, styles, sizes and materials. But over the last few years, I've particularly fallen in love with much larger and unique paddle style ones.

They can offer a much larger work surface and give a kitchen a modern feel while hiding any worktop damage you may have encountered along the way.

And, rather than wasting hours searching for a specific style, making a DIY chopping board set is much quicker than you might think. That is, once you've worked out the style and food safe finish you want. So to save you time, I'm going to show you how I made my trio of matching cutting boards.

I picked up all my materials from Wickes for this job. If you've been a regular reader or viewer on my YouTube channel, you'll see that I often buy things from them. Whether it's building supplies for bigger jobs or smaller renovation projects.

I find their click and collect service great too, so I can check their stocks levels and plan my shopping trips. Or request something to be in store the next day.

And being a weekend DIYer, I find their How-To guides in leaflets, YouTube videos and website tutorials incredibly useful and inspiring for research.

THINGS YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE A DIY CHOPPING BOARD SET

• Timberboard wood or lots of off cuts glued together
• Long spirit level
• Masking tape
• Pencil
• Tape measure
• Hand saw
• Clamps
• Goggles
• Ear defenders or ear plugs
• Mug/cup
• Jigsaw
• Combination square
• Sander (or sanding block with sand paper)
• Flatwood drill bits in: 20mm, 28mm, 35mm and 38 (or similar)
• Lint free cloth
• Worktop oil & maintenance
• Old off cut from 18mm dowel or similar
• Router
• Rounding router bit

CHOPPING BOARD SET CUTTING

First, you'll need measure, mark your wood and cut your wood as per the cutting list below. However, please see this as a guide as you may want to draw some handles etc.

Here's a few tips to help you:

• Use masking tape so your pencil marks are more visible
• Use a 1m spirit level to help draw your straight line
• Clamp your timberboard to saw horses or similar
• Aim downwards with a hand saw to help give a straighter cut
• Or use a circular saw using the spirit level as your guide and wear safety gear

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHOPPING BOARD SET

Once you've got your cut list sorted as above, use a mug and hold it in each corner.

Then draw around it to create a curve and remove with a jigsaw using a wood cut

TURNING THE HANDLE IN TO A SPAGHETTI MEASURE

To turn the handles in to a spaghetti measure, I measured my typical 80g serving of spaghetti with tape measure

I worked out the circumference, then the diameter. It may be a few grams more or less as I rounded them up to the closest ones available, but here's what I used to help you:

• 20mm = 1 portion, approximately 80g
• 28mm = 2 portions, approximately 160g
• 35mm = 3 portions, approximately 240g
• 38mm = 4 portions, approximately 320g

Note I used the smallest one for the narrowest board and so forth.

To mark these out, I measured and marked the centre line with a speed square, then draw a line from the top of 2 inches.

Then laid one of the flat wood drill bits against the line.

Now lift it up and pierce a hole so you know where to drill your spaghetti measure hole.

Then clamp your wood on some scrap wood while on a work surface and carefully drill your hole.

Note, half way through when the sharp end pierced through, I'd flip it upside down and drill from the opposite side. This was to minimise tear out.

Once I cut my spaghetti measure holes out, I wrapped some 120 grit sand paper around an old off cut of Wickes' 18mm dowel.

I twisted several times to sand any roughness away.

Also, ensure you sand out any any rough areas on the flat surface, including your pencil marks.

Now using a ¼ inch rounding bit in my palm router, I went around my spaghetti measure hole to smooth over.

I made two of three passes, going clockwise, then flipped it over to repeat on the other side.

I then routered all around my chopping boards for a smooth edge.

WHAT FOOD GRADE FINISH CAN I USE ON MY CHOPPING BOARD SET?

When designing my chopping board set, the main question I had was, what finish could I use to ensure it was safe with food? I discovered there are so many products that don't say they are a food grade standard.

Also, there are certain natural food based oils, such as olive oil, that can turn a chopping board rancid, giving food unpleasant flavours.

So to ensure I would be only working with a food safe surface, I brushed my chopping board set with this Worktop Oil Treatment in Natural.

I then left for 20 minutes before rubbing the excess off with a lint free cloth.

For a second coat, I left it for an hour and repeated. I gave my boards three coats because pine is pourous.

This was particularly important to give my timberboard a water and stain resistant finish, allowing it to be still protected while enduring any scratches along the way.

Also, it's important to note that these boards will not be using for chopping meat as I already have a marble piece for that.

These are going to be great additions in my utility kitchen while doing food prep and photo shoots for my food blog, Tastefully Vikkie.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

• DIY tea towel ladder
• DIY knife block set
• Wood turning basics for beginners

PIN THIS DIY CHOPPING BOARD SET TUTORIAL FOR LATER...