wood for cutting board

K

KenH

Well-Known Member
Hello all - been thinking about making a cutting board for the wife. We've got a few wooden cutting boards, and one acrylic board the wife INSISTS on using for "hygiene" - says meat juices don't soak in it. Yea, the knives take a beating for sure.

What is the opinion on teak vs American Black Walnut wood? I've got those two woods, but might consider other woods.Cut up in 2" blocks for a 2" thick end grain board is my first though. Got to do more research and KD group is my first place to start.

Any comments 'n suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.

Ken H>
 
I believe maple or birch would be much better. Teak by the way will continue to "leak" its own oil. I expect it wouldn't taste all that great but haven't given it a lick to verify.
Frank
 
I made a couple a few years ago. One I used maple and walnut, end grain checker board style. The other I used maple and red cedar, in long strips with the grain. The first was definitely better, I think it had more to do with the end grain cutting surface than the wood choice though. Don't think I've ever seen any made with teak, might be a reason?
 
any hardwood will work ok as a cutting board. face grain, edge grain, or end grain all work, end grain arrangement is hardest to do. get rid of the acrylic and get either polyethylene or polypropylene. here is a link to a study done by UC Davis about wood vs plastic boards http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm. i prefer a poly board for proteins because they are easier to clean. go the pharmacy and pick up some mineral oil USP to finish boards with, this oil will not break down or become rancid like corn oil or other vegetable oils.
i cut the pieces, run the glue edges across the jointer, apply glue, clamp, wipe off excess, let dry, the run thru plane. as with a knife, clean wood board in sink never in dishwasher. a finished board 5/8" thick will work just as well as a board 2" thick.
 
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Scott, thanks for that link - I'd remembered reading something along those lines a few years back, but couldn't remember details. I got the wife to allow me to throw the acrylic board away yesterday, and all the rest are wood or bamboo boards, but none are end grain.

I agree on the idea of Teak for a cutting board - Teak had never occurred to me, but a bit of research over weekend showed several Teak boards offered, and a DIY place that mentioned Teak as being good. I've worked with Teak for years in the marine world.... but cutting board?

Scott, would a board only 5/8" thick not tend to warp? OR - does epoxying edge grain help prevent wrapping? Wood runs thru planer so nice, but seems like after gluing up and running thru to plane end grain would be hard to plane.... I guess take very shallow cuts?

Thanks to all for suggestions and guidance,

Ken H>
 
Here is a board that I made about a year ago. It is 2" end cuts of Maple, walnut on the sides and Ebony on the corners. On an end cut board it is really hard to get all the blocks to match up when you are doing the final clamp and glue-up - a lot like herding cats. Good Luck!

Wallace


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Wallace - that looks good. I've seen some boards with the blocks staggered so the seams don't line up, but end of one block is middle of adjacent block. I like that idea, seems like it would give more strength.... I really like the looks of that. I've always read/heard Maple is the wood of choice, but I don't have any Maple. Got plenty of Walnut 'n ebony, even Guatemalan Mahogany which is a light colored wood, but that seems too soft for cutting board. I've also got plenty of Cedar from north Alabama that's well seasoned. While Cedar is a fine grain, I wouldn't think cedar would be a good choice - or is it? I wish I had some of the Cherry I had stored at Dad's barn. I think he used it as scrap lumber. I caught him using some of my Teak for scrap lumber once. After that I hid the Teak {g}.

Thanks again for suggestions,

Ken H>
 
Ken, today's wood glues are so good I don't worry about strength. If it's made right, the wood will break before the glue will. Have you got a jointer too? I make my blocks oversized a little, then glued them into single rows. Ran the rows through the planer and jointer until they were the same, then glued the rows together. Clamped/glued them up with the top side facing down on a flat surface. Used a hand held belt sander to even the bottom side up afterwards, top didn't need much leveling, just sanding. I inset some little rubber feet on the bottom, which renders it a one sided cutting board though.
 
Sounds like you've done some thinking and experience from building cutting blocks. Good point on the wood glues - I usually use an epoxy and the wood breaks before the glue joint - if the glue joint is done right.

Ken H>
 
google "hardwood lumber". i came up with these guys http://www.buchananlumbermobile.com/dhp_stock.html. i would do face grain or edge grain for first couple just to get the hang of it. any good quality wood glue works fine. have had no warping issues with boards i make. google "how to make cutting board" and it will give tips on how to arrange the boards so they are less likely to warp.
find someone on this list nearby http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/directories/sdd.cgi?services=Custom Sawing. i get a lot of my wood from a local guy who has a small sawmill on his property,
 
A great wood for a really durable end-grain cutting board is white oak. It's tough, more dimensionally stable with changes in humidity than is maple and its cell structure doesn't absorb water.

To make an end-grain cutting board, I will rip strips about two feet long (depending on the size of the project) and joint them to the finished width of the size squares I want to use. I'll arrange the end- grain in an alternating pattern and and glue them up into a board as wide as the cutting board will be. I usually use polyurethane glue as it is waterproof and gives me a lot of time to get things aligned. After the glue sets, I'll run the assembly through the planer to bring the thickness to match the width of the strips in the board. Then you can just slice sections off the end of the glued-up board the thickness that you want your cutting board to be, turn them end-grain up, arrange your pattern and glue them together.

If that doesn't make sense, I'll post some pictures. Good luck and have fun!
 
White Oak is good? I might have some white oak, not sure. That could make a nice looking board with walnut for sides.

I "think" I've got an idea what you're talking about - by gluing the strips before cutting into blocks seems like a good idea. Do you have a link to the Polyurethane glue you use? Is this better than a good epoxy?

THanks for the info,

Ken H>
 
KenH said:
White Oak is good? I might have some white oak, not sure. That could make a nice looking board with walnut for sides.

I "think" I've got an idea what you're talking about - by gluing the strips before cutting into blocks seems like a good idea. Do you have a link to the Polyurethane glue you use? Is this better than a good epoxy?

THanks for the info,

Ken H>
Click to expand...

You'll be fine with either epoxy or polyurethane, they're both messy. I put a piece of plastic sheeting on my workbench before I start. I've used Gorilla glue or Elmer's Glue-All Max with good results. Polyurethane glue may be a little less expensive, and no mixing is required. Dampen the wood very slightly, use the glue quite sparingly and clamp up tight.
 
That is some neat ideas there on that program..... I guess I'll just use a cad type program if I need to draw something up. That way I don't have a learning curve. I think I've got some Maple coming tomorrow. If so, I think I'll use maple for center and a dark Walnut for edges.

Thanks to all for the ideas and suggestions. I won't get to this project for a while, I've got 4 knives to get finished before end of month and I do work pretty slow, then the steak knife set for wife.... but "IF" I do get the Maple, it's certainly a project for the schedule.

Ken H>
 
Maple would be my wood of choice, fine, tight grain. Walnut and cherry can be found with the same tight grain. Trick is to be sure that the wood is well seasoned, and that different wood species have the same type grain structure so they don't absorb moisture at different rates. I always wash both sides of my board, again, so the moisture content is equal on both sides. Moisture is really the only thing that will seperate well made glue joints. But remember too take wood movement into consideration, IT IS going to move!
Gorilla glue is a good choice, I use it often, it is strong, waterproof, and has a long open time. Titebond makes an exterior yellow glue as well. Either will do a fine job.
You need good sharp blades in the planer for end grain, but it makes a nice looking board. Finish with mineral oil, all other oils will go rancid on a cutting board.
 
I got the maple strips today - nice dry well seasoned maple. Came out of an old cabinet and has been stored in dry shed, so should be well seasoned by now. Next step will be to clean up some, cut all in same size strips and glue up several layer of strips. Then to cut into 2" lengths. These steps will be a while before getting to. I've GOT to finish 3 knifes this month, then taxes before mid April.

Thanks to all for the help.

Ken H>
 
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