John Boos RA-Board Series Rectangular Maple Cutting Board

By John Boos · Cutting Boards · Kitchen & Cooking · More from John Boos

  • 2-1/4 inch thick
  • Northern Hard Rock Maple
  • NSF Certified
  • Edge grain construction
  • Reversible with recessed finger grips

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Summary

A 2-1/4 in thick edge-grain Northern Hard Rock Maple board, NSF certified and built in Effingham, Illinois, sold in four sizes. It is heavy, stable and repairable, but monthly oiling is effectively mandatory and warping or glue-joint separation shows up even among owners who oil regularly.

Strengths

  • Heavy enough to stay put on the counter and absorb knife impact instead of transmitting it.
  • Scratches sand out with 200-grit paper, and the board can be refinished and reversed for even wear.
  • Recessed finger grips that do not pass through the board, and NSF certification for foodservice use.
  • Owners report decades of service from boards that get regular oiling.
  • Split glue lines can be glued back with the right glue and a maple-sawdust filler.

Weaknesses

  • Warping and glue-joint separation recur even among owners who oil regularly.
  • Boos’s own care page says brine, water and blood soaking into the wood weakens the glued joints, so moisture discipline is structural.
  • Arrival-condition defects are common: gashes, edge chips, rough unsanded patches, dry surfaces and occasional glue-line delamination.
  • At 30 lb the 24 × 18 in board is awkward to wash, store and return, and returns can cost more than $100 in shipping.
  • The one-year warranty excludes cracking from inadequate oiling, and the customer pays return freight.
  • Wirecutter no longer recommends edge-grain boards at all; its own Boos pick arrived extremely dry and cracked within a year.

Verified specifications

Dimensions18 × 12 in (RA01), 20 × 15 in (RA02), 24 × 18 in (RA03) and 30 × 23-1/4 in.
Thickness2-1/4 in.
WoodNorthern Hard Rock Maple.
Constructionedge grain, reversible, with recessed finger grips routed into both ends.
CertificationNSF Certified.
Finishoil finish.
Weight13 lb for the 18 × 12 in board, 30 lb for the 24 × 18 in board; the 20 × 15 in and 30 × 23-1/4 in weights are not published by the manufacturer.
Originmade in the USA, built in Effingham, Illinois.
Careoil all surfaces at least monthly, hand wash with mild soap, never use the dishwasher, keep standing liquid off the surface, no serrated or razor-edge blades.
Warrantyone year against manufacturing defects.
Full research notes and sources

Care and maintenance

Oiling is the job. Boos tells owners to oil all surfaces at least monthly, let the oil penetrate overnight, wipe off the excess, and reverse the board periodically. Hand wash with mild soap and dry thoroughly. Never use the dishwasher. Keep wet meat and standing liquid off the surface. No serrated knives or razor-edge cleavers. Minor scratches sand out with 200-grit paper, with the grain. Care products are sold separately: Boos Block Mystery Oil and Board Cream, with packs listed at $39.95 to $49.95.

Warping, glue joints and the warranty

The strongest complaint cluster is warping and glue-joint separation over time, and it shows up even among owners who oil regularly. MAIR reports an owner on his third board who oils every other week and still saw warping after three years, and a hobby woodworker reporting glued seams opening too easily for a professional-grade product. Boos’s own care page predicts the mechanism: liquid soaking into wood weakens glued joints. About 6% of retail reviewers rate the board poorly, mostly on this basis. A BBB complaint describes a board that split within months; Boos responded that the board had not been oiled for 8 months and advised oiling all sides, wrapping in plastic and filling splits with wood glue, and the customer paid over $100 for return shipping.

The warranty is one year from purchase or delivery against manufacturing defects, valid only for boards bought from John Boos or authorized US resellers. Per a reseller mirror of the terms it excludes neglect, normal wear, misuse and cracking from inadequate oiling. The customer bears packing and shipping costs if a factory return is required. Unfinished orders have no warranty. In practice the BBB case shows the dispute: Boos cited missed oiling, and the customer paid to send the board back.

Arrival condition and weight

A smaller but real defect class is arrival condition. Owners report boards arriving with gashes, edge chips, rough unsanded patches, hairline splits, dry surfaces and, in a few cases, a layer lifting at a glue line with slivers sharp enough to cut a hand. MAIR classifies the delamination as a manufacturing defect rather than a care failure. The weight makes returns painful: the 24 × 18 in board is 30 lb, and some owners kept flawed boards rather than pay to ship them back. Inspect the board fully before first use.

Value

John Boos lists the 18 × 12 in at $133.95, the 20 × 15 in at $170.95, the 24 × 18 in at $200.95 and the 30 × 23-1/4 in at $326.95 (johnboos.com, 2026-10-13). A sitewide 20% off event was live October 5–13, 2026. At list price this is a premium purchase. The case for it is the mass, the flatness, the sand-and-oil repairability and decades of service from owners who oil monthly. Against that: Wirecutter no longer recommends edge-grain boards at all after its own Boos pick cracked within a year, and warping and joint-separation complaints appear even among diligent owners. The 30 × 23-1/4 in board is a countertop replacement, not a cutting board, and return or replacement logistics dominate ownership. One official-site reviewer paid $369 all-in for that size including shipping and tax.

Which model this is

This page covers the RA-Board Series, model numbers RA01 (18 × 12 in), RA02 (20 × 15 in), RA03 (24 × 18 in) and the 30 × 23-1/4 in size sold in the same series. Retailers often call these boards “butcher block”; the manufacturer’s own specification is edge grain. Do not confuse them with the thinner R-Board series (1-1/2 in thick), the end-grain CCB chopping blocks, or the juice-groove RA-Board variants. The Amazon listing for this series is ASIN B004REGR4S.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Independent reviews:

Owner reports:

Retailers and warranty mirrors:

Buying guides for this category

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