Single-Slab End Grain Cutting Board: Step-by-Step Guide
George VondriskaYou’ve seen, and maybe made, end grain cutting boards. They are typically made from various hardwoods like walnut, maple, and cherry. That mix gives you kind of a checkerboard pattern of colors when the cutting board is complete. We’re going to do things a little differently on this project. Instead of using a bunch of different hardwood species, the entire end grain cutting board is made from one slab of wood. The result is visually striking! You’ll have a cutting board that’s FULL of end grain bookmatches.
Material choice
It’s best to use close-grained hardwoods for any cutting board. Close-grained means non-porous material. For example, red oak is a bad cutting board choice because of its porosity. Maple, walnut, and cherry (and many other hardwoods) are good choices.
Crosscutting your board
When you crosscut the slab, you’ll save a lot of sanding time by using a good-quality crosscut blade now. A good blade will leave your end grain cuts smooth, which means less sanding on the cutting board. Less sanding is always good.
Glue choice
Titebond III is a great choice for cutting boards. It’s waterproof and FDA-approved for food-related projects. If you have any tiny voids you need to fill, as I did, CA glue is a good choice for filling those.
Finishing
Mineral oil works very well as a food-safe finish. If, over time, the cutting board gets a little “tired” looking, refresh it with another coat of oil.
Make a traditional end grain cutting board
If you want to make a multi-species, multi-colored cutting board, we’ve got you covered with a complete how-to video on the topic.
More info
For more information on Titebond products, visit the company's website or call (800) 669-4583.
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If I'm not mistaken, the first glue-up is also end-grain, so how did you run that through the planner without issues?
After squaring up an end, how is it safe to crosscut the board using the fence. I have always under stood that this was an unsafe practice because of the possibility of kickback
Where it’s a single slab couldn’t you avoid an entire process of gluing and cutting and just go directly to the end grain and bookmatch it granted that would bookmatch the entire strip and not the smaller square sections like you have here. Great video love watching your content!
what kind of wood did you use...Walnut?
Having made a bunch of patterned cutting boards, I thought this would be a nice change of pace. I made a bookmatched board from elm, a wood I haven't worked with before. It turned out beautifully, but six months later, the entire board has warped with a convex arced shape. The joings are even but the whole board has become curved. Can't imagine what I did...the wood acclimated in the shop before and during construction, all parts treated similarly in cutting, planing and sanding, the entire board treated with food-grade mineral oil. The only possible difference is the last coat had some beeswax added to the oil...perhaps I only treated the top. Could that have been the cause? Any thoughts?
Why not use the planer for the final flattening? Also, the finish was too dark to see well in the video. Great project!
Good looking board. Probably my next board. Just have to decide which wood to use. When I make an end grain board I glue an additional 5-6" sacrificial board on each end, plane them flat, and then cut off the sacrificial section. This eliminates tear out and is a lot quicker than sanding. Again, pretty board.
You seem to have some sapwood left on the two outside rips. Is this not a problem?
I'm surprised you didn't show off using the sliding crosscut table you have installed there. I find that is invaluable for those bulky and 'dicey' crosscuts.
I believe it makes an amazing pattern and I could almost see it. Holding the oiled board up to the camera would have allowed a much better view. Thank you for a great idea, I will be having a go myself.