Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - cutting board - other ideas for nice round piece of oak

I have some freshly cut oak, and one of the pieces is already cut at about an inch and a half thickness. I was thinking about making a cutting (Kitchen) board out of it. What do I do? I have no clue, whether I should let it age, or what to put on it. It still has the bark on it. I am thinking that this should be removed, but how? as not to damage it with knicks and gouges? Any other ideas about what items you can make from nice oak?

If you have a slice out of the oak tree cut horizontally, all that it will be useful for is to watch it split as it dries. Without some preparation, wood generally dries unevenly and splits. It can be soaked green in denatured alcohol then dried in a paper sack to keep it from cracking overmuch after it dries. It is a bit thin for this treatment. This is often done to green wood that is rough-turned on a lathe to allow it to dry in a more controlled fashion before final turning.

Cutting boards are usually made from wood with a tight grain, such as maple. They are usually made from strips of wood glued together after drying. Cutting into a piece of wood with vertical grain might easily result in its splitting.

Wood containing the pith is usually unstable because of the pith.

Hope this helps.

The accuracy of your statement can not be questioned.
As I was walking into the house tonight after work, I noticed that the piece was splitting and cracking.
Thanks for the reply

I seem to remember that oak was not good for a cutting board an that maple was the only wood to use. Here is an article that might help: http://www.woodfinishsupply.com/butcherblock.html