Cutting board surface...what to use??

[Rayban]

Will I be OK using a hard rubber surface, about 1/4" thick to surface a cutting/hole punching table?

I was wondering what other surfaces are used my members of this forum.

Thanks,

R

[Raven]

I mainly use a hard plastic cutting board intended for kitchen use, does the job for a while and is cheap to replace

[bruce johnson]

I think rubber is too "grabby" for cutting and punching for the most part. I use HDPE for cutting and LDPE for punching.

[Bree]

I now use Novolene and it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's one of the boards they use for clickers. It's not expensive and it's practically indestructible. Doesn't dull my punches or blades either.

http://www.leathersupply.com/downloads/cat...amp;Setters.pdf

[mulefool]

I use polyethylene butcher block cutting board. I have 4 X 8 sheets to cover my cutting tables. It was about 130 for a sheet. I really like it but I've never used anything else , so there could be something better out there. Chris

[Go2Tex]

I use polyethylene butcher block cutting board. I have 4 X 8 sheets to cover my cutting tables. It was about 130 for a sheet. I really like it but I've never used anything else , so there could be something better out there. Chris

Same here, only I went with the smaller sizes and pieced them together because of the price. I only covered the one side of the cutting table because that's the side I did all my cutting on. Now I wish I had both sides covered. It's time to order more so eventually I'll get it right.

As for punches, I use that Tandy poundo board. Hard rubber stuff. Works great but it does grab the punch if you go too far into it. Terrible for cutting, though. I do all my cutting on the poly board.

[randyandclaudia]

put a piece of 1/4" steel under your plastic cutting board. You'll notice a wonderful difference.

[Go2Tex]

put a piece of 1/4" steel under your plastic cutting board. You'll notice a wonderful difference.

You must be referring to punching holes, etc.? Yeah, I use a bench anvil under some thick leather scrap sometimes and it really helps. Just having a good firm, solid bench helps too. I can tell the difference if I move the work directly over a post. No bounce.

[badger]

I have a heavy Oak 8' by 4' workbench. Self healing mats cover 60% of it. I do all my layout and cutting on this surface.

For punching holes and slots, I use a 12" by 16" half inch Polyboard with my granite slab underneath. Solid.

Cheers,

Karl

[TrooperChuck]

I use a small polyethylene cutting board for all my punches. For knife work, I bought one of those blue plastic (I don't know what kind of plastic it is) cutting sheets that are sold in the sewing section of craft stores. They come in lots of different sizes.

I like it because it is marked with inches and various angles, which help me with laying out my lines. But, it does dull my knives a little more than the poly board does.

[Reg Marek]

When you're cutting leather with a round knife you shouldn't be cutting into anything but your leather. When cutting out saddle parts (or anything else) I hang the leather over the side of my bench and absolutely never let my round knife touch the bench. I was taught this many years ago by a good saddlemaker and now I can't imagine taking a good sharp knife and cutting into any surface other than the leather itself. It does take a little practice whenever you change from one method to another but I promise you that once you start doing this you will cringe at the thought of cutting into any type of surface with your knives again.

[Go2Tex]

When cutting out saddle parts (or anything else) I hang the leather over the side of my bench and absolutely never let my round knife touch the bench.

Now that I would like to see. I bet it would take some practice.