This is a simple project, and really adds a lot of space. Most campers/trailers/rvs come with a cover for your sink, but some are not very useful. Mine was made of the same chipboard/formica as the counter. I couldn't even use it as a cutting board, and after a few years, being by the sink made the chipboard swell up and become 'unsightly'. Of course, if you buy a second hand camper, you might not even get one!
Or you could buy a nicely sized cutting board that coordinates with your sink at Walmart or Tuesday Morning and make your own! I chose plastic, because it's what I already had and it stands up to water, but wood will work. Not sure about bamboo, because it is thin laminated layers, so try it at your own risk.
It's a quick and easy project, it probably took me longer to take the photos and write this post.
1 Get a Cutting Board
Buy or find a cutting board that fits your sink. It should be at least 1/2" thick. I happened to have one laying around that was almost perfect. If I bought one, I would have gone a little wider, but this works fine.
2 Measure
Measure the width of the inside of your sink, top to bottom and side to side
3) Mark
Balance the size of the hole to the size of the cutting board. The simplest way to do this is to subtract the width of the sink from the width of the board. Divide this by two and mark each edge. Do it again for the length.
4) Cut
Set the blade on your table saw to 1/2 the height of your board. Make sure you leave a minimum of about 1/4" thickness of plastic on the edge of your board. (In other words, don't set your blade too high)
Set your rip guide so that the blade will cut at the line for your sink area.
Run the sides of your board across the blade. Move the rip fence in a little and do it again. Keep moving the fence and cutting away the excess board until you have a lip around your board. If you have the measurements the same, you can do all 4 sides with the same settings.
My board was a little too narrow, so I only had to cut the top and bottom. It rests in the sink perfectly, even with just the ends cut.
Note: this could be also be done using a router instead of a table saw.
My board was a little too narrow, so I only had to cut the top and bottom. It rests in the sink perfectly, even with just the ends cut.
Note: this could be also be done using a router instead of a table saw.
That's pretty much it.
If you want to get fancy take a jig saw and cut one corner off in a quarter-circle
like the $30 one.
You can also drill a hole in it so you can hang it out of the way when you're not using it.
Make it any size or shape you want! Get Creative!
Doesn't it look nice? and better than that - it's USEFUL!
Cover your stove with a nice big cutting board, too!! now you have a real work area!
But stop fooling around in the camper and
This is exactly the kind of tutorial I was looking for. Question, how did you glue/attach the cut board to the main board? I may have missed it, I assume it comes after cut
ReplyDeleteMegan -
ReplyDeleteSorry, I didn't see your question until now. There is no 'main board' - it is one board with a groove/notch cut around the underside so that it will fit snugly into the sink.
Hope that helps!
Liz