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You don’t need a cutting board. In fact, cutting is the original purpose of butcher block countertops. That said, wood is porous and can harbor germs. You’ll need to clean your countertop thoroughly after use. Knives can also scratch the surface. This adds to the patina of the wood, but not everyone likes the look—in which case, you may want to use a cutting board.

The boards between floor joists are called bridging or blocking boards. These are the shortest pieces of wood in the flooring system—with beams being the longest and joists sitting somewhere in the middle—and they serve to reinforce the joists and help provide even support to the flooring above. Bridging specifically helps cut down on uneven and creaking floors in your living area.

If you don’t have a power saw with a blade where you can adjust the angle, you could use a miter box and hand saw to make the cuts. The miter box contains wide slots to support the piece of baseboard and other narrow slots to accommodate the blade of the hand saw. However, it’s tough to make non-standard cuts beyond 30 or 45 degrees when using a miter box.

Yes, Corian® and other solid surface countertops can be cut with standard woodworking tools like a circular saw or a jigsaw, but using the correct blade is crucial for the best results.

The recommended blade is a tungsten carbide-tipped blade, often called a solid-surface planer or triple chip grind blade. This type of blade is hard enough to cut through the material effectively. For a jigsaw, a fine-tooth down-cutting blade should be used.

It is important to note that a diamond blade is not necessary. Diamond blades are designed for harder materials like natural stone, concrete, or brick, and Corian is not a natural stone.

Using blades designed for wood is not recommended as they can cause microfractures that weaken the countertop's edges. While a tungsten carbide blade provides a much cleaner cut, the resulting edge will still be rough and must be sanded and smoothed to prevent microfractures from developing over time.