Cutting boards are fun, relatively simple projects. Most people could use a cutting board or two, so the make good gifts as well. I have a used a few different techniques to build cutting boards over the years, depending on what tools were available to me at the time. The process is relatively simple, but it's a good opportunity to practice joinery.
The pictures below show some of the stages of build a maple/walnut cutting board. Unfortunately I don't have step-by-step pictures; however, the process goes something like this:
The finished cutting board came out nicely.
Maple and purpleheart - The were my first cutting boards and were all given away as gifts. There was one more in the style of the first one, but I don't have pictures of it. All of these pictures were taken prior to the application of mineral oil. I omitted the handles on later boards as I felt they weren't really practical.
Maple - This was my main cutting board before I built the maple/walnut board below. At about 19" square and 1.5" thick, it's a big board. Great to use, but a pain to wash. The board had been in use for about two years by the time I took these pictures.
Maple and walnut - This has become my main cutting board due to its more manageable size. While it is slightly longer than my maple cuting board, the reduced width makes it much easier to wash.