What types of wood are best for making cutting boards?
Best wood for making a cutting board
- Thread starter Kerrbuggs1
- Start date
I've always used walnut and maple. Cherry is good too. I've read you want to be careful of some exotics due to not food safe compounds in the wood.
I've used Maple, Walnut, White Oak, Cherry, and Purple Heart successfully in cutting boards, both long and end grain.
Thanks. Could you explain that last sentence for me?
End grain cutting boards seem to last longer, they don't show the knife cuts and scratches as much, and they are easier on your knife edges. Plus they look better, imho.
Plus, with end-grain boards, you can achieve some really neat 3D looking effects. Google mtmWood- he has almost two dozen step-by step, detailed YouTube videos that show how to make some really cool 3D boards. He is from Russia and speaks Russian, but his videos have English captioning and he shows Sketch-Up drawings that have dimensions (in metric) . He also used to sell plans on his website, but so far I have been able to get the dimensions and enough info from his videos to build them without plans. His business has grown over the years (so have his two sons who often appear in his videos)- he started with a small home shop, grew into a larger home-based commercial shop, and now has a small factory, several employees and two small retail stores (kiosks) in Moscow and some other city. He also sells online.
My first two basic cutting boards. A simple long grain hard Maple and Walnut board and more complex end-grain one also made from Maple and Walnut (both un-oiled):
My first 3D end-grain cutting board. What you see changes with the viewing position and angle, and how long you stare at it. Hard Maple and Walnut finished with two baths of mineral oil then with an application of a heated 4:1 mix of mineral oil and pure beeswax (all food-safe).
Something a little more complex. A 3D end-grain zig-zag wall(?) made from hard Maple, Walnut, and Mahogany. Same finish.
Finally, at the bottom, is my most complex 3D end-grain cutting board to date. Maple, Walnut, Cherry. Same finish as above. At the bottom and to the left of the zig-zag is a different zig-zag from White Oak and Walnut with an end-grain walnut border- to me it looks a little like books stacked on edge(?). In the upper left is a smaller board made with leftovers from the large complex board. Leftovers and sometimes two full boards are common because it is often easier to prepare longer pieces of stock than needed.
The full size White Oak and Walnut cutting board:
My first two basic cutting boards. A simple long grain hard Maple and Walnut board and more complex end-grain one also made from Maple and Walnut (both un-oiled):
My first 3D end-grain cutting board. What you see changes with the viewing position and angle, and how long you stare at it. Hard Maple and Walnut finished with two baths of mineral oil then with an application of a heated 4:1 mix of mineral oil and pure beeswax (all food-safe).
Something a little more complex. A 3D end-grain zig-zag wall(?) made from hard Maple, Walnut, and Mahogany. Same finish.
Finally, at the bottom, is my most complex 3D end-grain cutting board to date. Maple, Walnut, Cherry. Same finish as above. At the bottom and to the left of the zig-zag is a different zig-zag from White Oak and Walnut with an end-grain walnut border- to me it looks a little like books stacked on edge(?). In the upper left is a smaller board made with leftovers from the large complex board. Leftovers and sometimes two full boards are common because it is often easier to prepare longer pieces of stock than needed.
The full size White Oak and Walnut cutting board:
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Yes, I have made a few without a drum sander. You just have to be very careful on your glue ups to keep everything in-line. Then you sand with ROS or belt sander depending on how good of a job you did gluing.
A few cutting board considerations:
- End grain boards are 5x the work of a long grain board. Part of that work is fun (designing, ripping, gluing), most of it is not fun (sanding)
- For every 10 minutes you spent aligning your saw (fence, sled, etc.) you'll save 2 hours of sanding end grain
- Even a drum sander takes forever with end grain, the only thing that REALLY speeds things up is a wide belt sander
- Some people use a planer to flatten an end grain board. This can be a tricky operation, and flame wars have erupted over whether this is safe/ smart
- Most people do not know, understand, or appreciate the difference between a long grain and end grain board
- Many people are hesitant to cut on such a beautiful board, which means the advantages of end grain are moot
- Don't underestimate the value of simpler, smaller boards. When I'm cutting bulk for dinner, I use the big cutting board, but for a tomato, I want small board that's easy to handle and quick to wash. Don't be afraid to start with those
- Small boards are excellent for getting rid of scrap
- Nothing beats end grain in terms of creativity, patterns, complexity, etc. Alan's boards are great examples of what's possible (nice work Alan!)
- Good tutorial on making an end grain board:
I think it would be extremely difficult to make an end grain cutting board without a planer but a drum sander is sometimes nice to have. Like, with any project you also need a good blade (I mainly use a ripping blade) and an accurate rip fence on your table saw. I use a planer to prepare stock and to dimension subassemblies- 3D end grain cutting boards can require multiple glue-ups and re-sawing.
I always run my end grain cutting boards through my planer after all glue-ups are done. First, I glue a long grain strip on the back edge to prevent large tear-out/chip offs. I've never had a problem with a cutting board "exploding" It could be an issue if you attempt to take too much off in a single pass, using brittle wood, don't use enough glue during assembly, or attempt to plane a thin board. Remember, though the eventual pieces will be cut short during the final step, all glue-ups are long-grain to long-grain- the strongest glue joint.
I typically make my end grain cutting boards between 1-1/2" to 1 3/4" thick. Since the cutting boards are usually around 12" - 14" wide, I make multiple extremely light passes through the planer and drum sander if I'm using that. You must remember a drum sander is for surfacing not for thicknessing! The amount of time I spend sanding with a ROS depends on the condition of my planer blades and/or sanding drum abrasive. You don't need to go all crazy. I start with 60 or 80 grit and rarely go above 160 or 180 grit. I often stop at 120 grit. Too much sanding heat will cause the glue joints to expand and you'll feel them when you run your hands and fingers over the board.
I always run my end grain cutting boards through my planer after all glue-ups are done. First, I glue a long grain strip on the back edge to prevent large tear-out/chip offs. I've never had a problem with a cutting board "exploding" It could be an issue if you attempt to take too much off in a single pass, using brittle wood, don't use enough glue during assembly, or attempt to plane a thin board. Remember, though the eventual pieces will be cut short during the final step, all glue-ups are long-grain to long-grain- the strongest glue joint.
I typically make my end grain cutting boards between 1-1/2" to 1 3/4" thick. Since the cutting boards are usually around 12" - 14" wide, I make multiple extremely light passes through the planer and drum sander if I'm using that. You must remember a drum sander is for surfacing not for thicknessing! The amount of time I spend sanding with a ROS depends on the condition of my planer blades and/or sanding drum abrasive. You don't need to go all crazy. I start with 60 or 80 grit and rarely go above 160 or 180 grit. I often stop at 120 grit. Too much sanding heat will cause the glue joints to expand and you'll feel them when you run your hands and fingers over the board.
FWIW I made a maple and walnut "long grain" cutting board in shop class in junior high and my mom enjoyed using it for about 25 years until one of the glue joints finally gave out. This 25 years of use included a lot of soaking in the sink with the dirty dishes.
That said, it was only a simple striped pattern. A checkerboard type of pattern using long grain is going to be weak where the end grain edges meet.
That said, it was only a simple striped pattern. A checkerboard type of pattern using long grain is going to be weak where the end grain edges meet.
I run end grain through my planer. I have a dw375 and with blades or shelix head it’s absolutely no issue. Light passes. I’ve planed 60+ end grain boards of all sorts of species. Exotic and domestic. The whole don’t plane end grain is so overblown.
Sanding end grain is slow work. It's hard not to sand one spot a little lower and if the end product is not perfectly flat, you'll definitely know it when you try to use it. It's possible but you have to be meticulous about it. If you do it, I'd recommend scribbling pencil marks over the whole top and stop sanding as soon as it disappears. If using a planer or hand plane you need to add sacrificial boards around an end grain cutting board.
I just completed an end grain cutting board with the cut offs from my brother’s pre-fab butcher block countertop. Perk of this recycled board is that I had to do one glue-up. His kitchen sink slot was just enough for a cutting board about 1in thick. But there were some pieces with voids which had to be trashed. I have to give props to Michael Matthews though for letting me use his drum sander: my glue up was not very flat.
I have also made an end grain board with maple which has lasted a few years without needing refinish.
I have also made an end grain board with maple which has lasted a few years without needing refinish.
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@MarkE why are end grain cutting boards "easier on your knife edges"?
The sharp edge of the knife slips more easily between the end grain fibers of the wood as apposed to rubbing across the long grain so the knife edge does not wear as quickly.
I have heard end grain described as similar to a bundle of straws.
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