I had watched several YouTube videos featuring brick-pattern cutting boards, and I was eager to build one myself. I had some 8/4 ash wood that I initially planned for another project, but I decided on a better option, making the ash available for this board. Additionally, I had some purpleheart wood on hand. While I originally wanted 1/4″ mortar joints, I didn’t have enough purpleheart for the larger joints, so I settled for 1/8″ joints.
To achieve uniform thickness, I started by planing the ash stock. Next, I cut the ash boards into strips that were 2 3/4″ wide. For the purpleheart, I matched its width to the thickness of the ash boards. The purpleheart strips were then cut to a thickness of 1/8″. Before gluing, I sanded all the strips with 120-grit sandpaper to remove saw marks and create a smooth surface. Finally, I glued the alternating ash and purpleheart strips together (see Figure A). The strips were glued together with TiteBond III Ultimate.
After letting the glue cure overnight, I then planed and sanded the initial glue-up blank to smooth it out and prepare it for the next glue-up. The blank was then cut into 1 3/4″ wide strips perpendicular to the initial strips. The strips were then glued together with a purpleheart strip between each brick strip. Once again, the glue-up was allowed to cure overnight before removing from the clamps.
Initial glue-up
- Figure A: Initial glue-up with ash and purpleheart.
- Figure B & Figure C: After 2nd glue-up and after removing from clamps.
- Figure D: After planing and sanding. Boards are ready for food-safe mineral oil treatment.
- Figure E: Board after oil treatment. Sitting in tray to allow excess oil to drain.
- Figure F: Finished board after oil treatment. Board sits overnight to allow excess oil to soak into wood.
