Background: I'm building a kitchen island/counter for the apartment I'm renting. I'm probably going to be here not longer than another 5 years: so I'm not necessarily looking for a permanent solution. I have some experience with wood working from habitat-for-humanity-type volunteer work, but this is my first personal project. I'm borrowing all the tools from a friend (table saw, orbital sander, etc.)I'm basing my plans on this youtube video for a $20 pine wood kitchen island and this project, sans drawers. The only difference I'm really making is that I would like to use hardwood for the top, boards glued together with a food-safe wood glue then sanded down and finished with mineral oil. I do have a few questions before I commit though:Most DIY cutting boards I find seem to cut the hardwood into 1 or 2 inch strips before gluing them together. Is that just for looks or is there a reason for it? If I got a bunch of 4x1 or 8x1 hardwood boards, could I just glue those together and skip the extra cuts?Is there going to be a noticeable difference between a pine counter top and hardwood? Or is it going to be cosmetic at most? We'll probably be using a cutting board for chopping, but the top for things like doughs, bread making, etc. (This may be a better question for r/askCulinary but I figured I would see if anyone here has experience.) via /r/DIY http://ift.tt/2B0fKtT
