Cherry End Grain Cutting Board With Zig Zag Stripe

Making An End Grain Cutting Board With A Zig Zag Stripe

Zig Zag is a vague design term when it comes to cutting boards, there are many different ways to do it. The easiest is shown above, We will explore more complicated versions later, Lets get started!

To begin, you'll need lots of cherry. Thicker is better. I used:

• 2 " thick Cherry (2"x12" or SIX 2" strips)
• 20"x 2"x.5" Walnut
• 20"x 2"x.5" Maple
• 20"x 2"x1" Maple

If you add up the thicknesses of the smaller walnut and cherry pieces, you get 2 inches. That way they comprise another 2"x2" square, continuing the checkerboard look.

As always, to begin you must rip your boards down to the sizes above, and glue them edge to edge. MAKE SURE your edges are perfect, you cannot have gaps. Use a jointer or planer if you must, although a good table saw should suffice. Put the one walnut piece in the middle of the two maples, they will be glued in the middle of the 6 cherry pieces, 

After an hour of glue time, trim up the 14" smaller ends so they are flat, you will need to glue a 14"x2" piece of pine on each end. This is to prevent your planer from blowing out the back corner of the board as it passes through. 

When that dries, plane that beautiful board until youre satisfied that its perfectly flat and smooth. Trim the pine off.

Make 2" crosscuts against the grain of the boards. You will be cutting them into 14"x2" strips.

 Flip them all 90 degrees so the side you just cut is facing up. Notice where the small walnut piece meets the 1" maple piece. This is the center of the board. Turn every other strip 180 degrees so the walnut is higher or lower than the one adjacent to it, like the picture above. 

I roll my glue on big boards with a 2 inch paint roller. Turn each piece onto the side needing the glue, then liberally apply it everywhere. Roll it around and tada, very quick way to get an even application.

Originally I intended the corner of each walnut piece to touch the corner of the next walnut piece, like in my glue rolling picture above. Halfway through I decided to have HALF of each walnut touching the next. 

Clamping two large wood blocks on each side at just over 14" apart helped me keep this imaginary middle line consistent. You can do it this way, or the sides can be flush. Either way will create a jagged line out of the walnut.

Turn each piece and fit to the next. I place 2 pipe clamps over the top near the end on each side, then flip it over and put 2 more pipe clamps on near the center. Again, glue a piece of pine on each end for planing later,

One its dry, plane a few times, then sand.

Its best to use an orbital sander, belt sanders can cause scratches in end grain boards. I start with 60 grit and ease up to 220-300 grit. 

You're almost done! Round the edges if you like. Apply mineral oil, or other food safe finish liberally. End grain soaks up mineral oil quickly, several coats is best. 

Once a finish is applied ( not shown above ) cherry develops a deep red hue, that darkens with age. It is truly a timeless wood, easily recognizable and looks great in any project.

Enjoy your beautiful Cherry cutting board - chopping block!