# End Grain Cutting Board Teaser, with Photos.



## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

This is an end grain cutting board I started on quite a long time ago now. I did the initial glue-up not quite a year ago. I am going to be finishing it up sometime in the next couple of weeks so it can be shipped to my in-laws for Christmas.

The board uses 8/4-hard maple, 5/4-walnut, and 4/4-quartersawn cherry. I used Titebond III for the glue-ups.

Last year, I purchased a Panel Max Glue Press System from Peachtree at last year's Woodworking Show. I have mixed feeling on this piece of equipment at this point in time. I've only used it a handful of times, so maybe I'm still getting used to using it. It's just awkward and difficult to actually get it to work correctly, as things are constantly shifting and sliding. To be honest, it hasn't worked as well as I'd hoped. I thought it was going to make panel glue-ups easier, faster, and more even without gaps, but that's just not the case. Below is a picture of the cutting board during the first glue-up. I added a few extra clamps to be safe:









After the first glue-up, this is what I had:









I also weighed it, as I wanted to see what I started with for materials, versus what I'll end up with once everything is done. It weighed-in at 13.4-pounds after the first glue-up:









And this is what it looks like as of right now, after the 2nd glue-up and trimming the edges this morning:









I haven't weighed it at this stage yet, but I will and post back. Just ran out of time this morning before coming in to work. I am still also trying to decide exactly what else I want to do to it, as far as edge treatments, handles, etc. I know I'll definitely be adding rubber feet on the bottom, along with stainless steel screws, but the rest is up in the air at this point. I'll post back soon with the weigh-in, as well as the other details, once they're worked out.

At this point, the dimensions are:
Length: 20-1/2" 
Width: 13-7/8" 
Thickness: 1-5/8" (I need to do a bit more sanding, but it should be somewhere around 1-1/2" to 1-9/16"-thick upon completion.)


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## DarrylJN (May 20, 2011)

This cutting board looks great, I love the combination of colors. Do you think you can explain what quartersawn is?


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

I used the quartersawn cherry because I have some left over from other projects. Honestly, this isn't an ideal use for it as you don't really get a chance to see the highlights in the cherry that tend to appear when the wood is quartersawn. My pizza peel is a more attractive use of the wood, as you get a chance to see the grain patterns, compared to here where you're looking at the end grain.

Here's an explanation of quartersawn vs. straightsawn vs. riftsawn wood, including a picture with an overlay of the various sawing methods.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

By the way, thanks Darryl! It should be done sometime in the next week or so and should look even better once it's oiled as that'll give it more contrast and intensify the depth of the colors.


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## live4ever (Feb 27, 2010)

That's going to be a nice looking board! And your post also reminds me to get going on my cuttingboard for the in-laws. LOL.


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## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

I love the way you have varied the widths of the cuts


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

live4ever, thank you. This board was supposed to be a gift to them last Christmas. I hope you're not that far behind on your board!

Larry, thank you as well. I am especially curious to see how the different strip widths show up in the walnut. It's somewhat visible in the photo, but there should definitely be some contrast within the walnut, so the varying widths will hopefully become even more apparent once oiled. Maybe I'll go home and throw some mineral spirits on it and snap a picture to get a better sense of the finished product?


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

After the diet, the board is now trimmed down to 10.0-pounds:









Should be somewhere in the 9-10-pound range then once it's done. I'll obviously be removing a bit more stock, then add back in a little bit for the mineral oil and wax finish.


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## DarrylJN (May 20, 2011)

Even at 10lbs, it's still a beast. Thanks again for the information.


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## jack1 (May 17, 2007)

Keep it by the door incase of intruders. Should stop bullets as well as a pretty fair offensive weapon too… ;0)
I really like your design. Thanks for letting us know about this tool.
Jack.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

You're welcome, Darryl. I'll do a final weigh-in when it's oiled and ready to ship.

Jack, that's funny! I got a good laugh out of that. I could use it as a weapon for another couple of weeks, then it'll be on it's way to it's new home in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, northwest of Philadelphia. The end grain board I made that lives at our house is only 7-some pounds. It'll swing faster, but not carry as much kinetic energy I guess. Maybe I'll take a shot of the 2-boards together once it's done?

Still thinking about the finishing touches for this one. I went and purchased some more walnut and hard maple for another board I'll be making soon for some friends of ours. I'll start posting some pictures of that build here soon, and may do a blog series on it. We'll see if I have enough time. I might just take pictures along the way, then post it as a blog as time allows since i"m on a bit of a deadline to get it done by December 4th. It probably won't be quite as large as the above board since they don't have has much room in their kitchen. She is a professional chef though, so I need to make sure and make it nice and thick as it'll hopefully get a lot of heavy-duty use.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

More progress has been made. I routered the handles a couple of days ago, but didn't like the 1/4" cove, so I went and got a 1/2"-cove bit (on sale at Rockler), and enlarged the cove.

Here's a picture of my setup for running the cove bit all the way across the left and right underside of the board. I used scrap pieces of plywood in order to start the bearing, as well as to avoid tearout. I used about 50-pounds of bricks in this photo.









The picture below is after using the 1/4"-cove bit. The morning I went out to use the 1/2"-cove bit, it have to have been below freezing, plus the wind chill, so I didn't take any pictures. I had to come in a couple of times to warm up my hands after I got it all set-up, then between passes. I decided to stabilize things a bit more and added a few more bricks, bringing it up to 60-pounds of bricks to steady the table and prevent the board from falling off the end of the table with the router resting on its edge. I used a piece of the foam rubber, non-skid drawer liner below the board.









I have a little more sanding to do, then I'll clean the dust off, use the branding iron, drill the holes for the feet, apply the finish, and add the feet. I think I'm going to use SBF, topped off with a coat or two of George's Clubhouse Wax.

I'll try to keep posting pictures along the way.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Below is a picture after using the 1/2"-cove bit. It provides a much better spot to get your fingers into without feeling like the board is going to slip out of your fingers. It's also more comfortable, at least for my fingers.









I'm going outside to do some more sanding. It's a much nicer day today than the last time I was working on it. I think I'm going to sand the top and bottom to 220-grit and the sides to 400-grit. I went to Home Depot to get more Norton sanding discs for my ROS, but they no longer carry Norton's. Now they carry Diablo. I bought a pack of 220-grit, as I already have it sanded up through 180-grit. We'll see how this paper compares.


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## jack1 (May 17, 2007)

Looks more in proportion to the piece too.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Jack, I completely agree with you. The 1/2"-cove definitely looks better, as far as proportions go.

Finished sanding it all down this morning. I took the top and bottom (end grain) up to 220-grit so that the SBF has a shot at absorbing, then took the sides and edges to 400-grit. I rounded all sharp edges and corners over by hand.

Now I'll vacuum it all down with the brush attachment on the shop vacuum, then clean it up with mineral spirits, let that dry, and use the branding iron on the bottom, and drill the holes for the feet. Then it'll be ready to receive the General Finishes SBF, which I'm going to thin by 50% with mineral spirits so that it'll penetrate deeper.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Here are a few more shots of the progress so far. This is using mineral spirits to wipe it down to remove the last little bit of sanding dust after vacuuming it off with the brush attachment on the shop vac. I'm going to get feet for it this afternoon.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

I like that cove "handle" idea.: )


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Thanks Dusty. I wanted to try something that went all the way across the board for visual continuity.

I went to Rockler today and was disappointed in the little feet I thought I was going to use on this board. They just weren't quite what I thought they'd be. That's OK. I'll procure some others tomorrow and get the holes drilled for them, then I can start applying the SBF sometime in the next few days.


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

I have seen a lot of people using those small clear "rubber bumpers" that stick onto the wood , as feet. No screws involved. I got some small square ones from WalMart at one point , and have seen others in hardware stores as well.
Be sure to apply before any oil gets on the wood : )


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Dusty, I have debated using the stick-on variety (before oiling or applying SBF), but am skeptical of long-term holding power. I have therefore resorted to only using feet that are mechanically fastened, via screws.

I am also thinking that since they would be attached to end-grain, compared to flat grain, the stick-on feet might not adhere as well? I could see using them more in a flat grain situation, as I think they'd hold better.

Has anybody used the stick-on feet for any length of time? What sort of success or failure rates have you had with the stick-on variety?


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## Cornductor (Feb 5, 2011)

Hey Jonathan great lookin board!! That puppy is a beast I'm sure it will last a lifetime with great love and care!


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Thanks Brandon. I'm sure it will be well cared for, and hopefully see a lot of good use, including making family meals when we all get together.

I have decided to put 6-feet on the bottom of it to shorten the span. I'll have 4-feet in the corners, then 2-feet towards the center. I decided to go with these feet from Ace Hardware. I also bought new stainless steel screws for the feet above to avoid any rusting issues.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Just posted the finished project here.


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