Tools of the Trade: Students Design Custom Cutting Boards

Upper School students unleashed their creativity and craftsmanship skills in the MakerSpace Design Lab as they designed, cut, and assembled their own wood cutting boards from scratch in a hands-on project for their Engineering and Design class.

As a new course offered this academic year, Engineering and Design gives students the opportunity to design and produce creative projects in the MakerSpace Design Lab. The course focuses on the design process, guiding students through ideation, concept development, iteration, and evaluation along with developing key design, prototyping, and fabrication skills. Upper School math teacher and Robotics advisor Robert Link serves as the class instructor.

“The objective of this project was for students to create a functional and aesthetically pleasing segmented wood cutting board using materials from around the room,” said Mr. Link. “Students were given the opportunity to independently create their own design, work on precision and cutting techniques, and follow the process from start to finish.”

To begin, the students brainstormed between two to four design ideas with a focus on geometric patterns and the variation of wood colors as they were using free wood and scrap found in the MakerSpace Lab. Other guidelines included dimension planning, specifically the measurements for the pieces of wood chosen along with considering the functionality and ergonomics of the design. Once the design was approved by Mr. Link, the students were able to begin the cutting and assembly phase using the table saw and band saw.

Following proper safety and precautions with both hearing and eye protection, students precisely cut the wood pieces, arranged the segments to ensure they fit properly, made any necessary measuring adjustments, and glued the pieces together. The last phase was to sand all the surfaces, edges, and corners to create a professional finish. Once completed, all the cutting boards were sprayed with a safe oil and sealing spray to bring out the natural colors.

As part of the class presentation, Mr. Link set up the cutting boards in a museum-style gallery for students to walk around and view the other projects. Students were advised to participate in a peer evaluation and make notes about what they found interesting about each design. For the final assessment, students submitted a write-up detailing the inspirations behind the design, challenges faced in the design or assembly phase, and any adjustments made during the project.

The segmented wood cutting board project serves as the third hands-on assignment for the class. The first two projects included 3D printing and laser cutting. Mr. Link further noted that each student really took their time, and it was evident that each board was thoughtfully crafted and showed their personalities.