Preview
Move over the board to inspect a square.
Edge-grain vs. end-grain
Same wood, same pattern, two different builds. Edge-grain is what you'd get if you just glued the strips into a panel and stopped there. End-grain is this tool's actual plan — the strips get cut apart and rotated so you're looking at the end of the wood fibers instead of the side.
Edge-grain board
End-grain board (this plan)
Boards to buy
A more literal read on the same question: instead of going through board feet, this rips actual module-wide strips straight across the width of one raw board (using the Stock length, width and thickness you set in the sidebar), then counts how many whole boards that takes per species.
| Wood | Fit per board | Strips needed | Boards needed |
|---|
Your cut plan
Species used
| Wood | Squares | Share | Janka |
|---|
Material estimate
| Wood | Bd ft | Linear ft* | Boards† | Leftover |
|---|
*Includes a 40% allowance for saw kerf, jointing and planing losses across the two lamination passes, and assumes stock at the Stock length, width and thickness set in the sidebar — adjust those to what your supplier actually stocks. †Boards needed and leftover assume each board you buy is cut to the Stock length set in the sidebar; real lumber often runs a bit short of its nominal length, so leave yourself a couple inches of slack.
Reading the numbers
- Janka
- Hardness rating in pounds-force (lbf) — the force it takes to press a steel ball halfway into the wood. Higher numbers resist dents, scratches and knife wear better, but dull blades faster and sand more slowly. Under ~950 (like cherry) is fine for a board but noticeably softer in daily use than maple or wenge.
- Bd Ft
- Board foot — the unit hardwood is priced and sold by, regardless of the board's actual shape. One board foot = 144 in³, equivalent to a 12" × 12" × 1" board. It's a volume measure, so a short, wide board and a long, narrow one can be the same board footage.
- Linear Ft
- A shopping approximation: how many running feet of your Stock width and Stock thickness (set in the sidebar) would supply that board-foot total. Hardwood is usually sold random-width, so treat this as a ballpark and recalculate if your supplier's boards run narrower or wider than what you entered.
- Fit per board
- How many module-wide strips you can rip side by side across one raw board's Stock width, with a blade kerf's worth of gap left between each rip — the board's capacity, regardless of your design. A wider Stock width — or a smaller Square size — gets you more strips per board.
- Strips needed
- How many full-length strips of that species your design actually calls for. If this is less than Fit per board, one board covers it — you'd only rip that many strips and leave the rest of the board's width uncut, not use the whole thing.
Build notes
Cutting & gluing
- Cut every strip to the exact same thickness — that thickness becomes your square size. Any difference here shows up as wavy, uneven glue lines once you cut across the panel.
- Use a food-safe, water-resistant glue — Titebond III or equivalent — at every joint, and clamp with even, moderate pressure. Over-clamping starves a joint of glue and weakens it.
- Let the first glue-up dry a full 24 hours before cutting it apart. Cutting too early lets strips shift under blade pressure and throws off your square size.
- Cut across with a sliding guide (sled) and a stop block, not a tape measure — a stop block is just a scrap piece clamped in place so every cut lands in the exact same spot, which matters far more than it sounds like it should.
- Flip alternating pieces end-for-end (not just rotate in place) to get the offset most patterns need — check the preview above against your plan before you commit glue.
Shop safety
- Mind the dust. Padauk, purpleheart and wenge sawdust are known skin and respiratory sensitizers for some woodworkers — wear a respirator and vacuum up dust as you go, especially during the finer, dustier second round of cuts.
- Never freehand small end-grain pieces against the fence alone — they're narrow and top-heavy on the blade. Use a sliding cutting guide or a sacrificial push block instead.
Flattening & sanding
- Let the second glue-up rest 2–3 days before flattening. End-grain blanks keep moving as internal stress from cutting releases — flattening too soon just means flattening again later.
- Flatten with a router jig, drum sander, or wide-belt sander rather than a hand plane — a plane biting into end grain tears out badly, especially across glue lines.
- Sand progressively: 120 → 150 → 220 → 320, vacuuming between grits so leftover coarse grit doesn't scratch through the next pass.
- Break every edge with a light round-over or chamfer before finishing — sharp end-grain corners chip easily in daily use.
Finish & care
- Seal both faces and all edges the same day with food-grade mineral oil, applied until the wood stops absorbing it, then wiped dry. Sealing only the top invites uneven moisture uptake and cupping.
- Follow with a board cream (mineral oil + beeswax) for a longer-lasting moisture barrier once the oil has fully soaked in.
- Re-oil monthly at first, then every few months as it settles in — a board that looks pale or feels dry is asking for oil, not water.
- Never soak it or run it through a dishwasher. Standing water and heat swell end grain unevenly and can open glue joints over time.