Classic Walnut & Maple Stripes
The most-built board there is: alternating walnut and maple stripes in a one-glue-up edge-grain panel.
Strip layout to scale, left edge to right edge — heartwood tones from the species data the 3D preview uses.
| Finished size | 12″ × 18″ × 1 1/2″ thick |
|---|---|
| Construction | Edge grain (one glue-up) |
| Strips | 8 |
| Species | Walnut, black, Maple, hard (sugar) |
| Difficulty | beginner |
| Est. lumber to buy | ≈ 3.3 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
Walnut and maple stripes are the most-built cutting board pattern there is, and for good reason: both species are hard, closed-grain, and food-safe, and the contrast between chocolate-brown walnut and cream-colored hard maple is as strong as domestic lumber gets. This version alternates eight 1 1/2″ strips — four walnut, four maple — into a 12″-wide edge-grain board. One rip-fence setting, one glue-up, no crosscutting: it is the ideal first cutting board.
Alternate the end-grain ring orientation of neighboring strips so seasonal movement cancels instead of cupping the panel, and dry-clamp the whole layout once before any glue comes out. Scrape squeeze-out at the leathery stage rather than sanding it off later — walnut dust drives into maple pores and muddies the crisp glue line that makes this pattern work. Ease the corners, chamfer the edges, and finish with mineral oil followed by a beeswax board butter.