Butcher Block
Six wide strips of hard maple on edge — the traditional butcher block, thick and plain-spoken.
Strip layout to scale, left edge to right edge — heartwood tones from the species data the 3D preview uses.
| Finished size | 12″ × 18″ × 1 3/4″ thick |
|---|---|
| Construction | Edge grain (one glue-up) |
| Strips | 6 |
| Species | Maple, hard (sugar) |
| Difficulty | beginner |
| Est. lumber to buy | ≈ 3.7 board feet (incl. 15% waste) |
Opens this exact layout in the free designer — live 3D preview, printable cut list, and lumber cost at your prices. Edit anything.
About this pattern
This is the traditional maple butcher block: six 2″-wide strips of hard maple on edge, glued into a 12″ × 18″ slab at a full 1 3/4″ thick. One species, one rip width, one glue-up — the beginner project that still looks professional, because the visual interest comes from the grain itself rather than from contrast. Pick your boards for color consistency and straight grain at the lumberyard; a single-species block hides nothing.
Edge-grain maple is what most commercial cutting boards use: harder-wearing than face grain, far less thirsty than end grain, and stable if you alternate growth-ring orientation strip to strip. At 1 3/4″ the slab stays put on the counter under heavy knife work and leaves enough meat to be re-flattened many times over its life. Glue with a waterproof PVA, flatten, break the edges with a 1/8″ roundover, and oil it monthly for the first year — then whenever the surface looks dry.