[cnester1]

Guys,

Going to make my first ever venture to a lumber yard to buy some lumber. Been to the big box stores for years, but never to an actual mill. My goal is to make some end grain cutting boards for Christmas presents. I found that I have what appears to be a pretty good supplier not to far from me. www.wiblesupickhardwoods.com .

I am hoping you guys can help me digest the terminology and get me what I need. A few questions.

1. Thickness - for cutting boards I am thinking I want 8/4. What is the minimum thickness you would recommend. I do have a planer if I need to reduce size. Is it a no no to face glue to pieces together to make a thicker piece of stock?
2. SLR1E - Everything says its straight line ripped on one edge. Will this be a true straight edge?
3. S&B vs. Fig/Curly - I am assuming the latter means Figure in the lumber? which in my eyes is not needed for an end grain board.
4. What wood types do you recommend? In 8/4 they carry red oak, Poplar, White HM, Hickory, Cherry, Soft Maple, Ash, Walnut, Alder and Basswood. I want a nice light/dark contrast - was thinking hickory or hard maple paired with walnut. Although walnut appears to be pricey compared to others.

Thanks guys, look forward to hearing your responses.

 

[TomC]

In an end grain cutting board the thickness of the board is not determined by the thickness of the boards you start with. After your first glue up and planning you cut it into strips. The thickness of the strips determine the thickness of you final board. I have found the 4/4 to 5/4 is ali you need to make an end grain board. I mainly use cherry, hard mple, and walnut for my boards. Hope this helps.
Tom
Edited to add that I like my initial glue up to be between 3/4" to 7/8" thick.

 

[kelsochris]

The SLR1E should have one edge straight enough reference against most machine fences. You can use different thicknesses of wood but you will need to mill them to the same width before glue up. You can make up some very unique patterns by varying the thickness of your stock. In its basic sense to make such a cutting board you will mill several pieces to roughly the same thickness and width ( say 1 x 2 x 36 ). Next you would glue the pieces together so that say the 2" faces all faced each other. Next you will need to mill the 36" faces of the glue up flat then rip the glue up down to strips that are the thickness you want the finish board to be ( say 1 1/2"). Now take those strips and glue them together ( edge grain to edge grain ). Now you need to level the faces of that glue up and you can dress the edges and corners.

 

[JohnnyG73]

The Wood Whisperer lays it on the line about as basic as possible in this video. It can save you a lot of confusion...

http://youtu.be/e2FNYJMkP-o