These are face grain cutting boards made from a variety of woods, shown here, from bottom:

• 1. walnut border and curly maple center click here for close-up
• 2. pang panga border with congona center click here for close-up
• 3. hulabali with ebony pegs(made of only one wood besides the pegs) click here for close-up
• 4. arracanga border and congona center click here for close-up
• 5. walnut border with flame birch center click here for close-up

The ones you haven't heard of are what are known as "lesser known exotics" (LKE), which are tropical woods that don't generally reach the American woodworking market, often because they aren't cut in sufficient quantity for the larger importers and distributors to bother with. But by using these woods in high-end products (and paying good money to buy them) woodworkers like myself help bring much needed revenue into underdeveloped areas, and place a value on the forests there, which, if not valued , are likely to be clear cut and converted to agricultural use. This may be counterintuitive, but it is clear economic reality. For certain areas of Latin America one can say, "Save the rain forest,---buy tropical wood!"

The cutting board ends are fastened with mortise and tenon joints.(See photo below). The middle tenon is glued into its tight fitting mortise, but the end tenons are not glued into their wider mortises, allowing the center part of the board to expand and contract with changing seasons, and after taking on moisture from use. The square pegs pass through slots in the tenons, holding the end tightly to the body of the board, but allowing it's ebb and swell. This is old fashioned fine woodworking technique, something you don't see much in this era of throwaway consumer goods imported from China. These cutting boards are made to last --a gesture of optimism I hope will create ripples of like-minded action. At the very least, it makes for a very nice cutting board!