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Project 01Kitchenware

End-Grain Walnut & Beech Cutting Board

A cutting board glued up end grain from solid walnut and beech. In use it has proven both durable and kind to a knife edge, the whole point of building it end grain in the first place.

Glued with food safe Titebond Ultimate III wood glue, then finished with two coats of natural tung oil and a pass of Victorinox wax.

Enquire about this piece↗ Made to order · Greece only
End-Grain Walnut & Beech Cutting Board, smooth surface
Materials
Walnut, beechTitebond Ultimate III wood glue
Dimensions
570 × 470 × 45 mm
Time spent
30+ hours
Finish
Two coats natural tung oilFinished with Victorinox wax

The Process

Hands sanding a single strip against paper on the bench
01 · Sanding each piece.
Strips clamped on the bench with glue applied, radial arm saw behind
02 · First glue-up.
End-grain strips dry-laid into a checkerboard pattern on the bench
03 · Selecting the pattern.
The checkerboard panel under F-clamps and bar clamps, glue squeezing out
04 · F-style clamps in action, plus horizontal supports.
The panel clamped flat between pipe clamps and wooden cauls
05 · Final glue-up, with reinforced custom made clamps.
A router sled jig set up over the panel on the bench
06 · Router sled setup.
Close-up of torn end grain left by the router sled
07 · Router sled tear-up.
Two orbital sanders resting on the sanded end grain panel
08 · Sanding.
Close-up of a tool filling a small gap in the end grain with glue and dust
09 · Filling a gap with glue and dust.
10 · The crosscut, slowed down.
Close-up of the finished, oiled end grain checkerboard
11 · Finished detail.
The finished board outdoors in the garden, a chef's knife resting on it
12 · Finished, with a 28cm chef knife.
The finished board on a table indoors, dried flowers and a framed print behind
13 · Indoor, finished.

Tips &
Tricks

Everything I would tell someone starting the same board tomorrow. In order, and mostly learned the expensive way.

  1. 01

    Get every glue-up right, starting with the first

    Be patient and detailed at each glue step, and do not treat the first glue-up as any less important than the rest. Each board also needs to be planed very well before it goes in, since a small mistake there compounds through every step after it.

  2. 02

    Spread the glue across the whole surface

    Use a brush or a roller so no spot goes uncovered. An empty patch in the glue only shows up once you cut into the board, and by then it can ruin the whole piece.

  3. 03

    Clean the squeeze-out just before it fully dries

    Wait until the glue is almost, but not quite, dry, then remove it. A chisel makes this easy and clean.

  4. 04

    Fill gaps with glue and sawdust, not filler

    If any gaps need filling, mix the same food safe wood glue with wood dust from the same board and use that instead.

  5. 05

    A custom-made router sled works, but expect tear-out

    A custom router sled is easy to build and makes flattening far easier, though it can tear out the grain. Worth reading this thread on getting a smoother finish before you commit to one.

  6. 06

    Sand, then sand again

    Take your time on the sanding and do a second full pass after the first. Wear hearing protection and a mask throughout.

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