Multi-use Cutting Board-Serving Tray and Trivet

Instructions

I started with a 3/4" Teak board that was 6 1/2" wide, clearly not enough for this. I edge glued 2 pieces with a hefty Maple spline for strength. This necessitated a rib up the center of roughly 1 1/2" wide. I would have preferred a single wider and thicker board. I ended up with a 13" square. The SVG files all assume a final product of 12 7/8". There are no custom anchor points. Be careful when placing the files! In some cases I used the engraving bit to assure proper placement before real cutting. You may well need to scale these files to suit your project. You may also be able to eliminate the rib. You want to be sure the pockets for the removable inserts don't cut through to the pocket for the fixed insert on the back. BTW, the fixed insert is made in 3 pieces because I didn't have maple stock wide enough. I wish now that I'd used 3 pieces of maple rather than 2 with a cherry "rib" in the center. It sorta matches the front but... Order of operation: Establish a reference corner. You will need this when turning the board over. Cut the fixed insert and it's pocket first. This will to some degree govern how deep the removable inserts can be. Cut the incised text if you so choose. Remove the cutting board and put aside. Eat a few Gummy Bears as a reward. Cut the removable inserts. In my case the Corian was 1/2" thick and I could not accommodate that so I shaved 1/8" off using a 3/4" cutter and 1/16" deep cuts. This is why I would have liked to use a thicker board. You can cut all the inserts with one scan and grid operation if you set up a stop for placement. Replace the cutting board into cutting position and grid using the same edges used for setting up the back. Using the Cutting-Board-Front template cut the pockets for the removable inserts. Be sure the depth of cut ends up the same as the thickness of the inserts. I used the 1/8" cutter to "outline" the pockets then the 3/4" cutter to hog out the material. I found 1/8" depth of cut worked well without straining the tool or me. I cut the pockets with a .07" offset then decreased that .01" per pass to get the exact fit. Cut the finger lift pockets with the core box bit. Cut the circumference. Clean up the pocket floors as needed as these will be seen. Eat more Gummy Bears. Glue the fixed insert into the back. I used JB Weld for this as it is strong (so it adds strength to the web between the front and back pockets) and it conforms to irregular surfaces. Plane and sand the fixed surface. Use the trim router with 3/8" round over bit around the circumference on both sides. Sand as needed. Apply finish. Consume remaining Gummy Bears. (Thanks for the joke PRUSA Printers.)