I am now engraving small bamboo cutting boards. Shown here are the six inch by eight inch size. I have done four of them to date.
On order are a dozen twelve inch by nine inch bamboo cutting boards. I have no design ideas at present. I will have them “in stock” for when I do have a project. Lead time on delivery is a week but I can have the smaller ones delivered overnight.
There is no requirement to fully engrave the total area of the board. The engraving is an enhancement or a display message of some sort. It’s not really an artist canvas needing full coverage.
The engraving makes the surface less food safe as it opens the grain or pores of the bamboo. I am treating the finished boards with mineral oil, a recommended practice. That helps seal the surface from absorbing food particles and juices.
The recommended practice is the un-engraved side of the board is best used for food preparation. In real use that may not always be the use-case. In my opinion any natural surface used for food preparation needs to be properly maintained as standard practice.
Cutting boards have long been a popular media for engraving. No reason to be overly concerned about actual use if they are kept clean. The engraving makes them more of a display item and conversation piece than a daily heavy duty prep surface.
I just engrave them. How they are used is not my concern. <grin>
This project is but one example of LASER engraving. It raises the question about how many bamboo cutting boards are really needed by the home user? I haven’t started a business. Putting twelve in stock may be a life time supply. My spouse Gloria can find ways of gifting a few of them. Her thought-process gears are turning…
Next plan is to find other uses for my LASER. It’s like owning a tool and looking for a job to do. The folks selling the machine show many items that can be cut or engraved. The question not answered is how much of that stuff needs to be done to sustain activity as a regular need?
Engraving a few cutting boards is fun and interesting, but there is a limit for how many. I am looking for the next application. I have no guilt about my $300 LASER toy. It doesn’t need to create a return on the investment. I can use it however and whenever I want and there is where the fun comes.
Lets see… What do I try next?
Wife Gloria is a quilter. These are quilt square designs 
Son Steve is a semi-professional drummer. More professional than semi… 
Daughter has two dogs and three cats. So of course she loves them.
