The ultimate guide to making a wooden end-grain cutting board

There are three types of wooden cutting boards:

The cheapest and most basic is a face grain cutting board. It’s simply a board, or maybe a couple boards edge joined together to make them wider. The thickness of a face grain cutting board is limited to the thickness of the lumber used to make it.

A step up is an edge grain cutting board. To make this, you glue the faces of a bunch of boards together and their edges become the cutting surface. From a durability standpoint, an edge grain board is about the same as a face grain board. The advantage though, is that you can easily make a much thicker cutting board. Of course, this will require more lumber.

But the most prized cutting board is the end grain cutting board. These are made up of lots of small boards with their faces and edges joined together, using the end grain of the boards as the cutting surface. These can sell for several hundred dollars or even several thousand dollars each, depending on the size. Like with the edge grain cutting board, you can make these as thick as you want. 1” to 2” thick boards are common, but you could even make a free standing butcher’s block. These are the most time consuming boards to make and require the most lumber.

0:00 Types of Cutting Boards
3:30 Design tutorial
8:16 How to make a cutting board
18:50 Applying a finish
21:06 Cutting board care

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[uraniumyt]

I'm so glad you liked my cutting board design software. I haven't thought of it in years; glad to see it's still useful!

[mirameejung]

Yay! Ive been missing the ‘longer Steve’ videos!!

[meltingpoint]

Most people would have recommended the software and left you to figure it out on your own, but good guy Steve goes through it step by step

[PMichaels]

Seriously — this IS the BEST end grain cutting board video ever. Thanks, Steve! 👍🏼

[drewmedic]

Don't forget to raise the grain! Sand, then mist the board with water before resanding; you'll notice a huge difference once you put on the mineral oil finish.

[jayt]

This is what I've missed! A good, solid, practical "how-to" do something useful - in your style! I'm not a shorts fan ;) Thank you :)

[landonashby]

Mineral Oil can be found in the Over The Counter section of the Pharmacy with the Laxatives. A large bottle is only a couple Dollars at Wal-Mart. The challenge is finding it in stock. Most economical purchase option I've found for it anyway.

[iansmith-windsor]

I think my favourite part of these videos is that he just jumps into it. No two minute long intro, no asking people to hit that notification bell, just straight into it. Saves me from having to figure out how much to skip.

[Segarra]

I've seen dozens of these videos already, and Steve's are always the best. Hands down, the easiest to understand, the easiest to sit through, and by far the most enjoyable!

[pshadyyx]

This isn't just how-to make a cutting board, this gives plenty of useful tips during the build process, before and after it! Thank you, Steve!

[patrickduffey]

Steve, you're the one who got me started woodworking a few years ago now when I took the Weekend Woodworker course. Thanks for that, and thanks for breaking down end grain cutting boards and making it seem like its not such an ordeal! I think there are a few people in my life who have cutting boards in their future as gifts

[BronwenM]

As always you've taken something daunting and that I'd never have considered attempting and made me excited to try it. Thank you Steve!

[ecurbsemaj]

Yet another project you have added to my list, and somehow you have made it an achievable goal. Your course helped me to see my projects through, taught me how to overcome mistakes, and take on daunting projects with confidence. Thank you!!!

[worstuserever]

Thank you, Steve. I want to make a nice cutting board for my mother and you really inspire confidence in this novice. I think your greatest strength as a teacher is your ability to demistify and make projects attainable for us self-taught beginners. I follow numerous maker channels and watched quite a few cutting board videos; surprisingly none of them spoke about the significance of grain orientation for this purpose.

[Breakin]

Every time I watch one of your videos, it sure does make me feel like I can make exactly what you made. I'm adding this 1 to my list.

[spencerbarnhart]

Glad to see a new video Steve and talk about perfect timing! I just got a thickness planer and planned on making an end grain cutting board as my next project!

[cehesso]

Hey, thank you so much for this video! You have got me on my way to completing my first end-grain cutting board, and I'm excited to look through the other projects you have on your website! Also, I really appreciate your tool list, I now have my own set of pipe clamps and all the other correct tools to get the board done. You're making a difference. <3

[Rabauke.]

Hey Steve. First of all, thank you very much for sharing your experience, the hints and tricks with all of us. It’s great advice and so far one of the best videos in these regards, that I have seen. And I have seen a couple. Appreciate it. Keep up the good work.

[blainegifford]

Steve I didn’t know how else to send you a thank for the recent Newsletter. It was a simple message and yet so well written it felt profound! Your passion, care and humor make a wonderful harmony for us viewers and readers. The linked testimony was genuinely inspiring. You are touching lives and that’s refreshing to me.
Best wishes,
Blaine.

[johnkarapita]

Some of the best content I've seen in a very long time. Thanks, Steve! Will definitely refer to this one when I tackle that cutting board project!