How many strips do I need for a 12 inch wide cutting board?

The finished width divided by the strip width, rounded up. Strips 1 1/2" wide take 8, landing exactly on 12" with nothing to spare; strips 1 3/4" wide take 7, gluing up at 12 1/4" so there is 1/4" to clean up the edges. A little over is better than exact — a glue-up never comes out of the clamps perfectly flush.

How long should the strips be for an end grain cutting board?

Longer than the board, because the length becomes slices and every slice costs a kerf. For a 16" × 12" × 1 1/2" board from 1 3/4" strips, 10 slices of 1 5/8" (the finished thickness plus 1/8" to flatten) and 10 kerfs of 1/8", plus an inch to square the end, need strips 18 1/2" long.

How thick should an end grain cutting board be?

Most are 1 1/4" to 2" — thick enough not to rock or crack along a glue line, thin enough to lift. Whatever you choose, cut the slices thicker than that by the amount you will take off flattening: for 1 1/2" finished with 1/8" to flatten, the slices are 1 5/8". End grain is flattened with a router sled or a drum sander, never a thickness planer, which can catch a trailing edge and throw it.

How much wood do I need for a cutting board?

For a 16" × 12" × 1 1/2" end-grain board, the 7 strips at 18 1/2" hold 2.95 board feet with the saw kerf counted. Buy about 3.2 — the extra tenth is the same allowance the board foot calculator uses for surfaced lumber, and it is what covers a check or a strip that comes off the saw out of square.

Cutting board calculator: strips, slices and board feet

Enter the finished board and the strip width. This works out how many strips to rip, how long to cut them, and the board feet to buy — and for an end-grain board, the slices, the second glue-up and the length the extra kerfs cost.

Grain

Finished length

Finished width

Finished thickness

= 1.5"

Strip width

= 1.75"

Advanced settings1 3/4" strip stock · 1/8" kerf · 1/8" planing · 1" end trim

Strip stock thickness

= 1.75"

Kerf

= 0.125"

Planing allowance

= 0.125"

End trim

Extra length to square the ends

Rip and cut

7strips × 18 1/2"

Slices

10 at 1 5/8"

Strip section

1 3/4" × 1 3/4"

Buy about

3.2 bd ft

The steps, in order

Rip 7 strips7 rips at 1/8" kerf: 1 3/4" × 1 3/4"
Cut each strip to1" to square the end, then 10 slices at 1 5/8" plus a 1/8" kerf each: 18 1/2"
First glue-upPlane both faces to 1 5/8" thick: 12 1/4" × 18 1/2"
Crosscut 10 slices1/8" over the finished thickness, for flattening the end grain: 1 5/8"
Second glue-up, slices on endEach slice adds 1 5/8"; flip every other one for a checkerboard: 12 1/4" × 16 1/4"
Flatten and trim to: 16" × 12" × 1 1/2"

2.95 board feet are in the strips as ripped, kerf included; “buy about” adds the same 10% allowance the board foot calculator uses for surfaced lumber, for a check, a knot or a strip that comes off the saw out of square.

Cutting the slices

Set a stop block at 1 5/8" and cut every slice against it rather than measuring each one — slices that differ by a hair leave a step at every glue line that the planer cannot reach, because end grain is flattened with a router sled or a drum sander, never a thickness planer.

Where to buy this

3.2 bd ft, at least 1 3/4" thickHome Depot Lowe's

This searches the material, not a species or a board we picked for you. A closed-grain hardwood is the usual choice for a board that touches food.

Plain search links, nothing sponsored. Prices and stock are the shop's, and a local lumberyard will usually beat both on solid stock.

Worked example: an end-grain board

A 16" × 12" × 1 1/2" end-grain board from strips 1 3/4" wide takes 7 strips, each cut 18 1/2" long from 1 3/4" stock.

The first glue-up is planed to 1 5/8" and crosscut into 10 slices of 1 5/8" — 10 kerfs of 1/8", which is why the strips are that much longer than the board.

Turned on end, the slices glue up to 12 1/4" × 16 1/4" and flatten to the finished board. The strips hold 2.95 board feet; buy about 3.2.

Strips: 7 × 18 1/2"
Slices: 10 at 1 5/8"
Board feet to buy: 3.2

These are the figures the calculator above opens on. Change any field and it works the same problem for your numbers.

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About cutting board glue-ups

How many strips do I need for a 12 inch wide cutting board?: The finished width divided by the strip width, rounded up. Strips 1 1/2" wide take 8, landing exactly on 12" with nothing to spare; strips 1 3/4" wide take 7, gluing up at 12 1/4" so there is 1/4" to clean up the edges. A little over is better than exact — a glue-up never comes out of the clamps perfectly flush.
How long should the strips be for an end grain cutting board?: Longer than the board, because the length becomes slices and every slice costs a kerf. For a 16" × 12" × 1 1/2" board from 1 3/4" strips, 10 slices of 1 5/8" (the finished thickness plus 1/8" to flatten) and 10 kerfs of 1/8", plus an inch to square the end, need strips 18 1/2" long.
How thick should an end grain cutting board be?: Most are 1 1/4" to 2" — thick enough not to rock or crack along a glue line, thin enough to lift. Whatever you choose, cut the slices thicker than that by the amount you will take off flattening: for 1 1/2" finished with 1/8" to flatten, the slices are 1 5/8". End grain is flattened with a router sled or a drum sander, never a thickness planer, which can catch a trailing edge and throw it.
How much wood do I need for a cutting board?: For a 16" × 12" × 1 1/2" end-grain board, the 7 strips at 18 1/2" hold 2.95 board feet with the saw kerf counted. Buy about 3.2 — the extra tenth is the same allowance the board foot calculator uses for surfaced lumber, and it is what covers a check or a strip that comes off the saw out of square.