Plaid Cutting Board — Wood Shopping Guide
Keep this open on your phone in the store. One store, one buy — no alternatives.
MacBeath Hardwood, Berkeley · 930 Ashby Ave · (510) 843-4390 Mon–Fri 7:30 AM–4:30 PM · Sat 9:00 AM–3:00 PM
All boards: 4/4 S3S (surfaced, ~13/16" thick). No rough stock, no full-board or wholesale options. This is the buy list for the Plaid End-Grain Cutting Board build.
Buy exactly these cuts
At most two cuts per species = 6 cuts total (expect 6 boards, one cut per board — not 3 planks). Each cut is ≤ 4 ft, so MacBeath can cut it off a long board and leave ≥ 8 ft behind (their rule). Take one cut per board, or grab a precut short.
| Species | Cut | Usable width | Length | ~$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry | 1 | ≥ 3½" | 41¾" | $5.95 |
| Cherry | 2 | ≥ 6½" | 25½" | $6.75 |
| Walnut | 1 | ≥ 6½" | 25½" | $20.13 |
| Walnut | 2 | ≥ 6½" | 14⅛" | $11.15 |
| Brown maple | 1 | ≥ 5¾" | 41¾" | $8.02 |
| Brown maple | 2 | ≥ 2¾" | 25½" | $2.34 |
≈ 6.1 BF · ~$54.34 before tax (~$60 with tax). Walnut is ~58% of the cost — pick it carefully.
Prices confirmed 2026-10-29 (cherry $5.86, walnut $17.49, brown maple $4.81 per BF); MacBeath publishes no prices online — reconfirm at the counter.
At the rack — 4 checks
- S3S 13/16" flatness. The boards are surfaced to ~13/16", only 1/16" over the ¾" you mill to. Accept only if flat within ~1/16" over the cut length — sight down each board, reject cup/twist. A cupped board won't clean up to a flat ¾". If nothing is flat enough: ask for rough 4/4 (~1") or a shop-flattened board; never force a cupped 13/16" board down to ¾".
- Width. "Usable width" is the minimum face. Wider is fine (you'll rip strips from it). If boards are narrower, add two whose widths sum to it — keep them the same thickness.
- Length. Have them cut to the exact length shown, leaving ≥ 8 ft on the board.
- Clean & food-safe. No knots, cracks, pith, bark, spalt. Brown maple out? Ask for hard or soft maple of similar tone.
Two boards (keep one, gift one)
Double every cut: ~12.2 BF, ~$108.67 before tax (~$120 with tax). Take each copy as its own ≤ 4 ft cut (own board or precut short). Spares are per board, not shared.
Why so little wood
The finished board is only ~1.9 board-feet, but you buy ~6.1 BF: you mill 13/16" down to ¾" (shavings), rip strips (kerf loss), cut 1½" slices (kerf each), and keep a small reserve for a mistake. That is normal for a precision end-grain board. Full build details and the cut-by-cut ledger are in the full build plan.