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Checkerboard end-grain block. Two glue-ups, self-healing surface, kind to your knives — and unforgiving of sloppy milling.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L | Material | ✓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maple strips (first glue-up) | 7 | 1 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 20" | Hard Maple | ☐ |
| Walnut strips (first glue-up) | 6 | 1 3/4" × 1 1/2" × 20" | Black Walnut | ☐ |
| Crosscut slices (from the first panel) Each slice is 1.5" thick, cut across the striped panel. Twelve slices = the finished board's width. | 12 | 1 1/2" × 1 3/4" × 19 1/2" | — | ☐ |
| Item | Qty | ✓ |
|---|---|---|
| Hard maple, 8/4 (1-3/4" surfaced) (Hard Maple) ~$14/bd ft in 8/4. Thicker stock means fewer strips for the same board thickness. | 5 board feet | ☐ |
| Black walnut, 8/4 (Black Walnut) ~$18/bd ft. This is where the cost lives. | 3 board feet | ☐ |
| Waterproof wood glue You will use twice what you expect. End grain drinks glue. | 8 oz | ☐ |
| Food-safe mineral oil | 16 oz | ☐ |
| Beeswax / mineral oil paste | 4 oz | ☐ |
| Sandpaper, assorted grits | 12 each | ☐ |
Overall cost: $$$. Lumber varies by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure.
Tools: Jointer, Table Saw, Thickness Planer. Materials: Hard maple, 8/4 (1-3/4" surfaced), Black walnut, 8/4
Flatten, thickness, and joint all stock to a consistent 1-3/4". Every strip must be the same thickness — a 1/64" variation becomes a visible step in the checkerboard.
This step is the project. Rush it and nothing downstream will save you.
Tools: Parallel Clamps, Table Saw. Materials: Hard maple, 8/4 (1-3/4" surfaced), Black walnut, 8/4, Waterproof wood glue
Rip 1.5"-wide strips. Alternate maple and walnut — 7 maple, 6 walnut, starting and ending with maple.
Glue on edge, clamp from alternating sides, keep it flat. Light squeeze-out along every joint. Overnight cure.
Tools: Random Orbit Sander, Thickness Planer
Plane or sand both faces flat and parallel. Flat here means square slices in the next step. Trim one end square to give yourself a reference.
Tools: Table Saw
Crosscut the panel into 1.5"-thick slices — a sled with a stop block, riding the freshly squared edge.
Cut them all without moving the stop. Twelve slices at consistent thickness is what makes the checkerboard line up. Number them as they come off.
Rotate every slice 90° so the end grain faces up. Now flip every *other* slice end-for-end — that offsets the stripes by one and produces the checkerboard.
Dry fit. Nudge until the squares line up. Mark a V across the top.
Tools: Parallel Clamps. Materials: Waterproof wood glue
This one is greedy. Roll a heavy, even coat on every end-grain face — end grain wicks glue away from the joint, and a starved end-grain joint is a weak one.
Clamp evenly. Watch for slices sliding out of plane; end grain is slippery under pressure. Cauls across the top and bottom help enormously. Overnight cure.
Tools: Thickness Planer
Do not send end grain through a planer aggressively. Take 1/64" passes at most, with sharp knives, and back up the trailing edge with a sacrificial block to stop blowout. A drum sander is the safer tool if you can get to one; a router sled works too.
Expect this to take a while. It is the price of end grain.
Tools: Random Orbit Sander, Router. Materials: Sandpaper, assorted grits
Trim to final size — roughly 12" x 16" x 1.5". Roundover every edge.
Sand 80 → 220. Raise the grain with a damp rag between the last two grits; end grain fuzzes badly otherwise.
Materials: Food-safe mineral oil, Beeswax / mineral oil paste
End grain is a bundle of straws standing on end and it will drink an astonishing amount of oil. Flood it, wait, wipe, repeat — expect 5–6 coats over two days before it stops absorbing.
Finish with wax paste. Then tell the recipient: hand wash only, re-oil monthly at first. This board should outlast them.