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Cutting boards as a career option - Kizar_Sozay - 05-17-2022
Remember several years ago there was a company selling some wooden blocks to support your sound system's audio cables so they didn't lay on the floor and destroy the fidelity of your music. Seems like they were priced at about $150 each.
This came in my e-mail from Amazon today. I came so close to pulling the trigger:
Solid construction by skilled craftsman
Genuine hard rock maple
reversible end grain
Iconic checkerboard pattern
What's not to love?
An actual John Boos cutting board
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - fredhargis - 05-18-2022
In all fairness, you do get free delivery...and that's probably motor freight.
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - FS7 - 05-18-2022
Boos blocks are not something I will ever understand. $1000 for an oversized (absolutely no reason to be that big) end grain cutting board.
They're placed on TV cooking shows everywhere, which probably helps.
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - AHill - 05-18-2022
Most Boos cutting boards end up in commercial kitchens. They are very well constructed, that's for sure. Is a 30x30x6 board worth that much? Maybe. Only 1 of the 4 reviews was from someone who actually used the board, and he loved the board. They all hated the cost. All that said, I don't think a commercial kitchen is going to balk much at the cost. It's a one time purchase that will outlast most of the cooks doing prep work.
I say make one yourself and report back whether the cost of materials (wood, glue, sandpaper, etc.), your labor, and cost to ship it are anywhere near the $1000 price on Amazon. A similar, but smaller board (24x24x4) with a base sells from $1161 directly from Boos.
Another thing to consider is this board weighs 150 lbs. That's a lot of weight to maneuver around your shop. Many of us have table saws that can handle the weight easily, but how about planers or belt sanders? Then you have to package the beast, transport it to your freight carrier, etc.
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - Kizar_Sozay - 05-18-2022
(05-18-2022, 06:18 AM)AHill Wrote: Most Boos cutting boards end up in commercial kitchens. They are very well constructed, that's for sure. Is a 30x30x6 board worth that much? Maybe. Only 1 of the 4 reviews was from someone who actually used the board, and he loved the board. They all hated the cost. All that said, I don't think a commercial kitchen is going to balk much at the cost. It's a one time purchase that will outlast most of the cooks doing prep work.
I say make one yourself and report back whether the cost of materials (wood, glue, sandpaper, etc.), your labor, and cost to ***** it are anywhere near the $1000 price on Amazon. A similar, but smaller board (24x24x4) with a base sells from $1161 directly from Boos.
Another thing to consider is this board weighs 150 lbs. That's a lot of weight to maneuver around your shop. Many of us have table saws that can handle the weight easily, but how about planers or belt sanders? Then you have to package the beast, transport it to your freight carrier, etc.
A table saw doesn't need to carry much weight to make that. You rip some 5/4 then crosscut it into six inch lengths. It can be planed or joined if several sections IF anyone wanted such a thing.
Why would a commercial kitchen want one except for show.
They are hard to move
They require special care
They are unsanitary
Chef's only use a few 100ths of the surface and using it makes it unsanitary.
Thank you, a plastic set of three
costs $20 and you can throw them in the dishwasher. No employee time is used to the special care for preservation or maintenance. A restaurant owner will spend more than $20 a day just in labor costs.
Guess I'm just not in the Williams Sonoma crowd.
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - Kizar_Sozay - 05-18-2022
(05-18-2022, 06:18 AM)AHill Wrote: I say make one yourself and report back whether the cost of materials (wood, glue, sandpaper, etc.), your labor, and cost to ***** it are anywhere near the $1000 price on Amazon. A similar, but smaller board (24x24x4) with a base sells from $1161 directly from Boos.
It occurs to me just now that I've made butcher block countertops for my model home (as an option) and did some when I owned a cabinet shop.
I started with a 12' DF 2x10 which I center drilled 1" holes 12" o.c.
I then ripped it in half put 30" ends on it and I had my glue jig to set on sawhorses.
I went to the yard and bought 5/4 Soft maple which I ripped to 1 1/4". I also cut some down to 4" for backsplash and 2.5" for a drop front.
I bought a roller setup with a metal glue holder shaped like a drywaller's mud pan. Fill it with some Tite-Bond 2. flip all the boards on their side. Roll the glue out, roll the boards back tighten the clamps from center out. The pipe clamps lay in the half-holes of the jig I made. Tighten slowly and use a plastic mallet to get the slats near flush as they want to roam as the clamp tightens.
When dry I'd take a scraper tool and zip off the squeeze out. Load it in the truck and take to a place with a 4' belt sander. They'd do a whole kitchen worth for $50 down to 100 grit. back to the shop for some more sanding.
I'd fit them to the cabinets and then cut the joining parts with draw bolts. Used the angled hardware to bolt to the cabinets. Add the backsplash and drop front, rub it down with mineral oil and it looked like a million bucks. No other builder was even offering the option. Best thing was it cost less than tile (popular at the time) by more than 2/3. We'd put the kitchen sink in and I'd take the cutout to the shop and present the customer with a cutting board. Literally it was cheaper than buying formica blanks at the box store.
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - Bob10 - 05-18-2022
(05-18-2022, 09:33 PM)Kizar_Sozay Wrote: It occurs to me just now that I've made butcher block countertops for my model home (as an option) and did some when I owned a cabinet shop.
I started with a 12' DF 2x10 which I center drilled 1" holes 12" o.c.
I then ripped it in half put 30" ends on it and I had my glue jig to set on sawhorses.
I went to the yard and bought 5/4 Soft maple which I ripped to 1 1/4". I also cut some down to 4" for backsplash and 2.5" for a drop front.
I bought a roller setup with a metal glue holder shaped like a drywaller's mud pan. Fill it with some Tite-Bond 2. flip all the boards on their side. Roll the glue out, roll the boards back tighten the clamps from center out. The pipe clamps lay in the half-holes of the jig I made. Tighten slowly and use a plastic mallet to get the slats near flush as they want to roam as the clamp tightens.
When dry I'd take a scraper tool and zip off the squeeze out. Load it in the truck and take to a place with a 4' belt sander. They'd do a whole kitchen worth for $50 down to 100 grit. back to the shop for some more sanding.
I'd fit them to the cabinets and then cut the joining parts with draw bolts. Used the angled hardware to bolt to the cabinets. Add the backsplash and drop front, rub it down with mineral oil and it looked like a million bucks. No other builder was even offering the option. Best thing was it cost less than tile (popular at the time) by more than 2/3. We'd put the kitchen sink in and I'd take the cutout to the shop and present the customer with a cutting board. Literally it was cheaper than buying formica blanks at the box store.
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - msweig - 05-19-2022
Actually more recent studies have shown that the wood ones are just as sanitary if not better than the plastic ones. But you are correct that they are not dishwasher safe. And an end grain board definitely feels better too use that a plastic one (at least in my experiences, and several chefs I know agree).
That said when it is that thick it can definitely fall in showpiece category. Put that on a normal countertop and the working height is way too high (unless you are really tall). So it requires a special stand.
Last of all I've seen some Boos blocks recently (but not that one) and have not been particularly impressed. Filler used, etc. I've read some stuff saying they have gone downhill over time, but haven't looked at older ones to verify.
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - jteneyck - 05-19-2022
You can put any price you want on something. Getting someone to buy it is the hard part. But I have a young guy I sell wood to who knows so little about joinery it's embarrassing, but he sells simple edge grain cutting boards for $150+ all the time to people who follow him on Twitter and Instagram. It's all about Marketing and he's good at it with his target audience. I looked at his Twitter feed once and the banter drove me nuts in a couple of minutes. Not for me. I'll stick with word of mouth and the old-fashioned internet.
John
RE: Cutting boards as a career option - Cian - 05-19-2022
(05-18-2022, 10:07 PM)Bob10 Wrote:
What a great journey and video! Thanks for sharing that.