Ombre Striped Cutting Board

Rip your scrap hardwood into strips of varying width, then plane every strip down to a single consistent thickness of 1" — this is the one number in the whole build that has to be exact, since it becomes the board's finished thickness.

Dab a little finishing oil onto each strip to see its true finished color — raw wood tone is a poor preview of oiled tone. Lay the strips out and arrange them from light to dark until you're happy with the order.

Glue and clamp all the strips edge-to-edge in one glue-up, using bar or pipe clamps to keep even pressure across the full width. Let it cure fully before moving on.

Scrape off any glue squeeze-out, then sand progressively from a coarse grit up through 220 — a belt sander speeds up the initial leveling pass if the strips aren't perfectly flush.

If you want something other than a plain rectangle, trace and cut a shape like a teardrop with a jigsaw, then drill a hanging hole with a forstner bit and round over the edges with a router.

Finish the whole board with food-safe butcher-block oil, reapplying periodically as the board sees use.