7 - How to Make a Butcher Block End Grain Cutting Board (Full Video)
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- Опубліковано 14 лют 2014
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This is still the original cutting board video, just the 2 parts have been made into 1 and the video quality improved. Originally published on December 22, 2006. For the original post with additional comments & pdf plan, visit our website: www.thewoodwhisperer.com/video...
One of my favorite woodworking projects is a butcher block end-grain cutting board. Im not sure if its the "back to basics" simplicity or just the fact that it is one of the most useful projects a woodworker can make, but something keeps bringing me back for more. A custom cutting board makes a great gift and many woodworkers make them in batches every Holiday Season. And if you are relatively new to woodworking, this is a great project to hone your milling, glue-up and tablesaw skills. I'll cover the preparation and construction of the board itself, as well as the various finishing options available. I'll also discuss how to maintain the board and keep it looking fresh for years to come!
Update: I never thought when I made this video that so many folks would find the plan useful and make their own. I think its safe to say this is the video that launched a thousand cutting boards! So you may already be very familiar with this design. But what you may not know is the fact that this design came about almost by accident. Once of my first cutting boards was a very large board made of purpleheart and birch (left). It turned out to be far too large for our kitchen. Nicole asked that I cut it down. So instead of just cutting trimming the length and width and calling it a day, I decided to have some fun with it. I sliced it into pieces, flipped the pieces 90 degrees, alternated their direction and glued them back together. The end result is the cutting board you see in this video. Quite a transformation! And I am so glad that so many of you were inspired to make your own, and even make some amazing variations on the concept.
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I made about a dozen of these as Xmas presents for relatives when this pre-YT video came out, and people still cherish them to this day. I used Padauk because at the time my supplier was out of Purpleheart.
Thanks Mark, really appreciate this video as I am just making some cutting boards. Seeing how you got the end grain and your explanation was brilliant. Keep up the good work. 👍🏾👍🏾
Great video! Easy and precise with good info! The one thing missing is telling folks how you arranged the grain in the same direction to avoid cracking and that you used the wood that you did because they are similar in the way they expand and contract.
An oldie but goodie!
This video is 8 years old, and I’m cracking up at your backwards cap and soul patch! I’m used to current day you-you’ve grown up nicely!
And thanks for the nice board design! Going with tung oil thanks to your latest cutting board finish video!
Great video I must have watched it 10 times over the years.
Thanks Mark.
Roland
Excellent video. Showing all the steps in detail and offering alternatives is always great. Thank you for all the information on waxing and safety.
I have finally got to a point where I felt ready to make these. I just watched this video about 6 more times after the previous 20 times over the last few months. Am I the only one that was going nuts trying to figure how to get the boards to create the skinny strips down the middle as opposed to the outside. I finally talked myself into believing it’s two different layouts on the first process. Maybe that was the intention. Thanks for these Mark. If you only knew the inspiration you provide to us hobbyists.
Mark S., you ARE THE BOMB! I've followed you for years and I've taken classes from William Ng just to increase my chops! As a woodshop teacher, we've made several types of boards as projects, including end-grain boards, the kids were great and their parents were very impressed! Kudos on your magnetic/informal teaching style, it's always a pleasure! I ALWAYS learn something new when I watch your videos. Congrats, Mike
Best video here for making cutting boards. Thank you!
Man. Just when I thought I’ve seen most of your videos a random one pops up and it just happens to be the one I’m interested at the time. People are reenacting your old videos and going viral 🤦🏽♂️ your videos are just awesome. You go into detail on the important things. Keep it short and simple yet so informative at the same time. Lol
HI Mark,
Great video. Love the detailed explanation of each step. Beautiful board
Great Video. one thing to keep in mind, when melting beeswax, use a double boiler. The flash point of beeswax is around 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 Celsius). If you get careless, you have a fire to deal with. I enjoy the videos, keep up the good work. Now I have to get to work making my wife one of these.
Great video man; informative, helpful, and entertaining.
Beautiful board I am gonna give this one a try great video by the way
7 years old 😁 funny to see the development you went through! Still great content to watch 😊👍🏼
Amazing tutorial, thankyou. As a suggestion, that stock jazz piano sample is the go-to for so many videos and it immediately makes me associate your video (which is special) with all of the thousands of other videos with the same sample. If you need jazz piano samples I'm happy to help free of charge!
Good job on the cutting board, something I use for a food grade finish is pure tung oil mixed with citrus solvent at equal parts.
Phenomenal ! Great lesson great tips and info keep it up!!
10:20 rolled around and I thought I was hearing a Food Wishes video starting in another tab... LOL
(GREAT job on this tutorial --- can't wait to try it out... :) )
I thought the same thing!
AHA, it was on the tip of my tongue and couldn't remember where I heard it that music from. lol
Lindo trabalho, muito lindo mesmo. Parabéns
Great video. To the point, detailed, great info.
What a beautiful job!
Thanks for the inspiration and clear explanation!
I watched your video today because I am serious about getting started in making my own cutting boards. Boy am I impressed. Your video was awesome. It was very thorough and explained the entire process completely. You make the viewer very comfortable and knowledgeable at the same time. I even enjoyed your humor. Thank you very much for making this video. I can't wait to get started making my own using your valued instruction.
ditto
Great video, going to make one this weekend.
My wood shop teacher attached this video to watch while we’re on break for corona virus, thanks Boelhauf
Boelhauf sent this to me too, are you wood 1 or wood 2 and above
Wood 16. Plebe.
Thank you! Great video
Great stuff Mark.
Derek
awesome tips and thanks for the videos!
Amazing overview
This is a great educational video for me. My question is your recommendation on a cross cutting blade when cutting across the end grain pieces. I had horrible chip-out on the top and bottom. As my name implies, I'm a novice at this and can't thank you enough for all your videos and tips.
+Wood Rookie If cost is a concern to you (it definitely is to me), I have found the Freud D1050X to be a very adequate all-purpose blade. It has worked well for plywood, cross-cutting, and ripping. At around $33 on Amazon, it doesn't break the bank either. If you are looking for a dedicated, expensive cross-cutting blade, I'm afraid I don't have much advice in that area.
love this video might do it in woodshop- class
Great board really excited to try, wondering how did you get a 18 in. board and the pieces are 15 in. long
Your videos are AWESOME
Thank you good upload very helpful.
Great Video !
Great video. Thanks.
Excellent!
Great video I just wish someone would give advice on how to charge for such cutting boards thank you
Is the volume of the wax (for the 25%bv) calculated before or after melting?
I don't know how much the volume changes, but volume tends to change when you melt things.
Marc, I'm new to wood working and bought all the lumber. I'm looking forward to trying and make this cutting board. My question is: Once I the cool pattern, could i just clue 5 boards and 5 boards and make two cutting boards? Again, I'm new to wood working
Enjoyed this 👌 👍
Nice video, very informative and made me laugh when you were washing it. definitely worth watching
Thanks for a nice video to explain the process. I was looking to purchase a can of Salad Bowl Varnish, and found this WARNING on the can,, "Not for actively used butcher block counter tops that are used for chopping and cutting" FYI, not for cutting or butcher block boards. Back to BEE Wax & Food Grade Mineral oil, keep the videos coming, you have a great presentation.
Shellac is made from the shell of the lac beetle. M&M is one of the biggest users of this finish in the food industry.
Mark, what finish would you use on a wooden mug? I want to make some and want a good food safe finish to put on them. Thanks
Your a great teacher! Thank yoi
Great video! Thank you. I heard that purple heart can be toxic and not sutible for cutting boards.. What do you think?
What blade are you using on your table saw? It cuts that wood like butter!
Great video! Any thoughts on mahogany for a cutting board?
For the sake of time savings (maybe sanity too), is it ok/possible to buy an unfinished, pre-fabbed, long grain butcher block counter top and just rip width wise and turn them 90^ and re-glue? Thanks and great video and series.
Awesome video, thank you. Comedic elements need some polishing by I will watch every video you make. A cutting board like this could last 100 years if it's cared for.
Wow some water has gone under the bridge since you made this one cheers
Love your videos. I have a question about grain direction. Does it matter when making an end grain board? Opposing grain is fine? Basically is there any thing I need to worry about grain direction wise when making an End grain board? I’m only asking because I’ve gotten through the first panel glue up and cross cut all my pieces and came up with this amazing design in my eyes, I just don’t know the rules about grain direction in an in grain board. Thanks in advance Mark
Going to have to try it out..
I noticed that the pattern on the finished board is different than at the start of the project. I just finished making two of them and was trying to figure out why my pattern was different.
Thanks for the quick response!
My very last question: When you say end grain cutting board is that really supposed to be "Quarter Grain"?
No, end grain. The board used could be, flat, rift or quartersawn. Though quartersawn is the most stable so it is the best to use. It doesent matter.
Hi Mark, Good video thanks. A question about your finish. I don't have any wiping varnish, but understand it is basically 50%varnish and 50% mineral spirits. So, for your cutting board finish, would mixing varnish on mineral spirt 1 to 1 get the same result?
Regards, Sam
I have watched your video and read your article regarding finishing an end grain cutting board. I felt the technique of using the salad bowl finish would be the best bet so I tried it on my first cutting board. It seems to have sealed well but I was a little confused as too how long the odor from the finish would last. It's been 3 months and it still has the odor. I haven't tried to wash it to see if that would help with the odor. Today I tried the other method of using mineral oil and paraffin wax and I'm not too fond of this technique. I think I would rather use my first method but I don't care for the lingering odor. Do you how long it would usually take for the odor to disappear?
Thanks
Did you dilute the salad bowl finish with mineral spirits like he did? That helps with the finish penetrating the board and evaporating for drying.
Great, again
Trying to make my own board as well, did research, and what I found says mineral spirits (for the varnish coat) aren't food safe? Could anybody clarify?
Me again. I'm going to re-sand and I thought I would use the salad bowl finish. Good idea ???
Hey Marc, is crosscutting the board @ 6:00 safe? I was considering making myself a sled once I own a table saw. Is saving a little money and cutting it like you did advised? Thank you.
Question: Where do you get your wood? Locally or online?
what kind of oil did you use to mix with the bees wax?
Could I make this with a Festool ts55 instead of a table saw?
Mark, Love all your videos. Made this cutting board and the pattern turns out different than yours. I have the boards the way you say but different pattern.
Very Awesome video!
Question!
Will walnut and figured maple work well for a cutting board?
Will work but you could lose the figure of the maple
Hi Mark - I haave a couple questions for you. I am in the process of making this based on the directions that you have provided. However, mine are not coming out dim. like yours. When I cut the boards into 11 strips 1.250" like you suggest I only get about a 9 in x 12 in board. So I certainly am doing some thing incorrectly. Looking for some help as these are very cool boards.
Can you do a video describing the relationship between the thickness of the original board, the width of each cut, how you are rotating the pieces to glue, and the dimensions of the resulting board? I am confused, especially because I don't have the ability to change the thickness of my 8/4 boards, only flatten it.
You can change the thickness of 8/4 boards with sequencial runs thru the table saw, small cuts, flipping board end for end after each pass. If this does not split the board use hand saw to finish.
Yay, new video.
not a new video... repost
Do you coat both sides with the varnish??
Question about the salad bowl finish. I just did the sanding part with 600 grit, felt that was safe. Now I can see sanding scratches in the final finish. This has happened to me on other pieces also. I don't get how i could possibly be messing this up. Anyone?
Excellent! I just watched this again (4th or 5th time) and I'm about to start my own today. I have one question... I noticed after the 2nd cutting session that you changed the order of the strips placing the 3/4" strips in the center instead of next to the 2 1/4" strips on the out side. I like the design better that way, but is there another reason such as strength? I assume you're making multiple cutting boards.
I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter as far as strength, only different patterns you might find more attractive. Looks like he has built several of these and used video from different builds.
I love heating up mineral oil with beeswax... It gives a great sealcoating
Hi Marc
I´m a huge fan of your´s
i have a few questions about this cutting board, i hope you can help me (i already did this project)
1.- in this video you present 2 different designs of your boards right? after the second cut the pattern its fifferent from the first i think
2.- in the video you said that the measures will be approximately 18" L x 14" W x 1 1/4" T, but with 11 strips (thats the number you said we need after the second cut) my board have only 14" L
i supose that its a mistake in the number of strips, maybe with 13 or 14 strips i will have my 18" L right?
PLEASE tell me if i´m right or what was my mistake because this freaking me out
Thanks and congratulations, your project, videos and channel are great
+Victor Porthos I noticed that too after putting it together. It seems that in the first part of the video, if the boards were matched up the way he mentioned, you wouldn't end up with the 3/4 inch pieces running next to each other along the middle for that thin checker pattern. I was confused when I looked at the final product I made and came back to watch a couple times to confirm.
Quick question - Are you cross cutting the board with a fence around 6:20? It seems stable enough to do, but I was always under the impression that one should never cross cut wood against the fence.
Never cut with both miter AND fence. Since most crosscuts are done with the miter, it is very common to say not to crosscut with the fence. The issue is, you never want to cross the blade with your body, so when using the miter the part against the fence is unattended. Unattended, it has a higher likelihood of shifting into the blade, getting pinched between blade and fence, and kicking back. Get around this by using a stopblock before the blade area, leaving plenty of room between blade and fence so if it does shift some, it just bumps a bit and no real kickback.
Now, you CAN call him on crossing the blade with his body, which is never recommended (due to the potential for kickback), but it is not the crosscut on the fence that is the issue. But I think we all end up breaking this rule, sooner or later. Familiarity and contemppt and all... LOL
Also, his splitter does have anti-kickback thing-a-ma-jigs, which help.
Marc, at 13:11 you thin down the food safe varnish with mineral spirits. Is it still a food safe finish then? Thanks.
What purpose does adding mineral spirits to the salad bowl finish serve? I just finished a similar board, but used the finish undiluted. Wondering what would have been different had I diluted it.
Stephen Edmondson I was wondering the same thing.
Mark Womack I found a later video (either where he revisits cutting boards or their finishes, I can't remember) where he goes into detail on this. It's to thin the finish so it soaks into the wood with multiple light coats instead of creating a film. I used a 50/50 mix on my last batch and ended up doing 4 or so light coats. Worked great.
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. Before I read this I put a Watco finish on my cutting boards (face grain) without diluting. It seemed to work fine the last time, but I am definitely going to try diluting next time to compare the results.
Does anyone know how many board feet this is for each board? I came up with ~18 board feet per piece - is that right?
Great video! But...Did I miss something? How is the final board 18” in length if the initial ripped pieces are 15 1/2”?
Depth of board is determined by the width of the rips on the final glue up. This initial strips are turned on their end at that point. Think of it like this: If you’re strips are 2.5”, and your final cut is also 2.5”, then things remain square and your board stays the same size. But if in that second step you cut 2” squares, then your board is lengthened. Same volume, but stretched in a different manner.
You can also use vegetable oil on all your wood tools in the kitchen. You use it the same as the mineral oil. I don't know about adding wax to it, I have never heard of that process. I learned this in culinary school.
I just finished a maple end grain cutting board last week
I am a beginner woodworking and absolutely loved your video. Question....You said you are using 8/4 lumber (which my reading says that is 2") but your first piece is 2 1/4"???? I purchased cutting boards from woodworking source and they are 1 3/4" so am wondering what to do.
2 1/4" is the width, not the thickness.
do the size of the stripes matter? I want to build some end grain cutting board from scrap maple stripes . I have several width. For the first glue-up, do I have to resaw the stripes all the same width or would it be OK to glue together a mix of 1'' width, 2" width, 1.5" width, 3'' width? Until I reach my desired total width.
what kind of scraper is that
Note the difference in patterns in the two boards when they are being finished. Take care in how you arrange the boards as explained at 3:10 to achieve your desired block pattern. The pattern shown at 3:10 will yield the mineral oil finished board. While the pattern used at 6:35 will yield the varnish-finished board.
Two questions:
1) Top, bottom, and all sides for the salad bowl finish?
2) The finish that I picked up at my local Lowe's stated not to thin it. Will this be an issue or should I go ahead and thin it anyway?
Beautiful boards and I have enjoyed making my 3 so far. Just gotta get the final sanding, routing and finish in place so I can finally deliver my mother's day presents. Just a tad bit behind schedule.
Many finishes say not to thin, my understanding is that this is an environmental issue. Thinners are bad for the environment, thus if you do not thin the environment is happier. Thus the government doesn't want us to thin, and so finish makers put that on their cans to make the government happy.
Mark, Thanks for the video. Is it okay to glue end grain to end grain if you wanted to make your board longer than the amount of stock you have? I'm trying to make one for a kitchen island/cart and need it about 42" but the stock is only about 36". Thanks for your help.
Hey Mark. End grain doesnt glue well to end grain. I would just make two IDENTICAL panels and cut the needed number of strips from both. Best of luck.
Sorry...I meant to say Jeff.
Glad to see someone make one without a planer. I wish I had a planer, but most of us have to sand.
If you dont have a planer you can use a drumsander which I would recommend as the planer can cause chip out and that would mean that you would have to try and salvage or start all over. There are videos showing how to make a drumsander if you cant buy one, I have been make jigs for the table saw and bandsaw, that is a great way to learn too. All the best to you I hope you come right. Btw using a sander can cause your pieces to be uneven, as a wood worker I know how disappointing that can be
Ive made 10 cutting boards in the last few weeks. half long grain and half end grain. My girlfriend cut steaks on her end grain and i just noticed, one it stained from the blood and second, it seems there are "gaps" forming. I use titebond III glue and clamped with pole clamps. WHY would this happen ?
Can you use mahogany boards to make a cutting board?
Memories
Hi Mark, after you cut them into strips and started arranging with the end grain facing up, it looked like it was a different board altogether. The thin strips were in the middle, whereas after initial glue up the thin strips were close to the outside. Maybe I’m looking at it around? Regardless, this is a beautiful board!
That's what I thought too. It just didn't make sense for the patterns. Did you get a response for this question?
@@acupsa unfortunately no response, but I’m sure there was more than one board when the video was made and edited
Hi Marc and everyone. I am a beginner and I have a "probie" question. Do you recommend using biscuits to join the strips in the last step? If you don't recommend, what is the main reason? Thank you much!
BaoLong Nguyen I was thinking the same thing.
All boards carefully planed to same thickness, so no help needed from bisucits to level side to side.
Why would you use biscuits? They are useless and not needed in any glue-up, be it cutting board or tabletop. They offer no added strength or integrity. Their only possible benefit is they can help line up your boards in large glue-ups such as large tables... but they are not needed and a biscuit joiner is a waste of money.
Opinion on using canola oil as a finish?
Most oils putrefy (rot) after a period of weeks or months.
I'm new to woodworking and this might be a stupid question but if you rip a board long grain and flip it on its side isn't it still long grain?
That turns it into edge grain, to be exact. You have face grain, which is the "top" and "bottom" of a normal board, edge grain, which is the grain along the long "sides" of the board, and end grain, which is the grain on the short "sides" of the board. You are correct, if you rip cut a board it maintains the same properties of which grain is which, but doing the end grain block is a little different than that one step.
That is only the first step in an end grain board. Let's say you have an 8/4 (pronounced eight quarters, which is a board of 2 inch rough cut thickness), 6 inch wide board that is S4S (surfaced on all 4 sides), so the actual thickness is about 1 3/4 inches, but it is smooth and ready to be jointed. You then take that board and cross-cut it into a 16 inch piece, still 6 inches wide, and take another board of the same thickness and width and cross-cut it into a 16 inch piece, still 6 inches wide, then you rip both of those 16 inch long pieces into 6 new "boards" that are 7/8 of an inch wide (due to the kerf of you table saw blade, they lose a certain amount of material, often about 1/8 inch). Now, you have twelve pieces that are 16 inches long, and 7/8 inches wide. You alternate these and edge joint them (as in the original "edge" from the first paragraph) which leaves the end grain exposed, just as with a normal board, on the "ends" of the piece of wood that is 16 inches long, and now 10 1/2 inches wide due to the rip-cut wood loss.
Now, you are ready to prepare it for joining to expose the end-grain for the entire surface of the cutting board.
You take this new 16" x 10 1/2" board, and cross cut it into eight strips that are 10 1/2" x 1 7/8" (again, 7/8 due to the kerf of your saw blade), so you have a bunch of strips that, when rotated 90 degrees on their long axis, expose the end grain to the "top" and "bottom" of your view. You can now join these eight 10 1/2" x 1 7/8" strips on their face grain and have a board that exposes the end grain to the top and bottom of your new cutting board, which measures 10 1/2" x 15".
If this is confusing, let me know, and I will come back to it within a couple days.
What are your thoughts about using 100% Tung oil?
+abstractbybrian I think it's a reasonable finish. Better than mineral oil in my opinion.
Hello Marc. Thank you for all the videos. Quick question, i have a ton of maple wood, can i stain with water based stain from General Finishes, to make it look like 2 different woods? I would stain some wood, and leave the other portion unstained. Also. Would i sand first then stain, or viceversa?
One more thing..if i stain, can i still seal it with General Finishes Salad bowl finish?
Qais Arabo Sand first then stain. If you sand a stained surface it will remove some of the stain, if not all of it.
You can certainly do that, just make sure the stain you use is food safe.
Most of the stains will have instructions for their application. You will want the wood to be at its finish surface before staining due to the removal of material from sanding. You will want to stain those pieces before putting together your cutting board in order to avoid the stain bleeding to the surface of your plain wood.
So, your process will be much more difficult because most of your end-grain is INSIDE of the wood before the first glue up, followed by cutting that into strips...so, your process will have to be done piece by piece, instead of creating long strips to glue together. Essentially, you will have to cut your maple into individual tiny blocks, sand all the end grain, stain half of them, then figure out how to do a glue-up on 100 different small pieces, as opposed to having different colors that you can glue into strips like in this video.
I suggest just making a large, single color hard-maple board to start with, and once you can get another wood, make another board.
Depending on where you live, online wood sources are usually the best way to go. I personally use woodworkerssource.com
Actually, I think I got that wrong a little bit...you can make one, but it will be in long strips of color instead of small alternating blocks. You can cross-cut a very wide board to expose the end grain, and then stain each of those strips, then glue those to plain wood strips from the same board...but you will need a board that is at least 8-12 inches wide to get a useful sized cutting board.
Or edge-joint a few board to make a wider one...you will still just end up with alternating strips instead of small blocks.