The hardest part of a board this size has to be getting a top surface with no gaps and no filler, especially at 24 by 30 inches, 2.5 inches thick and around 45 pounds. A Cut Above Boardworks got there by flattening the panel on a Onefinity CNC over several passes, squaring it with a track saw, and then sanding both sides with a Rotex. That workflow reads as the sort of thing only stays repeatable after real production experience, and the maker had spent roughly three years building boards full time before this one.
The construction is solid end grain practice throughout. The walnut is 8/4 stock with a border of 5/4 hard maple, and sections were glued up with Titebond III using bar clamps and cauls. Maple strips were joined to the walnut blocks with domino tenons and glue, the glued sections went under a wide-belt sander, and the finished edges got cleaned up with a low-angle block plane and a card scraper. Two details stand out to me: the maple border carries curly, figured grain that lights up against the darker walnut, and there is a chamfer running around the top perimeter and corners.
The personal touch is on the underside, where the client's handwriting was engraved with a message for her husband. The maker called it very cute and kept the exact wording private, which seems fair for a commissioned gift.
One open item: the protective finish is described only as an oil or wax that was poured on and hand-rubbed in, and the specific product never gets named. I would genuinely like to know what was used on a surface this flawless.
Project by A Cut Above Boardworks. Watch it on their YouTube channel: