HOW TO MAKE A DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD

LEARN HOW TO MAKE A DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD USING THIS SIMPLE TUTORIAL. AN EASY DIY TO SERVE APPETIZERS ON IN NO TIME!

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When we think of a charcuterie board, we generally picture a wooden board loaded with delicious foods perfectly arranged.  But, what if we paid a little more attention to the wood underneath all of those tasty foods.  What does the charcuterie board look like?  How was it made?

In this post, we will dive into building our own hardwood charcuterie board made from walnut flooring.

WHAT IS A CHARCUTERIE BOARD?

Before we begin, let’s take a moment to learn what a charcuterie board is! Charcuterie boards are sort of like a cutting board, that are used to serve food. Traditionally a charcuterie board is jam-packed with meats, cheese, olives, crackers, dips and more.

Anything can be served on a charcuterie board, as they make beautiful serving platters. I’ve seen breakfast and dessert charcuterie boards that are just stunning.

TOOLS USED TO MAKE A DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

For this build, we used leftover walnut flooring. Any flooring can be used, although these instructions are specifically for flooring pieces that will connect or fit together.

• Wood
• Glue
• Small paint brush (to help get glue into crannies)
• Newspaper or craft paper
• Sand paper (80-120 grit)
• Clamps
• Table Saw
• Butcher Block Oil
• Old shirts or old rags for oiling
• Fostener’s Drill Bit (to sink screw holes for handles)
• Felt Furniture Pads
• Tack Cloth

BUILDING A DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD STEPS

In the steps below, let’s build a DIY Hardwood Charcuterie board together!

1. PLAN YOUR DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD

Layout the wooden flooring pieces that you have to use for the charcuterie board. For this project, we are using Walnut flooring.

Play with the layout, try different boards and patterns until the desired look is achieved.

Remember it’s very important to plan this out, because once the pieces are glued there’s no turning back.

2. GLUING AND CLAMPING THE DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD PIECES

Lay out some newspaper or craft paper onto your work surface and prepare for glue! Put a bead of glue all across the edges of the boards that touch. Then, using a thin paint brush, be sure to smudge the glue around so it fully covers all of the areas where the two boards will fit in to each other.

After each piece is glued, fit it into place and continue on to the next piece. This part moves quickly, as there is only limited time before the glue begins to set.

Some glue will ooze out of the crevices, that’s okay! We will clean this up later with sand paper.

Ensure your pieces are straight with a level.

Clamp the project together tightly, ensuring the board remains flat and straight. We added some extra weight on top with a large bucket of paint to ensure the charcuterie board didn’t try to lift in the middle due to the pressure of the clamps.

3. TIME FOR POWER TOOLS!

Once the DIY hardwood charcuterie board has tried at least 24 hours, it’s time to trim the edges.

This step will depend on your design, and may not necessarily be needed. We decided to add two ends to our charcuterie board, so we had to trim the edge to allow for the “ends” to be added on. As shown in the images.

The straight edge was measured and marked off with some painter’s tape. We then cut the straight edge using a table saw.

4. NOTCH THE EDGES OF YOUR DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD

Now that the edges are straight, it’s time to cut notches into them so that the end boards will fit on. Again, if you’re not using wooden flooring pieces then this step may not apply. We chose to use these walnut flooring pieces because of their strength, and because they were readily available.

Using the table saw, cut a tongue and groove into the flat edge of the wood to allow for the flooring to fit inside. This will give the charcuterie board increased strength.

5. GLUING THE CHARCUTERIE BOARD ENDS

Once the notch has been made, go ahead and add a bead of glue to the end pieces of the charcuterie board just like we did for the rest of the pieces.

Carefully slide the ends into place, and clamp until dry.

We used our garage as a workshop for the messier parts of this project, and our garage can tend to get damp when it rains. It took 24 hours for the glue to mostly dry in the damp conditions. After the first 24 hours, we brought the project back into the main part of the house and let the dry wood-stove air aid in fully drying these pieces.

Under normal conditions, dry time shouldn’t be more than a day or two. Be sure to double check the back of your glue container for the manufacturer’s recommendation.

6. TRIM YOUR DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD TO SIZE

Now that the piece is fully dry and assembled, it’s time to scale it back to exactly the right size. This hardwood charcuterie board was designed to be a large serving platter, but was just a bit awkward to carry fully assembled. We trimmed a couple of inches off of the end pieces to make it more square.

Charcuterie boards come in limitless shapes and sizes, so get creative!

7. SAND, SAND AND THEN SAND AGAIN

Remember all of that glue that oozed out of the edges of the seams when we assembled this charcuterie board? Well, now it’s time to make that mess history. Begin sanding with an 80 grit sandpaper and work your way down to a finer grit.

The last bit of sanding was done on this piece with a 120 grit sandpaper. When the sanding is done, the hardwood charcuterie board should be completely smooth and free of any glue residue. As my husband says, “When you think you’re done sanding, just keep sanding”.

8. ADDING HARDWARE TO YOUR DIY CHARCUTERIE BOARD

Not only did our DIY hardwood charcuterie board need to be big, but it needed handles to make carrying a breeze too. I found these metal handles at a local hardware store, and they were exactly what I had envisioned for this project.

Reclaimed hardware is often available for purchase online, and if we were to make another DIY charcuterie board I would definitely look for some antique, repurposed hardware! Be resourceful.

Once you have the desired hardware, position it where you’d like for it to be mounted onto the board.

As not to scratch the surface the charcuterie board sits on, we used a fostener’s drill bit to sink the screw heads into the wood before installing the hardware.

Then, we applied soft felt pads to the bottom corners of the charcuterie board for added protection.

9. THE FINISHING TOUCHES

The charcuterie board is nearly complete! Looking pretty nice, right? Well, before we go ahead and load it full of sourdough crackers, it’s time to oil it up.

Using a tack cloth, wipe the charcuterie board clean. It’s important to remove any bits of sawdust, or any other residue.

Once the board is free of debris, it’s time to oil! Applying a food-safe butcher block oil will seal the wood, and make it ready for enjoying.

We used cut up old shirts for this part of the project, but any rags will do. Apply some oil to the charcuterie board and rub in with the rag. The wood is going to absorb a significant amount of oil, so expect to give it at least three coats over the course of a couple of days. When applying oil, try to apply it evenly so that the wood absorbs it more evenly and the end result will be a more uniform coating.

After the third and final coat, allow the oil to set and soak in for several hours. Then, use a paper towel to rub any excess oil off of the board.

10. START ENJOYING YOUR DIY HARDWOOD CHARCUTERIE BOARD WITH THESE IDEAS!

Congratulations! You’ve made your own DIY hardwood charcuterie board! Now, here is some inspiration for what to adorn that beautiful board with.

It’s a good idea to test the charcuterie board for strength. We filled a crock pot with water and this held without a problem. Good to go!