Tutorial

THE BASICS OF
MAKING
END GRAIN CUTTING BOARDS
mtmwood
2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
End grain cutting boards: Advantages and disadvantages…………………… 3
Stability of wood………………………………………………………………………. 7
Wood species for making end grain cutting boards……………………………. 11
The process of making an end grain cutting board…………………………….. 33
Calculations……………………………………………………………………………. 35
Wooden panels………………………………………………………………………… 39
Assembling the wooden panel……………………………………………………… 45
Gluing…………………………………………………………………………………… 54
Clamps………………………………………………………………………………….. 57
Applying glue………………………………………………………………………….. 66
Gluing a wooden panel………………………………………………………………. 68
Assembling and gluing a cutting board…………………………………………... 74
Sanding…………………………………………………………………………………. 93
Finishing………………………………………………………………………………... 98
Rules of care of the end grain cutting board…………………………………….. 105
Solution to problems…………………………………………………………………. 106
End grain cutting boards disinfection…………………………………………….. 107
© MTMWOOD, 2015
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END GRAIN CUTTING BOARDS:
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
First of all I should say about terms.

There are three main cuts of the tree trunk: transvers cut, radial cut and tangential cut.
So there are three surfaces. In other words they are called “end grain”, “edge grain” and
“face grain” surfaces.
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End Grain Cutting board is a board, wherein the wood grains are perpendicular to the
cutting surface, and not parallel as in edge cutting boards. Wood fibers directed from
the bottom up and the knife cuts as if would stump of a tree.
End grain cutting boards have advantages and disadvantages.
1. The end surface of the wood is more firm and long-lived. Hardness of end grain
surface is almost one and half times higher than hardness of edge grain and face
grain surfaces.
The hardness of some woods, kgf/cm2
End grain Edge grain Face grain

Linden 190 164 164
Spruce 224 182 184
Aspen 247 178 184
Pine 270 244 262
Larch 377 280 278
Birch 392 298 298
Beech 571 379 402
Oak 622 521 463
Hornbeam 835 615 635
2. Knives stay sharp longer and need to sharpen rarer. Wood grains are
perpendicular to a cutting face, and the blade of the knife as it moves apart the
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grains. When you use an edge grain board, a knife just cut through grains, which
leads to fast dulling of a knife.
3. It is clear when you use a board many times, grains are cut through in several
places and tiny piece of wood get in food. That is why all the edge grain boards
are noticeably "cut through" in the center.
4. The End Grain Cutting Board less subject bacterial contamination, because after
cutting grains "close" and oil coating protects against bacterial penetration inside
the grains. Grains are cut through in an outer board and bacteria get inside the
grains without problems.
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5. In general, wood boards are more hygienic than plastic or glass.
Number of bacteria on cutting boards during some hours
Source: http://www.kitchensource.com/cutting-boards/chopblockhygiene.pdf
End grain cutting boards have disadvantages:

1. They are thicker and heavier, because the shrinkage in radial and tangential
directions is much greater than along the grain and the board can bend.
2. They require more care.
3. As usual only one surface is used as a working surface.
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STABILITY OF WOOD
The wooden cutting boards live in the extreme conditions: they become wet then dry
several times a day. So the wood for cutting boards must be as stable as possible.
Shrinkage and swelling happens under moisture content changes.

Shrinkage is the process of reducing the size and volume of the wood due to reduced
amount of water in it. Shrinkage of wood caused by content of water in the dry air, and
there is process of returning to the environment of the adsorbed water from the cell
walls of the wood. Thickness and size of the cell walls reduce because of
disappearance of the absorbed water. Excessive shrinkage of the board may be the
cause of the occurrence of cracks; shrinkage of a one side may be the reason of
bending the cutting board.
Swelling is the process of increasing in size and in volume of wood due to increasing
water in the wood, which depends on content of water in moist air or water.
It is necessary to use for cutting boards only kiln dried wood, the moisture content no
more than 8%. Under air moisture increasing wood moisture increase too, and swelling
occurs; shrinkage occurs under moisture reducing. Different wood species react
differently to moisture changes.
Averages changes of wood when the wood moisture changes from 8 to 9%

and vice versa
Wood species Average changes of wood, %
Walnut 0,20
Ash 0,22
Birch 0,24
Oak 0,25
Maple 0,30
Beech 0,32
The cutting board enters the customer’s house humidity conditions. You don’t know
them if you are not a customer. So you should set the air humidity conditions in your
shop at the “normal” level – 40-60%.
The moisture content depends on air humidity and temperature.
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The change in the wood moisture content in %, depending on the climatic
conditions
(the numbers in the table indicate the wood moisture content)
Relative air Temperature

humidity %
10°C 15°C 20°C 25°C 30°C 35°C 40°C (104°F)
(50°F) (59°F) (68°F) (77°F) (86°F) (95°F)
90 21,1 21,0 21,0 20,8 20,0 19,8 19,3
85 18,1 18,0 18,0 17,9 17,5 17,1 16,9
80 16,2 16,0 16,0 15,8 15,5 15,1 14,9
75 14,7 14,5 14,3 14,0 13,9 13,5 13,2
70 13,2 13,1 13,0 12,8 12,4 12,1 11,8
65 12,0 12,0 11,8 11,5 11,2 11,0 10,7
60 11,0 10,9 10,8 10,5 10,3 10,0 9,7
55 10,1 10,0 9,9 9,7 9,4 9,1 8,8
50 9,4 9,2 9,0 8,9 8,6 8,4 8,0
45 8,6 8,4 8,3 8,1 7,9 7,5 7,1
40 7,8 7,7 7,5 7,3 7,0 6,6 6,3
35 7,0 6,9 6,7 6,4 6,2 5,8 5,5

30 6,2 6,1 5,9 5,6 5,3 5,0 4,7
25 5,4 5,3 5,0 4,8 4,5 4,2 3,8
Wood moisture changes are less than air moisture changes. The table shows that, for
example, when moisture changes from 50 to 40% at a temperature of 20°C (68°F),
wood moisture reduction is 1.5%. Temperature has a much lower impact on the wood
moisture. For example, increase in temperature from 20°C (68°F), to 30°C (86°F) at a
relative moisture 50%, reduce the total moisture content of only 0.4%.
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The most accurate method to control air humidity is using psychrometric hygrometer. All
electronic devices produce large deviations.
A psychrometer consists of two thermometers, one that is dry and one that is kept moist
with distilled water on a sock or wick. The two thermometers are thus called the dry-
bulb and the wet-bulb. At temperatures above the freezing point of water, evaporation of
water from the wick lowers the temperature, so that the wet-bulb thermometer usually
shows a lower temperature than that of the dry-bulb thermometer. When the air
temperature is below freezing, however, the wet-bulb is covered with a thin coating of
ice and may be warmer than the dry bulb.
Relative humidity is computed from the ambient temperature as shown by the dry-bulb
thermometer and the difference in temperatures as shown by the wet-bulb and dry-bulb
thermometers. Relative humidity can also be determined by locating the intersection of
the wet and dry-bulb temperatures on a psychrometric chart. The two thermometers
coincide when the air is fully saturated, and the greater the difference the drier the air.
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The best relative air humidity in the shop is from 40% to 60%. I try to keep the humidity
from 45% to 55% in my shop.
It is not easy in winter heating season. So I use an air humidifier.
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WOOD SPECIES FOR MAKING END GRAIN CUTTING BOARDS
It is better to use hardwoods for making end grain cutting boards. Do not use coniferous
species of wood, they contain a lot of pitches.
A lot of hardwoods can be used for making end grain cutting boards. I can tell you only
about woods, which I really used in my work.
Choose woods that have the less shrinkage. When you combine woods choose woods,
which have about the same shrinkage.
Scientific name. You can meet a lot of “maples”, “oaks”, “walnuts” and other common
names. So you should know the scientific name of the wood, because the differences
between, for example, “maples” are very big.
Average dried weight – weight of the wood at moisture content of 12%.
Janka Hardness - the amount of pounds-force (lbf) or newtons (N) required to imbed a
.444″ (11.28 mm) diameter steel ball into the wood to half the ball’s diameter.
Crushing strength - the wood’s maximum crushing strength when weight is applied to
the ends of the wood parallel to the grain.
Shrinkage - the amount that the wood shrinks when going from its green to ovendry
state.
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European oak

Scientific name - Quercus robur
End grain (20x20 mm)
Edge grain (20x20 mm)
Average dried weight – 43 lbs/ft3 (690 kg/m3)

Janka Hardness: 1,120 lbf (4,980 N)
Crushing strength – 6,720 lbf/in2 (46.3 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial – 4.7%, Tangential –8.4%, Volumetric – 13.0%, T/R Ratio: 1.8
Rating for use in making cutting boards – 5

One of the best woods for end grain cutting boards. European oak cutting boards are
durable, stable, gentle to the knife blades, quickly kill bacteria, good-looking.
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European Ash

Scientific name - Fraxinus excelsior.


Ash end grain cutting boards are durable and are good for hard everyday use.
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Hard Maple

Scientific name - Acer saccharum


The most popular wood for cutting board in North America.
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Black Walnut

Scientific name - Juglans nigra


Very stable wood. Becomes very dark after oiling.
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Black Cherry

Scientific name - Prunus serotina Ehrh.

Janka Hardness: 950 lbf (4,230 N)
Crushing strength – 7.110 lbf/in2 (49.0 MPa)

Very stable, but a little bit porous wood.
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Far East walnut

Scientific name - Juglans mandshurica.

Soft and porous wood.
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European maple

Scientific name - Acer platanoides L

Shrinkage: No data available

Stable wood, good for knife blade. The color becomes grey after oiling.
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African Padauk

Scientific name - Pterocarpus soyauxii


Very stable wood. Good for making pattern. Becomes very dark after oiling.
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Movingui

Scientific name - Distemonanthus behthamianus


Very low shrinkage.
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Purpleheart (Amaranth)

Scientific name - Peltogyne spp.


Very hard and dense wood. Not good for knife blades. Hard to sand. After sawing the
color is gray, but some time after oxidation with oxygen becomes purple. After
processing oil became dark purple.
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Sapele

Scientific name - Entandophragma cylindricum


Stable and good looking wood.
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Makore

Scientific name - Tieghemella heckelii, Tieghemella Africana.

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 4+
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Mahogany

Scientific name - Khaya, spp.


Very porous, but stable wood.
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European beech

Scientific name - Fagus sylvatica


Very hygroscopic. One of the highest shrinkage. Tends to crack.
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Kosipo

Scientific name - Entandrophragma candollei


Porous.
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Zebrano

Scientific name - Microberlinia brazzavillensis


Has very large pores. Has a characteristic, unpleasant smell when being worked.
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Hornbeam

Scientific name - Carpinus betulus L.


Hard and solid wood. Has very high shrinkage. The hornbeam boards may bend.
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European lime

Scientific name - Tilia x europaea

Janka Hardness: 700 lbf (3,100 N)

Very soft and porous wood.
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You have to choose the wood for the board based on the purpose of use.
Woods sorted by weight
Crushing Volumetric
Weight, Hardness, strength, shrinkage,
kg/m3 N MPa %
European lime 535 3100 44,8 12,0
Black cherry 595 4230 49,0 11,5
Mahogany 640 4760 49,0 10,0
Kosipo 640 52,1
European maple 645 4510 59,0
Far East walnut 650
Black walnut 655 4490 52,3 12,8
Sapele 670 6280 60,4 12,8
Makore 685 5350 57,2 12,4
European oak 690 4980 46,3 13,0
Hard maple 705 6450 54,0 14,7
European beech 710 6460 57,0 17,3
Movingui 720 5680 61,3 10,0
European ash 720 6580 51,0 15,3
Hornbeam 735 7260 50,5 18,4
Padauk 745 8760 56,0 7,6
Zebrano 805 8160 63,5 17,8
Purpleheart 905 11190 83,7 10,6
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Choose woods with the same shrinkage if you use some woods to get a pattern and
want to make stable board.
Woods sorted by volumetric shrinkage
Crushing Volumetric
kg/m3 N MPa %
Padauk 745 8760 56,0 7,6
Mahogany 640 4760 49,0 10,0
Movingui 720 5680 61,3 10,0
Purpleheart 905 11190 83,7 10,6
Black cherry 595 4230 49,0 11,5
European lime 535 3100 44,8 12,0
Makore 685 5350 57,2 12,4
Black walnut 655 4490 52,3 12,8
Sapele 670 6280 60,4 12,8
European oak 690 4980 46,3 13,0
Hard maple 705 6450 54,0 14,7
European ash 720 6580 51,0 15,3
European beech 710 6460 57,0 17,3
Zebrano 805 8160 63,5 17,8
Hornbeam 735 7260 50,5 18,4
Kosipo 640 52,1
Far East walnut 650
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Choose not very hard woods if you care about your knife blades.
Woods sorted by hardness
Crushing Volumetric
kg/m3 N MPa %
European lime 535 3100 44,8 12,0
Black cherry 595 4230 49,0 11,5
Black walnut 655 4490 52,3 12,8
Mahogany 640 4760 49,0 10,0
European oak 690 4980 46,3 13,0
Makore 685 5350 57,2 12,4
Movingui 720 5680 61,3 10,0
Sapele 670 6280 60,4 12,8
Hard maple 705 6450 54,0 14,7
European beech 710 6460 57,0 17,3
European ash 720 6580 51,0 15,3
Hornbeam 735 7260 50,5 18,4
Zebrano 805 8160 63,5 17,8
Padauk 745 8760 56,0 7,6
Purpleheart 905 11190 83,7 10,6
Kosipo 640 52,1
Far East walnut 650
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THE PROCESS OF MAKING AN END GRAIN CUTTING BOARD
End grain cutting boards can be made of the one or of several species of wood.
Oak board.
Maple, purpleheart, movingui, padauk board.
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Here is the classic version of the end grain cutting board - light maple framed by dark
walnut.
Let's try to make a similar board. We will use hard maple and black walnut.
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Maple and walnut is a very popular combination of wood for end grain cutting boards.
Maple is harder wood, walnut softer. Maple has a higher shrinkage.
Maple and walnut mix well, give a contrasting pattern and look great.
The board dimensions are 350x270x40 mm.
CALCULATIONS
Prepare drawings. You need a small amount of wood. I will show you how to make this
board with the use of 12” (304-mm) planer.
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Planer is necessary to make the maple and walnut panels at the first stage, and then to
plane end grain cutting board. In other words, both the panel and one of the sides of
finished boards should not exceed 300 mm.
Width of the maple part of the board is 210 mm, the length – 290 mm. Let’s make the
thickness of all strips equal 30 mm. Therefore, we need seven 290 mm strips - 210/30 =
7.
The thickness of the cutting board will be 40 mm. So we need to get 7 strips 42 mm
width. The planer will remove 2 mm. The thickness of the standard saw blade is 3.2
mm. Therefore, we have to prepare the panel of not less than 42*7+3.2*6 = 313.2 mm.
Let's make 350x295x32 mm panel.
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Similar calculations should be done on the walnut. We need only 4 strips 42 mm wide.
So the length of the panel is 42 * 4 + 3.2 * 3 = 177.6 mm.
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Let's make 300x295x32 mm panel. It is dangerous to handle the shorter boards on the
most machines.
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We have a drawing, know the dimensions. Let's get started.
WOODEN PANELS
Usually an end grain cutting board is made in two stages. The first stage – makings
wooden panels, the second stage – making a board.
Prepare lumber. Cut off the pieces of needed length.
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Process the lumber at the jointer. Properly install the jointer guard. Plane the lumber
concave side down to prevent unnecessary waist.
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You should always plane lumber along the grain to prevent tearing the wood fibers.
Then plane one edge.
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You should get 90 degrees angle.
Do the same with the walnut lumber.
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I have a powerful 20” (500 mm) JET planer, but I want to show how to make this board
with the use of small 12” (304 mm) Makita planer. Makita 2012NB is the table planer. It
is quite powerful for that class but it is not able to remove too much material in one
pass.
Plane the second side at the planer. The second edge will be cut off at the table saw.
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Planer knives are at the top. Therefore, we must follow the direction of the fibers to
obtain a flat surface. Wood fibers must be directed backwards and upwards relative to
the feed direction of the workpiece.
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ASSEMBLING THE WOODEN PANEL
Then you should cut your lumber at the strips and assemble the panel.
There are two main methods of assembling the panel before gluing:
1. You can cut the lumber at the narrow strips, plane the edges and then glue the
panel.
2. You can also cut the lumber at the narrow strips, rotate each strip 90 degrees
and glue the panel.
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I always use the second methods to save lumber. You have a minimal loss of material.
You already have two flat sides and you just have to plane glued panel at the planer.
We have to cut the lumber along the grain, so we need to use the saw blade for fast
cutting with fewer teeth. For example, the saw blade must have no more than 24 teeth
with the diameter of 250 mm.
So change the saw blade.
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Set the 32 mm width of the cut in order to get the 30 mm thick panel after planing.
Cut maple and walnut strips.
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We want the cutting board to be strong and stable. So we should follow the rules of
gluing the adjacent strips of the wooden panel.
A bit of the theory.

I have already mentioned, that the tree trunk can be cut in three ways: cross or
transverse cut, radial cut and tangential cut. So we can get three types of surfaces: end
grain, edge grain and face grain.
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So there are two main types of lumber:
The tangential cut is also called slab-cut or plain-sawed (plainsawn) lumber. The radial
cut is also called quarter-sawed (quartersawn) lumber because the log is actually cut
into quarters. The tangential cut is more economical, so very often you can buy only
plainsawn lumber.
The lumber changes its dimensions and shape during shrinkage and you should take it
into account.
The shrinkage takes place in three directions:
• Tangential direction - wood movement along the growth ring, which is the
direction of greatest movement. It is about 10% when the moisture content
changes from 30 to 0%.
• Radial direction - wood movement perpendicular to the growth rings. It is about
4-5%.
• Longitudinal direction - wood movement parallel to the grain of the wood (i.e. up
and down for a standing tree). This is very small number - 0.1%-0.3%.
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The shape of lumber also changes.
The face grain lumber becomes curved.
The edge grain lumber shrinks larger at one side.
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So there are two rules of gluing:
1. Rule of gluing face grain lumber: the curves of annual rings of adjacent strips
should be directed in opposite directions.
Otherwise, the panel will bend during shrinkage. This will create internal stresses in the
cutting board and the board may crack.
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2. Rule of gluing edge grain lumber: the sapwood should be glued to the sapwood,
the heartwood – to the heartwood. In other words, the curves of annual rings of
adjacent strips should be also directed in the opposite directions.
I had face grain lumber. When I cut the strips and rotated them 90 degrees I got edge
grain strips. So I should place the strips in this order:
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Mark the panel by the reversed letter "V" in order not to mix the strips when carrying
and gluing.
The walnut panel.
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GLUING
The gluing is very important in making end grain cutting boards. It is much more
important than in making furniture and other wooden items. Cutting boards live in
extreme conditions - periodic wetting, then drying. So the wood expands and shrinks
very often.
You should know that the glue joint is not “the cement seam between the bricks”.
The wood gluing is the process of cohesion - the intermolecular attraction between
like-molecules. The glue only helps the wood molecules join with each other. So the
thickness of good glue joint should not be more than 0.1 mm.
Glue for cutting boards must have two main features:

1. It must be food safe.
2. It must have high water resistance.
I use only Titebond III glue for making cutting boards. This glue:
• Waterproof - Passes ANSI/HPVA Type I Specification
• Superior strength
• Longer open time
• Lower application temperature
• Resists solvents, heat and mildew
• Water cleanup & Non-toxic
• FDA approved for indirect food contact
• Sands easily without softening
• Safer than traditional waterproof glues
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It is also possible to use Titebond II if you can’t find Titebond III but don’t even try to use
Titebond Original. It is a waste of wood and time. Don’t save on glue.
Polyurethane glue has good water resistance, but it is not food safe.
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Two-component epoxy glue adheres firmly wooden parts, but it contains in its
composition resin, which is harmful to humans. In addition it forms too hard glue seam
that blunts knife blades.
So the best choice is Titebond III.
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CLAMPS
The clamps are used to compress gluing parts. There are many types of clamps, but
not all types can be used to make cutting boards.
The clamps for making end grain cutting boards should have some features:
1. They should do a large pressure.
2. They should be strong and should not be bent.
Here is a common type of clamp (so called QUICK-GRIP One Hand), but it does not
allow to create a significant effort to firmly connect two parts.
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This clamp is used mainly for furniture assembly. It is weak and uncomfortable to use.
You have to rearrange the detent for different widths.
This clamp is weak, fragile and unstable.
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Standard F-shaped clamp allows you to create a large effort. But it has not very strong
base, so under strong compression panel may bend.
Reinforced F-shaped clamp behaves a little better. It has rigid parts, which support at
an angle of 90 degrees. It allows you to create a lot of effort.
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Finally the best, in my opinion, clamps for cutting boards - the pipe clamps. They are
called «pipe» because they are screwed onto a metal pipe.
They are sold in such form.
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You buy additionally a metal pipe with thread at both ends. Thread on both sides need
to replace in case of damage of the threads and to lengthen the clamps.
They come in two sizes – to the pipe 3/4 inches and to the pipe 1/2 inch.
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Why are these clamps good for making end grain cutting boards?
First, head clamp is very tough, made of cast iron and withstand the rigorous 90-degree
angle.
Second, they can create a very large effort. Good gluing is obtained when the thickness
of the glue joint is not more than 0.1 mm. Gluing the large surfaces need strong
compression, and these clamps can provide this compression.
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Third, the pipe itself is very rigid (especially 3/4 inches) and the panel does not bend
under high compression.
Fourth, the jaw of the clamp moves easily and firmly fixed in any place of the pipe.
Fifth, the clamps can be easily extended. You cannot buy the clamp length of 3 meters,
which is sometimes needed. You can hookup two pipes using pipe coupling.
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The disadvantage of the pipe clamps is their instability on the bench. That is why I use
special stands.
They are made of polypropylene pipes, which are used in heating systems.
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They are strong enough and have a wall thickness of 6 mm.
They sag a bit with a large force, and then take a straight shape.
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Dried glue can be cleaned very easily from the pipe by wooden block. I use an ash
stick. This is not possible with the metal or wooden stands.
I also hammered small nails in the wooden legs for that they did not move on the bench.
APPLYING GLUE
It is very convenient to apply glue by a paint roller, not by a brush. I use a roller length
of 100 mm and a diameter of 15 mm.
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It is very important to choose the right length of pile. As a result of experiments I have
concluded that the most appropriate pile length is 12 mm.
Why a paint roller?

1. It allows you to apply the glue more quickly, and glue does not have time to dry
before clamping.
2. Roller applies glue more evenly, which leads to a better gluing.
3. This method of application saves glue.
4. The paint roller does not need to be washed after work. Just keep it in a
container with water.
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GLUING A WOODEN PANEL
Prepare wooden strips.
Rotate all (but not the first) strips by 90 degrees. The glue must be applied only on one
side of the strip.
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It is difficult to explain how much glue should be applied. I usually apply glue in a zigzag
form. The thickness of the glue jet is about 5 mm, the distance between the apexes of
the zigzag - approximately 100-150 mm.
Assemble the panel.
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Then start clamping. The distance between the clamps should not be more than 200
mm. Therefore I use three clamps for 400 mm panel - one above and two below. Do not
tighten the first clamp strongly, just fix it. If the first clamp is tightened strongly, the panel
can bend.
Overturn the panel and use another two clamps. Tighten strongly all three clamps and
try to create equal pressure on both sides. Remember that a good glue joint thickness
should not exceed 0.1 mm.
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The main criterion for good gluing - the glue should squeezed out by a thin strip along
the entire length of the glue joint.
You can see that the panel is completely flat. Check the flatness of the board visually or
with the use of the metal ruler.
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Sometimes you can discover that one or some strips are not aligned. Some
woodworkers clamp the edges of the panel to prevent it to bend.
I think it is a bad idea. The wooden strip is curved when it has internal stresses due to
wrong drying. These stresses don’t disappear when you clamp the edges. The panel
can crack or warp in the future.
When I get slightly curved strips I use only my own weight to make them straight while
clamping.
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When the strips are very curved it is better to replace them or leave them curved and
get thinner panel. Panel will be flat if you create equal pressure on both sides. And side
clamps can not hold the panel if it starts to bend under pressure of powerful pipe
clamps.
After one hour you can remove the clamps and wipe the squeezed glue, but I usually do
not do it. Dried glue can be well removed during planing. I do not use special tools for
removing dry glue, because Titebond III has special additives that prevent blunting of
the blades. It saves time.
Glue also the walnut panel.
Wait a night.
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ASSEMBLING AND GLUING A CUTTING BOARD
The next day remove the clamps.
Plane the panels. The panel must be completely flat and smooth.
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You should make end grain strips to assemble the board. We have to cut the panel
across. So install the saw blade for fine cutting with an increased number of teeth.
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For example, 250x40Tx30 mm.
The thickness of the cutting board will be 40 mm. So set the 42 mm cutting width.
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Cut 7 maple strips and 4 walnut strips.
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Rotate each strip 90 degrees around the central axis.
Add two walnut strips.
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NB! The border strips also must be end grain. Don’t even try to glue edge grain and end
grain strips together. It is a bad idea!
It is easy to do and it looks good. But you should remember that tangential shrinkage is
about 100 times greater then longitudinal. So you will get something like this in a while.
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Then rotate every second maple strip 180 degrees from right to left. This “brick pattern”
makes the board stronger.
Sometimes you can meet little knots, black dots, etc. on the strips.
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Just rotate the strip and place the defects on the bottom side of the board.
Glue the board.
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You may put pine sticks on both sides to provide a more uniform pressure while
clumping. Do not tighten the first clamp strong. Put another two clamps and tighten all
clamps, creating equal pressure on both sides.
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Check the appearance of glue strip along the whole glue line.
Wait a night.
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Saw off two edges of the board. You will saw along the grain, so change the previous
saw blade to saw blade for fast cutting.
Saw off the edges.
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Sand the edges at the belt sander.
Add two walnut strips.
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I usually use a shorter roller for the small gluing. This saves glue.
Glue pine sacrificial rails for planing.
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Front rail is necessary to ensure a smoother entry the board into the planer. Planing the
end grain surface is a hard work. Planer knives can be broken with a small shift.
Back rail is needed to prevent chip out at the exit the board out of the planer.
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Glue the walnut strips and the sacrificial rails to the board.
Wait 24 hours before planing.
Plane the board. The planer experiences high overloads planing end grain. Therefore it
is necessary to remove only 0.2-0.3 mm of material in one pass. Also it is necessary to
reduce this value twice during the last pass.
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You can see that the pine sticks defended the edges of our cutting board from damage
during planing.
Saw off the edges of the board. Make the width of all walnut strips the same.
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Make finger grips. You can make them in three ways.
The first method is to use a router. I'll show it on the defective birch board. Install an
endmill bit and insert a copying ring.
Make the template out of plywood or MDF. Lower router bit to the desired depth - about
10 mm + thickness of the template.
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Fix the template by clamps and make the grip in several passes.
Remove only 3-5 mm of material in one pass. You should do 3-4 passes.
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You can do the same at the router table. Set the bit to the desired height (10 mm) and
place the supports at both sides. Press the corner of the board to the right support and
do a pass. Shifts the rip fence by 3-5 mm after each pass.
I always make the finger grips at the shaper. This is the fastest way.
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SANDING
There are several stages of sanding.

First sand the edges of the board along the grain. I sand another board at this picture.
Then sand the top and bottom surfaces at the drum sander. I use a dual drum sander.
The sandpaper combinations are (80 + 120) or (100 + 150) grit.
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First sand the bottom surface, then the top.
Sand the board with the orbital sander.
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You can use different combinations of sandpaper to get the surface you like. Grit
number of subsequent paper must not exceed the previous more than twice.
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Round the corners by sanding block.
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You can also use router or router table.
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FINISHING
Finally process the board by mineral oil. You should firmly close the pores of the wood
and prevent the ingress of moisture into the fibers. You should treat the board by food
grade mineral oil to prolong service life, to protect against bacteria and to make
beautiful appearance of a board. Mineral oil is tasteless and odorless. Sunflower, olive,
and other food grade oils cannot be used for treatment, because after a while they
become bitter and will transmit this taste to foodstuff.
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Pour about 20-40 ml of oil. During the first treatment don’t be afraid to use oil in excess.
Wood will absorb as much oil as it can. The deeper oil penetrates into the pores of
wood the better.
Rub the oil into the board doing the circular motions.
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Let the board absorbs oil during 5-6 hours and repeat oiling.
I use mineral oil bath for 10-15 sec.
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Then apply a hot mixture of mineral oil and beeswax (4:1 ratio).
You can make this mixture yourself. Take four parts of mineral oil and one part of
beeswax.
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The melting point of beeswax is 63-65°C (145-149°F). Heat the mixture in any way. You
can use a water bath (bain-marie) or microwave.
Quickly treat the board. The mixture becomes thick in 2-3 seconds.
After 1-2 hours remove the excess of mixture by towel or cloth and the board is ready
for use.
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Usually the end grain cutting boards have small feet. Use rubber or silicon feet and
stainless steel screws.
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The board is ready.
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RULES OF CARE OF THE END GRAIN CUTTING BOARD

1. Do not leave the board wet and even more so in the water for a long time;
2. In no case do not wash your end grain cutting board in the dishwasher and do not place
in a microwave oven or broiler;
3. At least once a month (and in the winter heating season more often) treat board with
mineral oil to fill the wood pores and prevent drying of the board;
4. Use a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax for a more stable and reliable cover;
5. Do not use edible oils for board treatment, such as sunflower, olive, etc., because over
time they will become bitter and give this taste to foodstuff;
6. Remember, it is required to treat with protective measure all sides of the board,
because treatment of just one side of the board may lead to bending of the board.
Time for next treatment of a board depends on many factors, but the main thing is
moisture variations in the house. A board can stay untreated for months under small
variations of moisture and nothing will happen. However, in wintertime heating season
relative air humidity greatly decrease. At this time, it is necessary to treat board with oil
more often. There is no strict rule how often you should do it. Nevertheless, we can give
you few advices.
- A board becomes noticeably brighter

- Light spots starts to appear in some places of a board
- To the touch board becomes “dry” and rough
- On the side face of a board microcracks appeared, which are invisible, but you can
feel them with fingers
- Water or liquid products does not stay on the surface of the board (as it should be),
but it is absorbed inside the board.
All the signs are that it is time to good treatment of cutting board with mineral oil.
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SOLUTION TO PROBLEMS

Seasonal moisture gradients inevitably lead a small change in the wood volume. Of
course, these changes does not matter for cutting boards, nevertheless we have to
consider it in practical use of the board.
In wintertime, house heating is reason of moisture decrease, and wood dry out; in
summertime, moisture is increasing and wood is splaying out. In addition, it is clear you
should not keep boards within easy reach of heating appliance. The only way to protect
wood of moisture gradients is covering with slushing oil. In cutting boards case it is
necessary to quite often (preferably not less than once a month) smear with mineral oil
board surface to fill wood pores. With proper care, board will serve you at least 10
years.
Problem Reason Problem solution

Small cracks Increased drought, absence Melt 1 part wax to 4 parts of mineral oil and fill
at edges of the of regular oiling these cracks with composition.
board
Cracks along Increased drought The same thing like in previous case
the length of
board
Bending board Imbalances of moisture You should oil the concave side of the board every
content in the wood as a day. If during 2 weeks the board does not
result of only one straighten, you should cover convex side with
lubricating surface polythene film and oil concave side every day.
Foodstuff Wet foods too long lain on Dry up the board and grind with fine emery paper.
spots the board Treat with oil. Gradually the spots will disappear.
Gouges, dents External impact of solid Grind with emery paper until inequalities disappear,
objects. and treat with oil.
Dark stripes of The natural wood color Does not require a correction.
oil change as a result of
regular treatment with
mineral oil
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END GRAIN CUTTING BOARDS DISINFECTION
If you are interested in saving your board usability we recommend you to treat the board
with mineral oil. This procedure is advised to prevent mold, growth of bacteria and odor
absorbing. We do warn you – use only mineral oil but vegetable one due to its
rancidification.
To treat the board with oil just pour and rub it on all surfaces with soft clothe. Please, do
not be afraid of overflowing – wood cannot soak up more oil than it able to soak up.
Then wipe the excesses with cloth.
It is possible to improve the board with adding beeswax on oil. The beeswax for a long
time is used to make wood smooth, soft, waterproofing and more durable.
To get a composition take 4 parts of oil and 1 part of beeswax. There is two ways to mix
ingredients:
Heat the oil in bain-marie then add beeswax chips;

Put the mixture in the microwave to 30-45 sec.
Then rub up the mix. Unlike with pure oil, cooling it fills in each pore and split, achieving
smooth, firm and durable surface that yield to polishing with clothe. Making a point – the
composition could be heated and used as effective as before.
It is necessary to treat the board with oil (or mixture) at least 3 times with 5-6 hour
interval – the oil should soak in. The treating procedure is recommended to repeat
monthly.
General servicing rules are here:
Let’s get acquainted with another ways of care:

1. Vinegar - strong white vinegar can be used to disinfect your cutting board keeping it free
of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus. It is mostly advised to people with
chemical allergy.
2. Hydrogen Peroxide – use 3 percent solution to rub the board after treating it with
vinegar.
3. Bleach – if you need to disinfect the wood cutting board you can do so by mixing a
diluted bleach solution. Prepare a mixture of 1 liter of water and one cup bleach. Wipe
the cutting surface down with your bleach solution then rinse off. Immediately wipe the
board off and set it upright to dry. Any bacteria will not survive in dryness.
4. Salt and Backing Soda - spread Salt or Baking Soda over the cutting surface of the
board. Allow it to stand on the board to a couple of minutes before brushing off and
rinsing.
5. Lemon juice – rub the board with the juice. In a few minutes wipe, wash and rub the
board with dry cloth. This way neutralizes strong odors like onion, garlic, fish etc.
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THE BASICS OF

End grain cutting boards: Advantages and disadvantages…………………… 3

Wood species for making end grain cutting boards……………………………. 11

The process of making an end grain cutting board…………………………….. 33

Assembling the wooden panel……………………………………………………… 45

Gluing a wooden panel………………………………………………………………. 68

Assembling and gluing a cutting board…………………………………………... 74

Rules of care of the end grain cutting board…………………………………….. 105

Solution to problems…………………………………………………………………. 106

End grain cutting boards disinfection…………………………………………….. 107

First of all I should say about terms.

End grain cutting boards have advantages and disadvantages.

The hardness of some woods, kgf/cm2

End grain Edge grain Face grain

Number of bacteria on cutting boards during some hours

End grain cutting boards have disadvantages:

Shrinkage and swelling happens under moisture content changes.

Averages changes of wood when the wood moisture changes from 8 to 9%

Relative air Temperature

35 7,0 6,9 6,7 6,4 6,2 5,8 5,5

It is not easy in winter heating season. So I use an air humidifier.

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 43 lbs/ft3 (690 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 5

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 45 lbs/ft3 (720 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 5

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 44 lbs/ft3 (705 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 5

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 41 lbs/ft3 (655 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 5

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 37 lbs/ft3 (595 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 5

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 42 lbs/ft3 (650 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 3

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 40 lbs/ft3 (645 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 4

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 47 lbs/ft3 (745 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 5

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)

Average dried weight – 45 lbs/ft3 (720 kg/m3)

Rating for use in making cutting boards – 5

End grain (20x20 mm)

Edge grain (20x20 mm)