Laser Engraved Charcuterie Board: Personalized Serving Board Project

Charcuterie boards are bigger and more decorative than cutting boards, so they suit larger designs: monograms, family names, borders and illustrations. They are a strong wedding and holiday gift.

What you need

• A hardwood serving board, often acacia, olive, walnut or maple, sometimes with a handle.
• A laser with a work area larger than your design. Long boards may need to be engraved in sections or on an open-frame machine with a large bed.
• A riser kit if the board is thicker than your machine’s clearance.
• Food-safe board oil.

Steps

1. Measure the board and plan the design to sit inside a clear margin. Handles often make boards sit unevenly; support the board so the surface is level.
2. Level and focus. Uneven boards go out of focus across the design. Check focus at a couple of points.
3. Frame the design to confirm placement.
4. Test on the back or on an offcut of the same species.
5. Engrave using fill mode for text and line mode for fine borders.
6. Clean with a damp cloth and a light sanding of any smoke halo.
7. Oil the whole board, including the engraved area.

Design ideas

• A monogram in the centre with names around it
• A simple border with a family name at one end
• A recipe or quote in handwriting for a sentimental gift
• Location coordinates of where a couple met

Food safety

Engrave the decorative area away from where food will sit, or keep it shallow so it cleans easily. Finish with a food-safe oil. Tell buyers to hand-wash and re-oil the board.

Settings

Use the hardwood material page as a guide and run a test grid on the species you are using. Light woods such as maple give the strongest contrast.

Related projects

• Laser engraved cutting board
• Laser engraved gifts