[Joseph Gwinn]

My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. (The board cannot be thicker than this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) I was looking for 0.5" polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and they
are local, so I went there. It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17 or
so. The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some 0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this was
the original plan.

Joe Gwinn

[PrecisionmachinisT]

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. (The board cannot be thicker than this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) I was looking for 0.5" polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and they
are local, so I went there. It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17 or
so. The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some 0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this was
the original plan.



I think I paid Port Plastics about $20.00 a year or so ago for a 3/4 x 18 x
24 piece of uhmw

--Mostly I use it to divide beef primal sections into smaller roasts, steaks
etc....Generally I just wash it by hand although it will fit diagonally
upright in the Hobart undercounter sanitizer unit if I use a peg style plate
rack.

[Joseph Gwinn]

In article ,
"PrecisionmachinisT" wrote:

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. (The board cannot be thicker than this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) I was looking for 0.5" polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and they
are local, so I went there. It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17 or
so. The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some 0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this was
the original plan.



I think I paid Port Plastics about $20.00 a year or so ago for a 3/4 x 18 x
24 piece of uhmw

--Mostly I use it to divide beef primal sections into smaller roasts, steaks
etc....Generally I just wash it by hand although it will fit diagonally
upright in the Hobart undercounter sanitizer unit if I use a peg style plate
rack.

For my Bosch dishwasher, 18" by 12" by 0.5" fits nicely along one side,
leaving the rest of the space for dishes.

I did try to use a piece of 3/8" UHMW polyethylene as a cutting board,
but right from the start it would not lay flat on the counter, so it was
withdrawn from the kitchen, and now serves to keep my 4-jaw lathe chuck
up off the concrete floor.

Joe Gwinn

[Tom Gardner[_6_]]

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it
down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the
woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the
sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. (The board cannot be thicker than
this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) I was looking for 0.5"
polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and
they
are local, so I went there. It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made
of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17
or
so. The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some
0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this
was
the original plan.

Joe Gwinn

The trouble with plastic cutting boards is that they look like crap in
short order and the wounds in the plastic harbor nasty critters.
Consider laminating some hard Maple strips then machine. It will look
good and last forever.

[Pete C.]

Tom Gardner wrote:

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it
down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the
woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the
sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. (The board cannot be thicker than
this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) I was looking for 0.5"
polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and
they
are local, so I went there. It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made
of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17
or
so. The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some
0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this
was
the original plan.

Joe Gwinn

The trouble with plastic cutting boards is that they look like crap in
short order and the wounds in the plastic harbor nasty critters.
Consider laminating some hard Maple strips then machine. It will look
good and last forever.

The dishwasher does a decent job of keeping the critters out of the
gouges. The real restaurant supply places sell thick 3/4"+ plastic
cutting boards that are intended to be belt sanded now and then when
they get gouged up. Personally I use a bunch or the thin flexible
plastic cutting boards and like the ability to flex them into a chute
when depositing the items I chopped on them into a pan or bowl.

[Winston]

Pete C. wrote:

(...)

The dishwasher does a decent job of keeping the critters out of the
gouges. The real restaurant supply places sell thick 3/4"+ plastic
cutting boards that are intended to be belt sanded now and then when
they get gouged up. Personally I use a bunch or the thin flexible
plastic cutting boards and like the ability to flex them into a chute
when depositing the items I chopped on them into a pan or bowl.

Every couple years, I go to my plastic monger
and buy several sheets of thin HDPE in various
colors. I slice them up into disposable cutting
boards and store them in the kitch.

Just like you, I discovered that I could easily
form the surface into a funnel and dispense
sliced whatever on to a pan or pot.

Rinse it off in hot water and flip it over when
one side gets too ugly.

Toss it when both sides are no longer pretty.
Cheap, convenient and easy.

--Winston

[PrecisionmachinisT]

"Winston" wrote in message
...
Pete C. wrote:

(...)

The dishwasher does a decent job of keeping the critters out of the
gouges. The real restaurant supply places sell thick 3/4"+ plastic
cutting boards that are intended to be belt sanded now and then when
they get gouged up. Personally I use a bunch or the thin flexible
plastic cutting boards and like the ability to flex them into a chute
when depositing the items I chopped on them into a pan or bowl.

Every couple years, I go to my plastic monger
and buy several sheets of thin HDPE in various
colors. I slice them up into disposable cutting
boards and store them in the kitch.

Just like you, I discovered that I could easily
form the surface into a funnel and dispense
sliced whatever on to a pan or pot.

Rinse it off in hot water and flip it over when
one side gets too ugly.

Toss it when both sides are no longer pretty.
Cheap, convenient and easy.


Every so often I lay towel that's been wetted with soapy water and clorox
onto it for about 10 minutes.

[Winston]

PrecisionmachinisT wrote:

(...)

Every so often I lay towel that's been wetted with soapy water and clorox
onto it for about 10 minutes.

I stumbled across this just now from:
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/woodvsplascu.html

"A good procedure for disinfecting both wood and plastic cutting boards,
as well as other surfaces and utensils, is to spray them first with a
mist of vinegar, then with a mist of hydrogen peroxide."

I don't know what the vinegar is supposed to do, but I am a real
evangelist for the power of H2O2, especially the "40 volume" (12%)
liquid (non cream) stuff. That *smokes* microbes RFN.

http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.c...-peroxide.html

--Winston

[[email protected]]

On May 11, 2:39*pm, "Pete C." wrote:
Tom Gardner wrote:

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it
down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. *The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the
woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the
sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. *(The board cannot be thicker than
this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) *I was looking for 0.5"
polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and
they
are local, so I went there. *It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made
of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17
or
so. *The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some
0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this
was
the original plan.

Joe Gwinn

The trouble with plastic cutting boards is that they look like crap in
short order and the wounds in the plastic harbor nasty critters.
Consider laminating some hard Maple strips then machine. *It will look
good and last forever.

The dishwasher does a decent job of keeping the critters out of the
gouges. The real restaurant supply places sell thick 3/4"+ plastic
cutting boards that are intended to be belt sanded now and then when
they get gouged up. Personally I use a bunch or the thin flexible
plastic cutting boards and like the ability to flex them into a chute
when depositing the items I chopped on them into a pan or bowl.

Me too.

[Snag[_3_]]

Tom Gardner wrote:
"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it
down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the
woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the
sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. (The board cannot be thicker than
this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) I was looking for 0.5"
polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and
they
are local, so I went there. It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made
of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17
or
so. The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some
0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this
was
the original plan.

Joe Gwinn

The trouble with plastic cutting boards is that they look like crap in
short order and the wounds in the plastic harbor nasty critters.
Consider laminating some hard Maple strips then machine. It will look
good and last forever.

Which is exactly what I did - twice . Once for the kitchen sink at home ,
once for the little double sink in the camper. Good use for scrap , and I've
made several for wedding gifts . The newlyweds loved 'em .
Use Gorilla Glue ...
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

[Joseph Gwinn]

In article ,
"Tom Gardner" w@w wrote:

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it
down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the
woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the
sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. (The board cannot be thicker than
this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) I was looking for 0.5"
polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and
they
are local, so I went there. It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made
of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17
or
so. The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some
0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this
was
the original plan.

Joe Gwinn

The trouble with plastic cutting boards is that they look like crap in
short order and the wounds in the plastic harbor nasty critters.
Consider laminating some hard Maple strips then machine. It will look
good and last forever.

I must say that I prefer wood, but my wife prefers plastic for all but
cheese. So, plastic it is.

Joe Gwinn

[cavelamb]

Tom Gardner wrote:

The trouble with plastic cutting boards is that they look like crap in
short order and the wounds in the plastic harbor nasty critters.
Consider laminating some hard Maple strips then machine. It will look
good and last forever.



Machine sand with 220 - 320 grit to remove the scratches.


--

Richard Lamb
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~cavelamb
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~sv_temptress

[Larry Jaques[_3_]]

On Wed, 11 May 2011 20:25:53 -0400, "Tom Gardner" w@w wrote:


"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
...
My latest domestic kitchen-support project was to take a very stiff
12"x18" high-density polyethylene (HDPE) cutting board, and trim it
down
to 17.5", so it fits snugly over the stainless-steel kitchen sink,
allowing my wife to cut messy foods over the sink (and disposal).

Trimming the cutting board was easy with bandsaw and an ordinary
woodworking plane. The machining part of this project took maybe 30
minutes, mostly due to trimming and rounding edges with the
woodworking
plane so the board rested snugly and securely on the edges of the
sink.

For the record, ordinary (low density) polypropylene is a bit too
flexible, even if 0.5" thick. (The board cannot be thicker than
this
and still fit in the dishwasher.) I was looking for 0.5"
polypropylene,
which is offered by such web merchants as chefscatalog.com (Item #
24406), but The Container Store claimed to have such a thing, and
they
are local, so I went there. It turned out to be 3/8" thick and made
of
HDPE, not polypropylene, but seemed stiff enough, and cost only $17
or
so. The Chef's Catalog description is "high-density polypropylene",
which does not exist, so I bet it's HDPE as well.

If this modified 3/8" HDPE board doesn't work out, I'll buy some
0.5"
polypropylene stock and make a cutting board to fit the sink; this
was
the original plan.

Joe Gwinn

The trouble with plastic cutting boards is that they look like crap in
short order and the wounds in the plastic harbor nasty critters.
Consider laminating some hard Maple strips then machine. It will look
good and last forever.

Man, Scarysharpen your knives and stop cutting into the boards so
hard. They last forever!

--
Woe be to him that reads but one book.
-- George Herbert

[Steve B[_10_]]

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote

(The board cannot be thicker than this
and still fit in the dishwasher.)

What do you butcher that is not cleanable by normal means in hot soap and
water?

Steve

[Joseph Gwinn]

In article ,
"Steve B" wrote:

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote

(The board cannot be thicker than this
and still fit in the dishwasher.)

What do you butcher that is not cleanable by normal means in hot soap and
water?

Lazyness.

Joe Gwinn

[Larry Jaques[_3_]]

On Wed, 11 May 2011 19:28:39 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:


"Joseph Gwinn" wrote

(The board cannot be thicker than this
and still fit in the dishwasher.)

What do you butcher that is not cleanable by normal means in hot soap and
water?

Turn it into a sideboard top, preferably Mission style.

--
Woe be to him that reads but one book.
-- George Herbert