Often times it will take several passes in order to get good edges (this is why you need to leave extra material when rough sizing). This allows us to rip the strips so they have parallel edges. The jointer will give us a straight edge square to a flat face. Before you cut down the rough sized lumber you need to get a true edge and face. This is probably very basic for some of you, however, for beginners this step is worth mentioning. I like to leave at least 1/8″ to 3/16″ of inch extra so I have plenty of wiggle room. When you rough size the material be sure to leave extra for planing and finishing.
The material I used for the board was cut down from 8/4 material so I used my bandsaw to split the boards in half and make them thinner. This can be down with a table saw and/or bandsaw. The first step in building the basket weave cutting board is cutting material down to a rough size. In order to accomplish that you really need to take your time and use the proper tools in the proper sequence. The key to successfully building a basket weave cutting board is making sure that you have very precise cuts so the “puzzle” fits together with perfect joints.
