Making a cutting board for orchid seed

The cutting board is a piece of glass, which has had one side cleaned  very thoroughly. We use 1/4" glass, with the corners rounded to  a 1/2" radius (about the size of a 50 cent piece), and the edges  ground so there are no sharp edges. Clean and polish one side, and  lay it flat on a sheet of newspaper, clean side up.

This side is then sprayed with black spray paint, which produces a surface that will provide great contrast when working with most  orchid seed that is light in color. When dry, hold it up to the light to check for spots you may have missed; absolute coverage is not essential, as the next step will complete the board.

The spray-painted surface will scratch far too easily to be of any use; this side should be covered with a large piece of contact paper, such as that which is used to cover kitchen shelves. Smooth it out to  remove any bubbles, and flip it over. The result will be a piece of glass of whatever size you desire (1' x 2' is pretty good) that will appear absolutely black from above. In order to use it properly, a  light should be placed on the opposite end of the glass so that you can use it to reflect light off of it in order to determine that there are no stray seeds, lint, dust, etc. when you are done cleaning  it between batches.