I had some nice pieces of 2×2 red oak leftover from the tile top end table project that needed to be put to good use. I decided to try and make an end grain cutting board as a Christmas gift.

I started by gluing the strips together in sections:

I then cut the slab apart into 10 strips. The strips were numbered before cutting to keep them properly orientated. If I had a planer, I would have planed the slab perfectly flat before cutting it apart. Since the pieces were not all identical in thickness, small gaps became apparent in the next step.

I then flipped the strips on end to expose the end grain. I flipped the even numbered strips end for end to make an alternating pattern. With the pattern established, I then glued the strips back together.

After a lot of sanding, followed by finishing with mineral oil and beeswax, this is the result: