The math behind end grain cutting boards

My first attempt at making a cutting board was not a great success. I went back to the drawing board and figured out how to properly measure my lumber to get the final cutting board I wanted. In this video, I'll share my findings and even build a new board, which was a birthday gift for my daughter.

[@SapidPrime]

Really appreciate the detail and nice final build.

[@avtarbhachu5254]

What an amazing video for how to make end grain cutting boards. The explanation is very detailed and very well done. Thank you for this invaluable information.

[@mleblanc1234]

Avtar, glad it was helpful!

[@nethead72]

My engineers mind loved the formula approach. I have a visualization of the design phase now that I watched you work through it. KUDOS!

[@stevenjobbins2600]

Marc I have to say thats the best way I have ever seen this explained and your board looked stunning

[@d.reidmorgan7531]

Thank you for the emphasis on the math; that is what makes your video UNIQUE and highly useful among the plethora of bread board videos out there (I watch many of them for ideas). Your math / formula is priceless as I keep trying to upgrade my bread board design skills with each one I make!

[@mleblanc1234]

Wow, thank you!

[@mohammadaraphat5741]

Thank you senior teacher👍

[@mleblanc1234]

My pleasure!

[@phillipmckeough8406]

Thank you very much, you explained the process so well. I hadn't even thought of gluing my final pieces 2 at a time: as someone with no planner or jointer, this made the task much more achievable.

[@davidhughes6148]

Thanks for the math. I have had a difficult time knowing what length board I need to do my cutting board.

[@mleblanc1234]

Glad I could help. Believe me, you and I are not alone with this challenge!

[@ronaldguy5474]

Beautiful board and thank you for taking out the guest work. I feared making an end grain board due to not enough or wasting too much. Thanking you for sharing sir. Your a wood saver.

[@mleblanc1234]

Appreciate the feedback. I never heard the term « wood saver », but I like it!

[@stanleylee1974]

Thank you for providing the math! Always was curious about how to figure it out!

[@mleblanc1234]

Happy to help!

[@timconnell4570]

Finally someone that considers blade width ! Might i add also consider your blade type for the different rip cuts v cross cuts.

[@mleblanc1234]

Tim, I’m not sure that would really make a material difference. It would have to be tested, for sure.

[@thomasjanoski6436]

Thanks for the video. I might suggest that you address the debate over running end grain through the planer; it can be done without too much tearout if the trailing edge of the cutting board is slightly champferred.

[@mleblanc1234]

Interesting idea. I’ll have to give it a try the next time I run end grain in my planer. So far, without any chamfer, I’ve been lucky. But this trick is an easy way to increase the odds.

[@robertspina4503]

Great video thanks

[@nickhuffman9426]

Great video ! I’m about to make my first cutting board. When you say break the pattern of the end grain, does that mean you want the end grain in different directions ? Also after the first cut of strips can I turn some of them 90deg ? Or is that a no no ? All the end grain would be up and down but I guess that would mix side grain with face grain wouldn’t it ? Thanks in advance for any reply. Newbie trying to learn here 😊

[@mleblanc1234]

To your first question, yes, I mean having the grain go in different questions. As to your second question and if I understand your action, I don’t think it really makes a difference. I have not tried it myself. You might have to make sure that your pieces have the same lateral dimension, ex 2 in square. Try it out and let me know. Cheers, Marc

[@kandiecandelaria3134]

So how did you get that pattern in your board? The second one with the smaller stripes? Very nice

[@mleblanc1234]

Thanks for your comment. It’s actually pretty simple. Remember that you will do two sets of cuts on the table saw. For the first set of cuts, you can cut strips of various widths, which is what I ended up doing. If I recall, the narrowest strip was half an inch and I increased by a quarter inch for each subsequent cut. In my case, I cut similar strips of walnut and maple, so I had a half inch wide strip of each, etc. Make sense?

[@bredrox4124]

good precise video..however I would suggest not to push endgrain through a planer,the possibility of kickback is very high

[@mleblanc1234]

A router sled would be best, I agree. I always take very light passes in my planer, but it’s not a guarantee of no kickback or tear out. Thanks!

[@mahlenbrenda]

Good video Marc. The gluing up in pairs makes for a more accurate layout. It looks to me like the 4 center strips are each the same width, but then going towards the outer edge, each block might be 1/8" to 1/4" wider. Just curious what increments you used in cutting the different strip widths. Thanks.

[@mleblanc1234]

Mahlen, you are correct that the width of the strips is not the same throughout. I have reached out to my daughter for the measurements. I just don’t remember them off the top of my head. Will get back to you soon!

[@mleblanc1234]

OK. I got the measurements! Here goes: The 4 center strips are a half inch wide. The next two are 3/4 inch and the next 3 are one inch wide. The final strip is a bit more than 3/4 inch wide. Hope this helps!

[@mahlenbrenda]

@@mleblanc1234 Thanks so much, Marc.

[@depopa1033]

kinda impossible to understand the math behind it when you dont have a functional metric system.

[@mleblanc1234]

Sorry for the late reply. I was away on vacation the past couple of weeks. I think using these formulas with metric measurements is even easier. In my video, the example I use is for a 12 inch wide by 14 inches long and 1 and a half inch thick cutting board. I'll make it simple here and convert these values to an approximate metric equivalent. So, the cutting board I'm trying to make is 30 cm wide, 35 cm long and 5 cm thick. For the width, it's easy: The total width of my initial strips needs to total 30 cm. For the thickness, I just need to set my table saw to cut 5 cm wide crosscuts. Assuming that my initial strips are 6 cm thick and that my table saw blade is 5 mm thick, the formula gives me an initial length l = (H + b) x L/h, which is l = (5 + .5) x 35/6 = 32.083333 cm. I would round things up and have my initial strips be at least 33 cm long. Does this make sense to you?