A second life for Detroit's wood.

The End Grain Woodworking Co was founded in 2011 by Chris Behm and Sam Constantine, working out of a two-car garage. What started as a way to rescue beautiful old-growth lumber from Detroit homes being taken apart became a small shop devoted to building things meant to last.

Much of the hardwood in our boards came from houses built a century ago, when framing and flooring were milled from dense, slow-grown timber you simply can't buy today. When a home is carefully deconstructed instead of demolished, that wood can be saved. We mill it, dry it, and rebuild it into end-grain butcher block.

Every board carries its project number

We stamp each board with the project number of the building its wood came from. It's a small mark, but it ties a cutting board on your counter back to a specific place in the city — a record that the history of the wood travels with it into its new life.

Built the slow way

Boards are glued up end-grain, flattened, sanded through the grits, and seasoned with several coats of food-safe mineral oil. Cared for, an end-grain board will outlast the rest of your kitchen — and can always be re-oiled and resurfaced to look new again.