OK to put edges on an end-grain cutting board?

[Garth Snyder]

I would like to make a simple end-grain cutting board and was thinking of a design something like this, in walnut and hard maple:



The checkerboard would be end grain, and the edging would be tri-layer long grain with simple miter joints at the corners.

Is this going to be OK with respect to wood motion? A cutting board is going to go through a lot of wetting and drying, and I guess the checkerboard squares might want to expand horizontally in both directions when wet.

I'm just a mite suspicious because I don't remember seeing many end-grain cutting boards that have any kind of border.

[Frank Drew]

Garth,

I think you already see the inherent risks; I'd be surprised if the miters stayed closed past the first week or so, and then they become nasty with all sorts of trapped food and so on.

[Garth Snyder]

Ah well, it seemed to good to be true. :-) Thanks for the comments.

[Harlan Coverdale]

I made a couple end grain cutting boards with face grain frames around them, and they both failed within a month.

[Garth Snyder]

What if this same general layout were implemented using thin strips of end grain with no miter joints? Something like this:



I've added some white borders between the individual pieces that would be glued together. Everything you see from this top view is now end grain.

Is there any reason this wouldn't work?

[Frank Drew]

Garth,

Give it a try, the worst that can happen is that you're back to square one, with an end grain board with no border.

(I wouldn't bet on all those glue joints holding since virtually every piece of wood would have to move in unison for the whole thing to stay together, and that's unlikely, but what the hey?)