This can vary but is typically 1/8″ or so. The 16″ number is arrived at by dividing our final dimension (18″) by our current board thickness (2″), multiplying by our desired thickness (1.75″) and rounding up to the nearest inch.ĭepending on what saw you will be cutting with, also add in some cushion for the saw kerf. In reality I would probably go to 13″ or so wide to allow room for trimming. So we will need to start with a board that is 12″x16″. I want to round up to 1.75″ thickness to allow some room for flattening. So let’s say we are using 8/4 (2″) thick lumber and we want our end grain block to be 12″ wide, 18″ long, and 1.5″ thick…. Now that you have clean boards that are the desired thickness it is time to cut them to length and layout your board construction.

Now if you want a thicker, 2″ strip in your end grain boards (this is what I use most often), then you need to use 8/4 wood to accomplish this. So if you want 1″ strips of wood making up your final board than thickness all of your wood to 1″ (or 4/4 if you want to speak the lingo). You want your boards as thick as you want them wide in your final construction. Whether you do the work yourself or have your hardwood dealer do it, now is the time to thickness your boards.

Once you have that you are good to go and can make your parallel cuts on the table saw or using a circular saw. There are various methods involving jointers, planers, routers, tracksaws, etc that can accomplish this. Either way, your boards need to have at least two flat and square sides. Maybe you want an edge of sapwood on your Walnut boards to try to make a diamond patterned end grain cutting board?ĭepending on your tool selection in your shop, you may want to purchase the wood to build your end grain cutting board from a hardwood dealer that has the tools and abilities to take your rough stock lumber and turn it into square and straight boards. When shopping for wood for your end grain board, pay special attention to the end grain of the boards since this is what will show. The most common hardwoods that you see cutting boards made from in North America are the most common domestic hardwoods: Walnut, Cherry, and Maple.

Some may be great for a normal face grain cutting board or edge grain butcher block but not so good for an end grain cutting board. There are a variety of different wood species that can be used for cutting boards.

Free 3d cube cutting board plans