Documenting the patience, precision jigs, and material science behind bespoke geometric cutting boards and fine timber creations. A pure maker’s log exploring every cut, clamp, and oil reveal.
Documenting design, precision joinery, and the material transformations of bespoke boards.
A high-contrast 45° diamond-oriented checkerboard cutting board. Constructed from European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) and tropical Purpleheart (Peltogyne) planed to 30mm × 22mm, cut to 30mm length on the miter saw (30×30×22mm), and sanded to a dead-flat 20mm final thickness.
A 45 cm × 24 cm × 2.5 cm board creating a hypnotic tumbling cubes illusion. Utilizes a strict three-value lighting gradient: dark Swiss Walnut for the shadow facet, warm European Beech for the half-tone facet, and luminous Alpine Spruce for the top highlight facet.
A 25 cm × 15 cm heart-shaped serving board carved from a single solid piece of dense Purpleheart (Peltogyne). Features deeply curved edges sculpted on the router table, an oven bake between 120°C–150°C for up to 60 minutes to awaken electric violet tones, and sealed with Swiss beeswax Holz-Butter.
A 40 cm × 30 cm × 2.5 cm hybrid river board crafted from Mediterranean Olive slabs (Olea europaea) with natural live edges. Cast in a custom melamine mold across five separate pours (swirling blue mica base to crystal-clear top layers) for a 3D optical river effect, wet-sanded through 1500 grit, polished with micro-compounds, and sealed with Swiss Holz-Butter.
A substantial 45 cm × 27 cm × 2.5 cm end-grain butcher block handcrafted from 135 individual European Walnut (Juglans regia) blocks. Features vertical wood fibers that cushion and preserve high-end chef knives, an alignment-caul glue matrix, an integrated perimeter juice groove, and the studio's "Handmade in Zürich" laser-engraved hallmark.
Combining complementary wood species requires understanding density, shrinkage coefficients, and cellular structure under knife impact.
Native to Central Europe and Switzerland. Renowned in kitchen craft for its neutral scent, tight non-porous grain, and natural antibacterial qualities. Deepens to golden amber under oil.
An extraordinarily dense exotic hardwood. Exposure to UV light and air triggers natural photochemical oxidation, blooming into a breathtaking, royal magenta-violet that intensifies upon oiling.
The aristocrat of native Swiss timbers. Boasts rich, velvety dark chocolate brown tones and stable dimensional behavior. Provides the essential deep shadow in 3D illusions.
Native alpine softwood (Rottanne) renowned for musical tonewood resonance and luminous creamy ivory tones. Serves as the brilliant top highlight plane in 3D perspective pieces.
Celebrated for its dramatic wild grain swirls, natural oil content, and warm golden tones with deep brown streaks. Pairs exceptionally with deep-pour epoxy rivers and live edges.
Why geometrical end-grain boards are both a technical challenge and a culinary heirloom.
Unlike edge-grain boards where blades sever wood fibers, end-grain boards orient fibers vertically like the bristles of a brush. The blade slips between fibers, self-healing over time and keeping kitchen knives razor sharp.
Clamping diamonds diagonally induces lateral hydraulic shear: wet glue acts as a lubricant, causing rows to slip out of square. We combat this using staged sub-assemblies and custom melamine cauls.
Every single square block must be cross-cut with zero tolerance variation. Even a 0.2mm error across an 8-block run cascades into a 1.6mm misalignment, ruining the checkerboard crispness.
Wood end-grain acts like vertical drinking straws. We submerge the finished piece in pure USP mineral oil until fully saturated, sealed with warm organic beeswax board butter for water repellency.
Upcoming builds in design, jig prototyping, and timber selection.
Bookmatched local Swiss Elm slab with blind-drilled neodymium rare-earth magnet cavities and a French cleat wall mounting system.
A shop-made CNC-machined phenolic squaring frame with threaded brass inserts to simplify angled and chevron board glue-ups.
A nested chevron herringbone serving platter combining Swiss Ash and smoked European Oak with integrated recessed brass handles.
