End grain hard maple cutting board

[Joe Jensen]

I would like to make some end grain cutting boards as gifts and donations to charity. I think I would start with 8/4 hard maple. If the blocks measured end grain would be say 1.5" by 1.5", how long to they need to be to make a stable board? Is 1.5" long oK? Would 1" long be ok? They would be maybe 10" wide by say 14" long when done. So I'm asking would a 10" by 14" by 1" end grain cutting board be stable or do I really need to make it thicker?

I am thinking that I would make a bigger block and cut slices off with the bandsaw and then drum and finish sand. Does that make sense?

[Wayne Lomman]

Joe, 1 1/2" thick for the boards would be better in my opinion. When gluing up, I do it in 2 stages. Glue up enough lengths of timber to make up the width of the cutting boards. Put this whole piece through the planer and dress it to the correct thickness. Cross cut it into pieces and glue up a second time to make the full size of the cutting board. Sand as usual. Doing it this way makes it much easier to get everything perfectly lined up. Use a decent glue too. As usual, I recommend using a good 2 pack glue as anything single pack doesn't last well in constantly changing moisture conditions. Great gift idea and charity work. Cheers

[Pete Janke]

Here are two I completely recently. Both are approximately 12" x 14". The first is 1.25" thick and the second is 1.5" thick. Both are rock solid. I cut all strips on the table saw before gluing. I think I could have gone down to 1" without any problem. I don't trust myself on the band saw to cut really straight through this thick material. The planer was used on the strips before gluing and then the random orbit sander for the final sanding. I used Titebond III glue. I started with 60 grit and worked up through 220 grit paper on each surface. Sand, sand, sand, and sand some more. Both boards are covered with multiple coats of a food safe finish. I will use mineral oil on future boards. The names on each board, presents for my brother and niece, were hand routed and filled with epoxy. You can't see it, but there are finger grip area routed into two bottom edges on each board.
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[Erik Christensen]

I made a larger version for a mobile cart - I tried all kinds of ways to get it flat (other than the planer) and the best solution I found was winding sticks and a belt sander with vacuum pickup.

[Jon Grider]

I've made quite a few boards 1 1/8" thick by wider and longer than 10X14 with no issues of stability. I think the factors affecting stability more than thickness are moisture content of the wood and putting feet or bumpers on the bottom to allow air movement on both flat sides of the board. End grain boards WILL warp if one side is put on a countertop for extended time periods in a high humidity environment like a kitchen if air cannot circulate to the bottom side. And of course finish both sides of the board with your beeswax/mineral oil. An alternative to feet or bumpers is if the board is stored upright.