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Butcher Block Island Board[8/4 Wide · 4ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 2 big boards + 2 cheese boards
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 4ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 4' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers. Food-safe species shown.
A big, heavy face-grain board that lives on the kitchen island — room to break down a roast, roll out dough or lay out a whole spread. Three wide 8/4 boards edge-glue into a 30" × 16½" slab, two more make a second 30" × 11" board, and the leftover ends glue up into two cheese boards. Nothing goes to waste.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big board pieces | 3 | Boards 1–3 | 30" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Second board pieces | 2 | Boards 4–5 | 30" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Cheese board pieces | 4 | Remainders of boards 1–4 | 16¾" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Spare / trivet | 1 | Remainder of board 5 | 16¾" × 5½" × 1¾" |
Big board: three 5½" × 30" pieces edge-glued → 30" × 16½".
Second board: two 30" pieces → 30" × 11".
Cheese boards: four 16¾" remainders glued in pairs → two 16¾" × 11". The fifth remainder is a spare or trivet.
All joints long grain to long grain. Flatten to about 1½", round the edges, board oil and wax.
Finished size: Big board 30" × 16½" · second board 30" × 11" · two cheese boards 16¾" × 11" · all about 1½" thick.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 4ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond III — water resistant)
- Sandpaper 80 / 120 / 180 / 220
- Food-safe finish: mineral oil or board oil
- Board wax (beeswax and mineral oil)
- 4 rubber feet with stainless screws (for the big board)
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
- 6–8 bar clamps, 18" or longer
- Cauls (straight scrap strips) and packing tape
- Planer (12–13") plus a router sled, hand plane or belt sander for the 16½" board
- Track saw, or circular saw + straightedge
- Router with roundover bit; ½" core-box bit for a juice groove (optional)
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance).
- 2 Crosscut every board. Square one end, then cut each board at 30". Square the leftover piece to 16¾". You get five 30" pieces and five 16¾" pieces.
- 3 Arrange the boards. Lay out three 30" pieces for the big board and two for the second board. Put the best faces up and flip pieces until the colour flows across the seams. Pair four of the short pieces into two cheese boards. Mark each set with a chalk triangle.
- 4 Joint the mating edges. Every edge that meets another must be dead straight. Dry-clamp each set: no light should show along any seam.
- 5 Glue up. Edge-glue the big board (30" × 16½"), the second board (30" × 11") and the two cheese boards (16¾" × 11"). Every joint is long grain to long grain. Use cauls to keep the faces level, clamp every 6–8" alternating over and under, and line up the ends carefully. Leave overnight.
- 6 Flatten. Scrape off the glue. The 11" boards fit a 12–13" planer. The 16½" big board is too wide for most, so use a router sled, a hand plane or a belt sander. Take everything down to about 1½".
- 7 Square the ends. Sand or trim the ends flush with a track saw or a circular saw and a straightedge. Keep them square — on a big board, a crooked end shows.
- 8 Shape the edges. Round over all edges with a ¼" or ⅜" roundover bit. For a juice groove on the big board, use a ½" core-box bit and an edge guide, ¾" in from the edge, on one face only.
- 9 Sand. Sand 80 → 120 → 180 → 220. Wipe with a damp cloth, let it dry, and sand again at 220.
- 10 Oil, wax and feet. Flood every face with board oil, let it soak overnight, wipe off and repeat until it stops soaking in. Finish with board wax. Screw rubber feet to the big board in pre-drilled holes, 2" in from each corner.
Why face grain? The wide boards show off the full figure of the wood, and three pieces make a big board with only two seams. It is the simplest big board to build and the easiest to keep flat.
Why rubber feet? Feet lift the board so air reaches the bottom. Both faces dry evenly, so it doesn't cup, and the board won't slide on a wet counter.
Does wood movement matter? A 16½" board grows and shrinks about ⅛" across its width through the year. All the grain runs the same way, so it moves as one piece. Never glue cleats or a frame across it.
Make It Yours
- Juice groove: rout it on one face of the big board for carving roasts.
- Mixed species: swap the middle piece with a contrasting board for a bold centre stripe.
- Trivet: cut the spare 16¾" piece into a hot-pot trivet or a small bread board.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- The big board weighs 20–25 lb. Support it on a stand or roller when routing or trimming.
- When ripping the edges straight, use a push stick and keep the board flat on the saw table.
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
Walnut, maple, cherry, oak, sapele, padauk and purpleheart are all fine for cutting boards. Skip aromatic cedar for anything that touches food. Wear a dust mask when cutting exotics like padauk, purpleheart and sapele — the dust irritates.
Use a router sled — two straight rails and a router riding on a carriage — or a hand plane and a straightedge. Or ask a local shop to run it through a wide drum sander. Careful glue-up with cauls means much less to flatten.
Wipe it with hot soapy water and dry it right away — never soak it. Oil it once a month. Store it flat on its feet or on edge, never leaning on one face in a wet spot.
Planned offcuts only: about ⅛" off each remainder when you square it, plus one spare 16¾" × 5½" piece for a trivet. All 5 boards go into the four boards.
A 2ft wide pack is too short for the 30" boards. It makes our Edge-Grain Butcher Block or End-Grain Chopping Block instead.
